While holdovers like 1917 and Little Women remained strong in the wake of their impressive Oscar nomination tallies last week, the first holiday weekend of the year belonged to Bad Boys for Life, the belated threequel in the Will Smith-Martin Lawrence action franchise that surged beyond even the most optimistic expectations with an estimated $59.1 million over the three-day weekend and a studio-projected $68.1 million over the four-day MLK holiday frame. Also turning in a better-than-expected performance was the Robert Downey Jr. family adventure Dolittle, though in that case the long-term picture is looking considerably less rosy.
Nearly 17 years after Bad Boys II hit theaters, Bad Boys for Life crushed it at the multiplex this weekend thanks to a mixture of relatively strong critical notices—indeed, the third entry in the long-running franchise garnered the best reviews of the series to date—and audience nostalgia for Smith and Lawrence’s wisecracking duo. Opening in an ultra-wide 3,775 locations, the film managed to turn in the second-best MLK weekend performance to date, behind only 2015 when American Sniper stunned the industry with a massive $107.2 million four-day/$89.2 million three-day tally.
In terms of the Bad Boys franchise, this is also the largest opening weekend for the series thus far not adjusting for inflation, besting the $46.5 million three-day take of Bad Boys II in the summer of 2003. And with an “A” Cinemascore and a stellar 97% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score (from nearly 8,000 ratings), the reported $90 million production is looking at a strong performance over the coming weeks. Sony reports this is the studio’s best R-rated opening of all time; it’s also the highest opening of Martin Lawrence’s career.
Coming in second was fellow newcomer Dolittle, the first starring vehicle for Robert Downey Jr. since he officially retired from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With an estimated $22.5 million three-day and a studio-projected $30 million four-day from a massive 4,155 locations, the Universal release fared a bit better than initial expectations despite truly savage reviews (its Rotten Tomatoes critical average is a dismal 18% as of this writing). The better-than-expected performance can certainly be chalked up to Downey’s star appeal among both children and their parents, though with a gargantuan budget of $175 million it’s looking like an uphill battle for the reboot of the storied Doctor Dolittle franchise, which last hit theaters with 2001’s Dr. Dolittle 2 starring Eddie Murphy. Indeed, while audiences have granted the film decidedly better notices than critics—it garnered a “B” Cinemascore from opening day audiences and has a Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score of 76%—the film will need to do excessively strong business overseas to overcome its burdensome price tag (more on that below).
In third place, Universal’s WWI drama 1917 held up well in its second weekend of wide release (and fourth weekend overall) with an estimated $22.1 million three-day and a studio-projected $27 million four-day, a 40% dip from the last Friday-Sunday period. The total for the acclaimed Sam Mendes-directed film, which racked up an impressive 10 Oscar nominations last week including Best Picture, now stands at a fantastic $76.8 million.
Jumanji: The Next Level came in fourth with an estimated $9.5 million three-day and a studio-projected $12.5 million four-day in its sixth weekend of release, bringing the total for the family adventure to $273.4 million to date. That represents a dip of only 32% from last weekend for the leggy Sony title, which clearly didn’t suffer much from Dolittle’s presence in the marketplace.
Notably, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker fell short of Jumanji for the first time in its fifth weekend of release, dropping 44% to bring in an estimated $8.4 million over the three-day period and a studio-estimated $10.6 million over the four-day frame. With a total of $492 million to date, the Disney blockbuster now sits just shy of $500 million and should cross that threshold by sometime next weekend.
Coming in sixth was the Jamie Foxx-Michael B. Jordan drama Just Mercy, which eased 38% to an estimated $6 million three-day and a Boxoffice Pro-projected $7.5 million four-day in its second weekend of wide release. The total for the Warner Bros. title now sits at $19.6 million.
On the heels of six Oscar nominations including Best Picture was Little Women, which came in seventh with an estimated $5.9 million three-day and a studio-projected $7.4 million four-day. The would give the Sony title $85.8 million through the end of its fourth weekend, with $100 million a seeming inevitability at this point in the game.
Lionsgate’s Knives Out continued strong in eighth place, easing just 24% to an estimated $4.3 million three-day and a studio-projected $5.2 million four-day for a total of $146.9 million to date.
After a somewhat disappointing debut last weekend, Paramount’s Like a Boss crumbled 62% to ninth place with an estimated $3.8 million three-day/studio-projected $4.5 million four-day, which would bring the Tiffany Haddish comedy to just $17.6 million after 11 days of release.
Finally in tenth, Disney’s Frozen II grossed an estimated $3.7 million over the three-day period and a studio-projected $5.1 million over the four-day frame, giving the animated sequel $464.9 million through the end of its ninth weekend.
Opening outside the top 10 was GKIDS’ Weathering With You, an animated fantasy-romance that has already brought in nearly $180 million overseas, including over $125 million in its native Japan. Debuting on 486 screens, the Makoto Shinkai-directed film took in an estimated $1.7 million over the three-day period and a projected $2 million over the four-day frame. That would give it a total of $ million through Monday, including preview grosses on Wednesday and Thursday of last week.
Overseas Update:
Bad Boys for Life brought in an estimated $37.3 million in international markets through Sunday, putting it on track for $100 million-plus worldwide including Monday projections in North America.
After opening in a handful of territories last weekend, Dolittle brought in an estimated $17.2 million from 46 overseas markets, bringing its international total to $27.3 million and its global total to $50 million through Sunday.
1917 grossed an estimated $26 million overseas, bringing its international total to $62 million and its global cume through Sunday to $139 million.
Frozen II took in an estimated $12 million overseas, bringing its international tally to $936.2 million and its worldwide cume to a massive $1.4011 billion through Sunday.
After crossing the $1 billion global mark last week, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker took in an estimated $10.9 million overseas this weekend, bringing its international total to $534.6 million and its worldwide tally to $1.0266 billion through Sunday.
The post Studio Weekend Estimates: <em>Bad Boys for Life</em> Explodes w/ $59.1M 3-Day/$68.1M 4-Day Debut; <em>Dolittle</em> Brings in $22.5M/$30M While <em>1917</em> Battles to $22.1M/$27M appeared first on Boxoffice.
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