It has been proven time and time again that moviegoers will come in droves if the brand is truly worth it. After a few weeks of disappointing openings that have seen this mostly be a bit of a lackluster summer, Marvel swings in to save the day yet again with a record-breaking opening for Spider-Man: Far From Home.
The latest Spidey sequel opened to an estimated $185 million since its Tuesday launch last week. For the three-day weekend, the gross comes in at $93.6 million which is equally impressive. Opening the film ahead of the July 4th holiday proved to be a smart move as it allowed the film to gain momentum and even exceed its box office tracking. The film entered tracking with about $150 million in 6 days so this figure is bound to make Marvel and Sony very happy. As for the 6-day record, Peter Parker actually beats himself with the $185 million 6 day topping the $180 million 6 day start of 2004’s Spider-Man 2. It’s hard to really compare this start from the Spider-Man: Homecoming release in 2017 because the release strategy was a bit different. Homecoming was released after July 4th (on July 5th) because the holiday fell on a Tuesday that year. A Thursday 4th of July is kind of the best case scenario for the day, as it sort of creates an extended weekend situation. The last time this happened was in 2013 when Despicable Me 2 opened on that Wednesday and took in $143 million in its first five days on its way to become the most successful film in the franchise. Far From Home is already in good shape when compared to Homecoming as it’s already over $30 million ahead of its predecessor. Reviews were great (91% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and it was gifted with an “A” CinemaScore, same as Homecoming, which should ensure that the film has solid legs moving forward.
Internationally, Far From Home debuted in three markets last weekend and this weekend expanded that reach to all but Italy, where the film will launch this coming Wednesday. After a strong start last weekend the film delivered $244 million from 66 markets this weekend for an overseas gross that now totals $395 million and a global tally reaching $580 million.
Toy Story 4 drops to second with an estimated $34.3 million. That’s a drop of 42.5% which is actually pretty good in the wake of Far From Home. The film has grossed $306.5 million at the domestic box office and despite the somewhat negative headlines for only opening to $120.9 million, the film is going to be one of the bigger success stories of the summer. Internationally, the animated feature delivered over $43 million this weekend for an overseas gross that now stands at $343.4 million and a global take that now totals $650 million.
Yesterday holds surprisingly well in third place with an estimated $10.7 million. That’s a drop of just 36.8% which means word of mouth for the film has been solid and a bright spot for those looking for more original concepts at the movies. The film has grossed $36.8 million to date at the domestic box office which puts it over its $26 million budget (apparently the majority of that went to licensing the music of The Beatles).
Falling to fourth is Annabelle Comes Home with an estimated $9.7 million. That’s a drop of 51.9% which is typical for horror but the film is still in solid shape in relation to its budget, although it’s not going to match the $102 million gross of Annabelle: Creation or even the $84.2 million final tally of the first film. Still, with $50.1 million grossed to date, the film has surpassed its $27 million budget and The Conjuring Universe remains a hit for Warner Bros. Internationally, the film added over $20 million from 9 markets this weekend for an overseas gross just shy of $85 million and a worldwide total creeping up on $135 million.
Rounding out the top five is the still impressive showing of Aladdin, which grossed an estimated $7.6 million. That’s a drop of only 24.9% as the film continues to be one of the true bright spots of the summer box office. I honestly think it continues to hold well until The Lion King is released but Toy Story 4 didn’t kneecap Aladdin’s box office so maybe there’s room for both of them. Aladdin has grossed $320.7 million at the domestic box office and internationally, the film brought in another $16.2 million this weekend as the overseas total climbs over $600 million for a worldwide gross that now totals over $921 million.
Debuting outside the top five at number six is Midsommar which grossed an estimated $6.5 million and $10.9 million since debuting last Wednesday. For a film that cost $10 million to make, it’s not a bad start but I can tell that Midsommar is going to see a hefty drop next weekend for a number of reasons. Critics liked the film at 81% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes but moviegoers were less enthusiastic and gave it a “C+” CinemaScore. To say the reaction has been polarizing would be an understatement. Horror fans have eaten this up like catnip while casual moviegoers haven’t been too kind. Ari Aster opened Hereditary last summer to $13.5 million, which Midsommar did not match, but it did improve on the CinemaScore (Hereditary earned a “D+”). Hereditary actually legged out pretty well to $44.5 million and maybe that can happen here but the 2 hour and 27-minute runtime isn’t doing it any favors on top of the fact that it isn’t for everyone. Future cult classic? Most likely but we’ll have to wait and see how it holds in weekend two to see if it can come close to matching the gross of Hereditary.
Also outside the top five, is the second weekend of the Avengers: Endgame re-release which grossed an estimated $3.1 million, down 49.3% to land in ninth place. Far From Home didn’t exactly give the film an extra boost but how much can you boost a film that has already grossed $847.8 million at the domestic box office and $2.772 billion worldwide? Btw, after this weekend, Endgame is just $15 million away from topping Avatar’s worldwide box office record and I have no clue what Marvel/Disney is going to do to get it there but it’s still fascinating to see where this ends up.
Check out the full top ten results below:
| Film | Total | % Change | Gross to Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onward | $10,601,952 | -72.9% | $60.3 |
| Bloodshot | $9,176,695 | NEW | $9.17 |
| I Still Believe | $9,103,614 | NEW | $9.10 |
| The Invisible Man | $5,890,805 | -61.1% | $64.3 |
| The Hunt | $5,304,455 | NEW | $5.3 |
| Sonic the Hedgehog | $2,522,584 | -67.3% | $145.7 |
| The Way Back | $2,356,115 | -71.2% | $13.3 |
| The Call of the Wild | $2,226,720 | -67.1% | $62 |
| Emma. | $1,295,215 | -73% | $9.9 |
| Bad Boys for Life | $1,102,208 | -63.5% | $204.2 |
