WEEKEND BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN: July 15-17, 2016
Pets Slimes Ghostbusters
~Matt Reed
Hailing Frequencies Open
This may be the year of the animated film. ZOOTOPIA has grossed over a billion worldwide, FINDING DORY just set the record for the highest domestic gross of any animated film (beating SHREK 2’s $441.2 mil in 2004) and THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS is not only a smash hit, it kept the #1 position vs. the GHOSTBUSTERS reboot/remake/reimagining. It’s 51% week to week loss is fairly high for an animated film, but $50.5 mil was enough to keep it at the top.
Coming in second is GHOSTBUSTERS with a domestic haul of $46 mil. The film has had a complicated, rocky road to get to where it is today and that journey was further complicated by lackluster reception to the first trailers for the film. Much of the controversy centered on the fact that this was an all-female cast and the apoplectic response from the Internet soon followed. It’s hard to say whether this relatively ho-hum opening is due to the cast, a general malaise over sequels in general, or is reflective of a judgment of the film on its own merits. Whatever the case, it certainly isn’t the smash hit Sony so desperately needs and it calls into question whether there will even be two more films in this reported trilogy.
The only other new release opened with a thud. THE INFILTRATOR starring Bryan Cranston took in just $6.7 mil. Films aimed at an adult audience are having a hard go of it this summer. FREE STATE OF JONES has earned just $20.3 mil against a $50 mil budget, SWISS ARMY MAN and THE LOBSTER never gained enough traction to open wide and now THE INFILTRATOR limps to a #8 opening. Perhaps the tide will change with CAFÉ SOCIETY, Woody Allen’s latest film. It opened in five theaters this weekend and earned an impressive $71,000 per screen for a $355,000 opening in limited release.
Short Takes: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN may be getting strong reviews from the audience that’s seen it, but it’s been a struggle to build momentum of any kind for the film. It’s only grossed $193.6 mil worldwide. INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE trails the original film by $114 mil over the same frame…and that’s against numbers that aren’t adjusted for inflation. The fact that it’s hobbling toward $100 mil after a month in release speaks volumes. Ditto the domestic numbers for THE BFG. Against a $140 mil budget, the film has only grossed $47.3 mil and will be lucky if it crosses $65 mil. On the bright side, THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR will become the highest grossing film in the franchise and CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE is the surprise comedy hit of the summer.
Up Next: ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE looks to continue the 2016 animated hot streak, LIGHTS OUT hopes to scare its way into horror audiences hearts, and STAR TREK BEYOND is the first film in the rebooted franchise to be directed by someone other than JJ Abrams as Justin Lin takes over.
Here, as always, are the weekend domestic estimates courtesy of our friends at
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