While the placements in this weekend’s box office were about as expected, the box office per film had some interesting outcomes. This is also the first week of the year where all films in the top 5 did over $10 million. While the summer box office is up 9% so far, the 2019 box office is -8.5% behind 2018, but that is improving slowly.
#1 Godzilla: King of Monsters
Godzilla came in first as expected with $49 million, but the problem is this was on the low side of expectations and the lowest opening for a monster-verse movie to date. Critics are of course hating on the film (39% on RT), but fans seem to enjoy it as fans give it an 86% and an equivalent B+ on Cinemascore. This would not bode well for future films save two things. It did manage $130 million overseas, and the next installment is the Kaiju match of a lifetime with Kong Vs Godzilla.
#2 Aladdin
We go from the king of monsters to the king of thieves. In its second week, Prince Abubu and Co brought in another $42.3 million for a domestic total of $185 in its second week. It may have receives mixed reviews, but it is drawing in the audiences. It helps not only that its predecessor was huge, but also it is the only kids movie out right now. The global total sits at $449 million, so there is no dud here, unlike Dumbo.
Weekend Box Office Middle-Child: Rocketman
In third place we find one of the bigger kings of rock/pop music. Rocketman, the Elton John biopic opened to $25 million. This lands on the higher ends of expectations as word of mouth remains strong. Most everyone agrees on this one. In a rare occurrence, Cinemascore and RT critics and fans are all in the same place for scoring. Rocketman scores come in at -A, 91%, 88% respectively.
#4 Ma
A definite tongue twister of a title, the horror film Ma opens in fourth with $18 million for the weekend box office.. While not a great opening for most films, keep n mind this is horror. Ma’s budget was a mere $5. Not a bad turn around for one week. Word of mouth however was not great. It only receives a -B from Cinemascore and a 59/68% (critic/audience) from RT. This could lead to a fast and sharp drop off.
Rounding out the Weekend Box Office Top 5: John Wick Chapter: 3 – Parabellum
Finally, in the five hole is the only other repeat film of the week. John Wick Chapter: 3 – Parabellum in its third week brought in $11 million. Domestically the Dog Avenger sits at $125.7 million.
Next Weekend Box Office
Next weekend we only have two films opening in side release, but their titles should have an interesting effect on the current box office. First off is X-Men:Dark Phoenix. Director Simon Kinberg will attempt to right the wrongs of X-Men 3: The Last Stand and give us the Jean Gray story fans want.
Also in The Secret Life of Pets 2. This kids movie will most likely hurt Aladdin the most, being a fellow kids movie, but the appeal of the original was pretty broad.
