By Chris Kavan - 06/23/19 at 06:42 PM CT
It was a big win for Toy Story 4 and it was a big disappointment for Toy Story 4. The fourth entry in the franchise ran away with the box office easily while an updated Child's Play took second and Luc Besson's Anna fell outside the top 10. A few new milestones were hit as well but the big take is that audiences are still not embracing sequels the way studios would like. Granted, Toy Story 4 is far away from the likes of Godzilla and Dark Phoenix, but falling short is still falling short.
1) TOY STORY 4
Disney was hoping for $140 million from Toy Story 4 and early estimates from many pegged this fourth entry anywhere from $150 million all the way up to $200 million. Alas, Disney had to settle for "just" $118 million - which is still the best opening in the Toy Story franchise (topping Toy Story 3 at $110.3 million) as well as the fourth best opening among all animated films. It is still a bit hazy as to why this didn't do as well. Critics loved it. Audiences awarded it an "A" Cinemascore (52% female, 45% came in 25 or older) - it may just be a victim of the streaming era where sequels, even to beloved franchises, just don't sway people away from home viewing. The good news is that previous Toy Story films have held well in the long run and there's nothing to suggest this fourth entry won't have a long, profitable summer ahead of it. The biggest competition comes, once again, from Disney itself - with The Lion King in July (it should hold its own against Spider-Man: Far From Home, but we'll see) and no animated offerings until mid-August with The Angry Birds Movie 2. Still, if this wasn't Toy Story 4, I don't think anyone would be complaining about a franchise-best opening for the fourth movie in any series. In fact, outside of John Wick 4, I don't know if any other franchise would sustain audiences for this long. Toy Story 4 is still looking at a domestic finish of at least $350 million, with a good shot at $400 million should it hold well. It also earned $120 million outside the U.S. in 37 markets (about 64% of its international markets). The film is going to wind up doing just fine - and dwelling on a lower-than-expected opening weekend isn't going to change that fact.
2)
CHILD'S PLAY
The updated take on the killer doll story opened in the second spot with $14.05 million. Like Toy Story 4, this one also came in just under expectations - which were set in the $16-$18 million range. The studio was hoping it would match the opening to Ma ($18 million itself) but it just ran out of steam. The update, with Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman, Mark Hamill (voicing a new Chucky), Brian Tyree Henry and Tim Matheson - focusing on a high-tech terror rather than ritualistic possession, earned a horror-standard "C+" Cinemascore from audiences. That audience wound up being 52% male with 61% coming in 25 or older. Luckily the films carries a mild $10 million budget, as it should play well for at least a few more weeks. It does face direct competition with another killer doll: Annabelle Comes Home will open Wednesday, but we'll see if can peacefully co-exist or if it will simply get crushed by The Conjuring spinoff. This to me is a solid streaming option - as I found most of the Child's Play sequels to be cheesy and off-putting. Maybe this can drum up some new interest and possibly a better franchise.
3)
ALADDIN
With a drop of just 29.5%, even in the face of Toy Story 4, Aladdin held on to its third-place position and continues to soar. Adding $12.2 million to its total, the live-action remake now stands at an impressive $287.5 million and is a lock to hit $300 million by as early as next weekend. It also added another $33 million international with a global total that has now topped $810 million. If Toy Story 4 may have disappointed Disney, certainly Aladdin has impressed them by just as much. This one should hit $900 million worldwide before leaving theaters - and I don't think that was a mark many were considering based on the somewhat mixed reactions before the movie was released. I still think this means really big things in store for The Lion King - but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
4)
MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL
After a disappointing opening last weekend, Men in Black: International took a big tumble, taking a big 64.2% hit in its second weekend and falling into fourth place. Sure, the $10.75 million weekend helped it cross the $50 million mark with a new $52.7 million total, but I'm guessing the studio was hoping for double that amount by this time. The $110 million film is going to be lucky to hit $75 million domestic at this point and the only thing that will save it from being a total disaster (ala Dark Phoenix) is its $129 million international take thus far. With numbers like these, I don't think we'll be seeing Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson teaming up in anything besides Marvel films for the near future. Maybe in another ten or so years we'll get a more well-rounded reboot we can all be happy about.
5)
THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2
Due to the direct competition from Toy Story 4, it's no surprise this animated sequel also tumbled to the tune of nearly 58%. With $10.29 million, the animated sequel has now earned $117.58 million. That total certainly looks better compared to its $80 million budget - even as it approaches $200 million worldwide - but it's still a bit disappointing and I don't know if it warrants a third entry into this series. Animation is still a better bet than most live-action films, however, so even with lower numbers I wouldn't be surprised if a third entry gets picked up.
Outside the top five: Luc Besson's latest kick-ass female-driven action film, Anna, was a no-show in the top 10, settling for an 11th place finish with just $3.5 million. Men were the driving force behind this, making up 61% of the audience with fully 88% coming in 25 or older. They gave the film an OK "B+" Cinemascore, but this is destined to leave theaters rather quickly, so if you want to see model Sasha Luss kick some ass on the big screen - better make it quick.
In other milestone news, the Elton John biopic Rocketman crossed the $75 million mark with a $5.65 million weekend (6th place) and new $77.32 million total. For an R-rated fantasy/music biopic, I think that's pretty darn good.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters hit the $100 million mark with $3.7 million (8th place) and a new $102.3 million total. I'm sure the studio was hoping for more, but here's hoping pairing a big lizard with a big ape will make audiences show up in droves.
Next week brings us Annabelle Comes Home (watch out Chucky) as well as Danny Boyle's heartfelt Beatles tribute Yesterday.
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