Let it be known that a gaggle of film critics (including yours truly) were no match for stampeding dinosaurs at the weekend box office. Jurassic World: Rebirth overcame poor reviews (and middling word of mouth) to rally to an impressive $91.5 million weekend—$11.5 million more than we predicted—with a five-day total of $147 million. While that five-day haul is about equal to what the last two films, Fallen Kingdom and Dominion, made in their three-day openings, Rebirth cost at least $100 million less to produce, so there’s no doubt everyone at Universal is celebrating a major win. Expect another Jurassic World movie within a few years—although if the core cast (Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali) returns, they’ll hopefully be given more to do this time, as they were offscreen for unforgivable stretches in Rebirth.
Brad Pitt’s F1 held strong in second place, slipping about 55% to $26 million. Coupled with the holiday box office, the film has now raced past $109 million worldwide, proving to be a big success for Apple Films—especially overseas. Given its budget, it would likely need to gross around $700 million globally to turn a profit in theaters, but since it was made with streaming in mind, Apple probably doesn’t need it to reach that number. Its strong international performance means it will be a high-profile addition to their streaming catalogue, so don’t be surprised if the sequel they’re discussing actually materializes.
One movie definitely getting a sequel is the animated reboot of How to Train Your Dragon, which crossed $224 million domestically this weekend, making it by far the highest-grossing entry in the franchise. Pixar’s Elio, on the other hand, has turned out to be a major flop, grossing only $5.7 million this weekend for a $55 million total. It’ll be lucky to crawl to $70 million. Heads will no doubt roll. Disney fared much better with Lilo & Stitch, which crossed the $400 million mark this week after adding $3.8 million. Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later edged it out with $4.6 million and a $60 million total—a mixed result for the first film in a potential trilogy.
Indeed, outside of Final Destination: Bloodlines, horror has had a rough summer. Blumhouse’s M3GAN 2.0 dropped a disastrous 63%, sinking to sixth place with just $3.8 million in its second weekend. With a domestic total of $18.5 million, it’s the most underwhelming sequel since Joker: Folie à Deux.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning has also been a disappointment. The mega-budget film looks likely to fall short of $200 million domestically, earning $2.73 million this weekend for a $191 million total—less than half its reported production cost. A24’s Materialists is wrapping up its run with $1.34 million for a $33 million total. That’s neither as good as the studio had hoped nor as bad as some feared. A modest hit, it should perform well on streaming.
Finally, the re-release of This Is Spinal Tap from Fathom Entertainment rocked its way into 10th place (though 11 would have been even more appropriate) with $931,000—an amazing result considering it’s only playing a few times a day. That bodes well for the sequel, due out this fall.
Of course, next weekend brings arguably the most hyped movie of the year: Superman. Will the Man of Steel crack the magic $100 million mark over three days? Let us know in the comments!
| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jurassic World: Rebirth | $91.5 M | $147.3 M |
| 2 | F1 | $26 M | $109.5 M |
| 3 | How to Train Your Dragon | $11 M | $224 M |
| 4 | Elio | $5.7 M | $55 M |
| 5 | 28 Years Later | $4.6 M | $60.2 M |
| 6 | Lilo & Stitch | $3.8 M | $408.5 M |
| 7 | M3GAN 2.0 | $3.8 M | $18.55 M |
| 8 | Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning | $2.73 M | $191.1 M |
| 9 | Materialists | $1.34 M | $33.5 M |
| 10 | This is Spinal Tap | $931 k | $931 k |
