The weekend played out as expected with The Secret Life of Pets 2 Beating X-Men: Dark Phoenix for the top spot but both films, especially Dark Phoenix, underperformed majorly and now the finger-pointing has begun.
The Secret Life of Pets 2 grossed $46.6 million to claim the top spot but it debuted below the $60 million it had been tracking out. The studio had more modest projections for its debut ($50 million) but the film couldn’t even hit those heights. The first film stands as the biggest opening for an original animated film ($104.3 million) and even though no one expected the sequel to match that opening, debuting to less than half of that amount is a bit concerning.
So what went wrong here? I don’t think the reviews helped (54% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes compared to the fresh 73% rating of the first film). I also think that the original had a bit of a fresh angle to it and the element of surprise just wasn’t there for the sequel. At the end of the day, however, the film won’t end up a total disaster. Pets 2 scored an “A-” CinemaScore and only cost $80 million to make. Even with Toy Story 4 waiting in the wings to take all of its audience, Pets 2 should still put up decent numbers but it will not reach the final tally of the first film on the domestic side ($368.4 million). Internationally, Pets 2 began playing overseas two weeks ago and this weekend added 21 markets. Overall, the film brought in $16 million this weekend from a total of 30 markets for an international total that currently stands at $49 million.
If you think The Secret Life of Pets 2 underperformed this weekend, look no further than Dark Phoenix which opened way below the $50-55 million it had been tracking heading into the weekend. Dark Phoenix grossed a disappointing $32.8 million and becomes the lowest opening for an X-Men film in the history of the franchise. Every X-Men film, including its spinoffs, has opened to at least $50 million so the decline to this level, even if some were expecting it, is very jarring. 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse opened to $65.7 million and the drop off between films shows that the mixed reception to Apocalypse definitely carried over here and Dark Phoenix could not escape its bad press and bad reviews (23 % rotten on Rotten Tomatoes).
There is a lot to blame for why Dark Phoenix went bad and I think a lot of it comes at the feet of 20th Century Fox. Even though Disney upped the marketing efforts for the film once the Disney-Fox merger was completed, the Mouse House basically inherited a problem that was beyond repair before they got their hands on it. Dark Phoenix was hampered by poor test screenings ahead of its release, the film’s release date changed frequently and the film increased its budget to $200 million when the entire third act had to be reshot. This was reportedly due to similarities to an already released comic book film (Captain Marvel) but reports are now saying that was more of an excuse rather than the actual reasons. Apparently, the studio wasn’t happy with the third act and demanded the reshoots to make the film more “intimate” rather than relaying on spectacle, an issue they felt derailed X-Men: Apocalypse which was a commercial hit but earned mixed notices from critics and grossed $200 million less worldwide than Days of Future Past. Essentially 20th Century Fox tried to make this a summer tentpole but the reality is the film was better suited for its original release date of November of last year. The date was moved because it was clear the film wouldn’t be done in time, resulting in its release date change to February of this year. Muddying the waters, even more, was that days after the trailer was released promoting the new February date, Fox shifted the release date again to get better play in China which is why it landed on its final date of June 7. Another reason for the change was that director James Cameron insisted that Alita: Battle Angel be released in February and this also encouraged the X-Men move to a new date.
Dark Phoenix received a “B-” CinemaScore which isn’t a disaster considering the feedback but it’s down from the “A-” earned by Apocalypse and that film was definitely polarizing with fans. I have serious doubts that Dark Phoenix makes $100 million at the domestic box office by the end of its run and that would make it the first X-Men film to not reach that feat. Internationally, Dark Phoenix debuted in all but Japan this weekend, bringing in an estimated $107 million, led by a $45.6 million opening in China. The big play in China is one of the lone bright spots for a film that was riddled with box office problems this weekend.
The news is brighter for our third place film which finds Aladdin grossing $24.6 million. The film was down 42.4% and brings its domestic total to $232.5 million. This is a good example of a film that got a mixed critical response (56% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes) but seems to be loved by casual moviegoers. Internationally, the film added another $67.6 million this weekend for an overseas gross totaling $372.5 million, pushing Aladdin’s global tally just shy of $605 million.
Falling to fourth is what may go down as the second biggest box office bomb after Dark Phoenix, Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The film grossed $15.4 million and was down a staggering 67.7% from last weekend. The film has grossed $78.5 million on a budget of $170 million and I have genuine concerns about this film making $100 million by the end of its run. If it does, it’ll barely get over the hump. Internationally, Godzilla added $47.1 million this weekend for an overseas total that stands at $213.7 million and a global tally topping $292 million. Spain remains the final key market for the film, where it will release on June 21. The overseas grosses will help matters a bit but the studio has to be really thinking about how they’ll promote next year’s Godzilla vs. Kong so it can recover on the domestic front.
Rounding out the top five is Rocketman which grossed $13.8 million. The film dropped 46.3% which seems a bit steep but I think this is a film that rebounds in the weeks ahead because feedback on the film had been very positive. The film has grossed $50.4 million at the domestic box office and it’s already over its $40 million budget. Internationally, the film added $13 million from 50 markets for an overseas gross that now totals just over $51 million and a worldwide tally over $101 million.
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 |
