As expected, “Toy Story 4” once again dominated the domestic box office this weekend, as the Pixar animated film secured another #1 spot in its second weekend. However, there are still some interesting stories to be found in what could be seen as a ho-hum weekend at the multiplex.
After being deemed a “disappointment” with only $120 million in its first weekend (explaining why this is hogwash requires an entirely different discussion), “Toy Story 4” saw a great second weekend, experiencing only a -52% drop and earning $58 million in its latest frame. So far, the domestic total for Pixar’s latest sits at $237 million, and is likely going to sit amongst the top 10 films for weeks to come. Needless to say, Disney and Pixar are not disappointed with this result, whatsoever.
“Toy Story 4” might have won the weekend, but the film is not even remotely the most interesting part of the box office results. Coming in at #2 and #3 respectively are the two newcomers, “Annabelle Comes Home” and “Yesterday.” You couldn’t get anything closer to counterprogramming with these films, as one is a sequel to a spin-off to a horror franchise that is seemingly never going to end. The other is a Beatles-inspired musical feel-good film from Danny Boyle.
‘Annabelle’ beat “Yesterday” with an opening weekend total of $20 million. Considering the film opened Wednesday and has earned a respectable $31 million in only 5 days, Warner Bros. is surely happy with the result. You can’t ask for much more when you consider “Annabelle Comes Home” is the third film in the ‘Annabelle’ series and the seventh overall film in the ‘Conjuring’ cinematic universe. Add to that, the film’s budget is roughly $30 million. So, definitely not terrible numbers, all things considered.
The same for “Yesterday.” Much like ‘Annabelle,’ the Danny Boyle-directed musical sports a modest budget, and when you consider it earned a respectable $17 million in its opening weekend, everyone is likely very pleased. Even with middling reviews (59% on Rotten Tomatoes), “Yesterday” looks to be a hit with audiences, earning a great ‘A-’ CinemaScore. With increased competition for screens coming next weekend (the Fourth of July holiday is always crowded), “Yesterday” is hoping to capitalize on the word-of-mouth to keep it going.
Adding another layer of intrigue to this weekend was the much-hyped “re-release” of “Avengers: Endgame.” Though it never left theaters, Disney and Marvel Studios decided to hype up a re-expansion of the film, adding post-credits scenes and a Stan Lee tribute. While many saw this as a chance to defeat “Avatar’s” box office record, it was clearly just a way to make a few extra million while also priming the pump for “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” which arrives in theaters next weekend.
Either way, ‘Endgame’ earned a decent $5.5 million this weekend, a huge increase over recent weekends, though not enough to really compete with “Avatar.” Face it, Marvel fans, ‘Endgame’ likely doesn’t have enough in the tank to topple James Cameron’s epic. And honestly, it doesn’t matter, as Disney controls both franchises and none of us are getting any sort of paychecks if the Marvel Studios film secures the record.
No matter who wins, the only real winners are the folks at Disney, and the “bragging rights” that Marvel fans would have over “Avatar” fans are meaningless. Especially when you consider there are discussions about “adjusted for inflation” stats and which film made more before their respective re-releases. Though those “adjusted” stats are not true apples-to-apples comparisons, with “Gone with the Wind” playing for months in theaters that didn’t have to compete with cable TV, let alone streaming. And “Avatar” had the added hype of the 3D fad and, again, no streaming. But I digress.
All things considered, “Avatar” will have the official title of “biggest film of all time” but ‘Endgame’ will have some records that are likely never going to be beaten (Biggest Opening Weekend, domestic and worldwide, as well as fastest to $1 billion and $2 billion). So, again, none of this matters and both films have made ridiculous amounts of cash.
Speaking of Marvel Studios films, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” debuted in China, Japan, and Hong Kong over the weekend and saw a massive start to its box office run. Earning $111 million, the new Spidey sequel is proving that the Marvel train is going to keep chugging along after ‘Endgame.’ The film earned an absolutely massive $98 million in China alone, becoming the fourth-largest superhero opening in the Middle Kingdom (behind “Avengers: Endgame,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Venom”). Compared to openings in the exact same territories, ‘Far Frome Home’ is pacing 45% ahead of ‘Homecoming’ and 21% ahead of “Captain Marvel.” It appears that ‘Endgame’ didn’t end people’s excitement for the MCU, instead reviving it yet again.
This weekend saw another strong weekend for Disney’s “Aladdin.” Earning another $9.3 million domestically (still in the top 5 after six weeks, mind you), the live-action remake of the animated classic now has a domestic total of $306 million and a worldwide gross of $874 million. The really interesting fun fact to take from these numbers is that “Aladdin” now holds the title of the biggest film starring Will Smith ever. That’s right, “Aladdin” has beaten “Independence Day” and its $817 million total. Though, domestically, the biggest Will Smith film is “Suicide Squad,” which earned $325 million.
On the limited release front, there wasn’t much to report, other than the fact that “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” continued to do well in its first big expansion. Now in 155 theaters, the drama earned approximately $488,000 and enough to put it at over $2 million domestically. The film is set to expand even more nationwide as the weeks play out.
Next week is nothing short of huge for the film industry, as “Spider-Man: Far From Home” hits the rest of the world on July 2, with “Midsommar” in its footsteps on July 3. Both films are expected to do well, with ‘Spider-Man’ looking to earn about $500 million worldwide after its weekend run.
Here’s the entire top 10 for June 28 to June 30:
1. Toy Story 4 – $58M ($237M Overall)
2. Annabelle Comes Home – $20.3M ($31M)
3. Yesterday – $17M (Debut)
4. Aladdin – $9.3M ($306 million)
5. The Secret Life of Pets 2 – $7M ($131M)
6. Men in Black: International – $6.5M ($65M)
7. Avengers: Endgame – $5.5M ($841M)
8. Child’s Play – $4.3M ($23.4M)
9. Rocketman – $3.87M ($84M)
10. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum – $3.18 ($161M)
