Yeah, many naysayers who thought Will Smith’s career was marred after the fiasco at the 2022 Academy Awards need to be re-educated. Much like when Daniel Craig was vexed during his Spectre promotional tour for teases regarding the fifth and final 007 feature, this whole un-spiraling debate over the past two years of whether Smith had lost his luster was put to bed this weekend. A $56 million debut for the fourquel in this action buddy cop series proves he still maintains his drawing power. Yours indeed is young enough to remember during the mid-2000s when he was lightning in a bottle for tentpole-sized launches (Men in Black II and Bad Boys 2) and other titles such as The Pursuit of Happyness, Hancock, Hitch, and I, Robot. Hancock still remains the largest-grossing live-action original superhero film. And then, after a while, he hit some bricks before getting back on track with Suicide Squad (2016), the live-action Aladdin (over one billion in total earnings), and Bad Boys for Life (before the pandemic halted the world).
To be fair, this isn’t opening as high as its predecessor (which earned $62 million on Friday-Sunday and $72 million with President’s Day), but the difference is relatively minimal that folks are A) still pleased to enjoy the comedic chemistry between Smith and Martin Lawrence, B) decent reviews and an A- from CinemaScore will keep it afloat, and C) online discourse about the ramifications of the slap are mostly ostensible, as the folks stopped caring about Smith’s outburst against Chris Rock a few months after “the Slap.” If anything, folks are probably more interested in seeing these two hug it out or waiting for Rock to get his revenge on some press tour in a juvenile manner. With $104.6 million globally already, this is another IP sequel that will bring success for Smith and Sony Pictures. It’ll probably pull in $170 domestically and maybe $330 million worldwide, assuming it doesn’t get floored by the other big June titles. One day, the fifth one will be announced.
Sony won the gold this weekend but maintained silver with our big cat, Garfield. The Garfield Movie earned $10 million domestically in its third weekend and will pass $200 million worldwide later this week. Families seem to be enjoying this title in the cards, and Christ Pratt continues his momentum for future animation voicing. This will probably reach $240-250 globally, and we will get to snack down more lasagna before Inside Out 2 comes in next weekend. IF is holding well for third place, bringing in $8 million on its fourth weekend; this will pass $100 million domestically by next weekend, even if overseas has been somewhat underwhelming.
Newcomer The Watchers is an abysmal start as a directorial debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan; the clever sound design atmosphere is devoid of any tension. A $7 million start isn’t a good roll of the dice, so folks will have to wait for A Quiet Place: Day One later this month to pull numbers back towards horror. Speaking of Shyamalan, the father is releasing Trap later this summer, which could break out much better than this one.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes earned $5.4 million ($150 million domestically) and surpassed $360 million worldwide. A $400 million profit is still possible. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga only earned $4.245 million and hasn’t even passed $150 million worldwide; again, fans were not remotely interested enough in another Mad Max film. And the Lord of the Rings returned to theaters with The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers in 1,529 theaters with $2.44 million and $1.91 million, respectively.
Next weekend sees the release of Inside Out 2, Ultraman: Rising, Reverse the Curse, The Present, Ghostlight, and Fresh Kills.
