With Americans settling into the dog days of summer and the season’s big tentpoles now in the rearview mirror, Hollywood put out a slew of low-to-mid budget films this weekend to mixed results—though none could topple the Fast & Furious spinoff Hobbs & Shaw, which remained at No. 1 for the weekend.
First up, Hobbs & Shaw took in an estimated $25.4 million following its $60M debut last weekend, a decline of roughly 57%. That’s a pretty typical drop for films in the long-running franchise, the majority of which have dipped north of 60% in their sophomore frames. The Dwayne Johnson-Jason Statham actioner now stands at $108.5 million after ten days of release—a good total, albeit a far cry from the series’ most successful installments.
The most successful of the weekend’s new releases was Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, the tween-friendly horror film that received a boost from both the heavy use of producer Guillermo del Toro’s name in marketing materials and nostalgia from older audiences who remember the children’s book series on which the movie is based. With an estimated $20.8 million in second place from 3,135 locations, the film benefitted from a lack of horror fare in the marketplace currently—with titles like Crawl and Annabelle Comes Home now waning—and a solid 80% “Certified Fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes. That said, moviegoers appear to have enjoyed it significantly less, with a so-so Cinemascore of “C” from opening day audiences. However it holds up in subsequent weeks, with a reported production budget of just $28 million the Lionsgate release already appears to be well on its way to profitability. Notably, the film’s weekend gross was exactly in line with the PG-13 horror flick The Woman in Black, which debuted with the same amount in February 2012.
The Lion King continued its rapid climb to $500 million with an estimated $20 million at No. 3, a dip of 47% from last weekend. Though it’s been fading off slightly more quickly than expected, its massive $191.7 million opening has all but assured that it will end its run as the highest-grossing of all of Disney’s recent reimaginings, topping the $504 million brought in by Beauty & the Beast two years ago. That said, adjusted for inflation it will finish its run considerably below the original animated Lion King, which brought in $422.7 million in 1994—the equivalent of over $730 million in 2019 dollars. Its total currently stands at $473.1 million.
Landing in fourth place was Paramount’s Dora and the Lost City of Gold, a live-action adaptation of the hugely-popular Nickelodeon animated series Dora the Explorer. With an estimated $17 million from 3,753 locations, the PG-rated adaptation seems to have landed with its young target audience and also likely benefitted from positive reviews (it’s currently at 81% on Rotten Tomatoes). Luckily, the $49 million-budgeted film was released just as The Lion King is beginning to lose steam, providing an opportunity to steal away some of the family audience that has already turned out for that Disney remake. The adventure flick’s “A” Cinemascore and 89% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes suggest this one could also boast strong legs in the weeks ahead.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood finished its third weekend at No. 5 with an estimated $11.6 million, down 42% from last weekend. The acclaimed Quentin Tarantino title now has $100.3 million in the bank—an impressive number until you consider its steep $90 million production budget. That said, aside from Russia (where it opened to an estimated $7.7 million this weekend) the Sony title has yet to release in international markets, where Tarantino’s recent films have traditionally done very well.
Sixth place went to The Art of Racing in the Rain, the latest feel-good dog flick in the tradition of such recent releases as A Dog’s Purpose, A Dog’s Way Home and A Dog’s Journey. With an estimated $8.1 million from 2,765 locations, the Fox title released by Disney finished slightly higher than Journey’s $8 million debut but considerably lower than Way Home and particularly Purpose, which opened to $11.2 million and $18.2 million, respectively. Despite not boasting the Dog’s title, the film was nonetheless marketed in roughly the same fashion as those films, perhaps leading to a sense of déjà vu for audiences who have been treated to two other similar movies this year alone. Still, Art of Racing’s A- Cinemascore and 97% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes suggest general satisfaction among the target family demo.
Star-studded newbie The Kitchen came in seventh with an estimated $5.5 million from 2,745 locations, a weak performance for a film boasting the likes of Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss in the lead roles. Despite a decent marketing push by Warner Bros., the crime drama suffered from dismal reviews (it has just 20% on Rotten Tomatoes) and perhaps a sense of disconnect for moviegoers used to seeing McCarthy and Haddish in comedic roles. Speaking of which, this will count as the lowest-grossing wide debut for both stars, below The Happytime Murders’ $9.5 million (McCarthy) and Keanu’s $9.4 million (Haddish).
Eighth and ninth went to holdovers Sony’s Spider-Man: Far From Home and Disney’s Toy Story 4, which took in an estimated $5.4 million and $4.4 million, respectively. The MCU blockbuster now has $370.9 million through the end of its sixth weekend, while the Pixar sequel—now officially the highest-grossing Toy Story installment of all time not adjusting for inflation—has $419.6 million through the end of its eighth.
Just cracking the Top 10 was the Lulu Wang-directed drama The Farewell, which grossed an estimated $2.2 million on 704 screens for $10.3 million to date. Expect the A24 release to expand even further next weekend.
The weekend’s final wide release, Bleecker Street’s Brian Banks, debuted just outside the Top 10 with an estimated $2.1 million from 1,240 locations. The inspirational sports drama directed by Tom Shadyac simply couldn’t cut through the noise of the packed weekend lineup.
Overseas Update:
Hobbs & Shaw grossed an estimated $60.8 million overseas this weekend, including No. 1 openings in Italy and France. The Universal release now has $224.1 million internationally and $332.6 million worldwide.
The Lion King took in an estimated $51.4 internationally, bringing its overseas tally to $861.5 million and its worldwide cume to a massive $1.3346 billion. That officially makes it the highest-grossing of Disney’s recent reimaginings, surpassing Beauty & the Beast’s $1.264 billion total.
The post Studio Weekend Estimates: <em>Hobbs & Shaw</em> ($25.4M) Fends Off Newcomers <em>Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark</em> ($20.8M), <em>Dora and the Lost City of Gold</em> ($17M) to Remain No. 1 appeared first on Boxoffice.
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