Wait, so it’s a kickoff to a hot summer that isn’t struck with the lightning of a superhero (or well-renowned IP) feature? I’ll be.
20th Century Studios’ The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened with $77 million in its domestic debut. Yes, the 20-year-old sequel nabbed a bigger launch than Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts last year ($74 million domestic debut, $162 million worldwide). For simply a “real-world live-action comedy”, this is the second-largest opening behind The Hangover Part II. With known female leads (thanks to fans’ knowledge of Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep), positive reviews, and an A- from CinemaScore, there is a possibility for the sequel to roar above and beyond. Looking at legs, it has already earned $234 million in its global debut. It could very easily pass $200 million domestic and $600 million globally, which would push it past Marvel/DC kickstarters a la The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Ant-Man, Iron Man, Man of Steel, and Superman.
If it can gross over $700 million worldwide, that means it’ll be the highest-earning Disney movie since Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($855 million globally without any assistance from China). Yes, that doesn’t include Deadpool & Wolverine, but Disney had to pay for Fox’s rights to get this kind of boost for its once S-tiered IP. The women can lead the crowd of late with kick-ass time in the spotlight, thanks to the recent likes of Barbie, It Ends with Us, Freakier Friday, The Housemaid, and Wuthering Heights. Keep the punches rolling for the likes of this brand.
In other great holdover news, Michael dipped 44% in its second weekend, taking home $54 million, and will pass $200 million domestic by Wednesday. With $424 million globally thus far, it has already skyrocketed past Elvis. In terms of second-weekends, that’s just a step “worse” than Elvis (-41% from a $31 million domestic debut) and Bohemian Rhapsody (-37% from a $51 million debut). At this conventional rate, it will pass $300 million domestically and probably keep singing along to $700 million worldwide. Thus, it will become Lionsgate’s biggest “not a Hunger Games or Twilight sequel” grosser. If legs are still strong enough, could we see it outshine Bohemian Rhapsody‘s $910 million global cume? In any case, Lionsgate should be partying like it was the 2010s.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has passed $400 million domestically and will be passing $900 million worldwide any day now. It is still shooting for the stars to pass $1 billion, though a step well below its predecessor. Project Hail Mary continues to perform extraordinarily, having passed $318 million domestically and will soon pass $650 million worldwide. Lee Cronin’s The Mummy only added another $2.23 million domestic in its third weekend.
For the newcomers, though, it was relatively muted. Hokum earned $6.4 million in its debut, making it NEON’s fourth-biggest domestic launch behind Together ($6.7 million), The Monkey ($14 million), and Longlegs ($23 million). Animal Farm tanked with only a $3.4 million debut and a C from CinemaScore. Deep Water earned $2.1 million in its debut, while That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea earned $1 million.
Lastly, Hoppers will be rounding out its final run as it heads to PVOD, with $380 million worldwide.
Next weekend, we’ll see the release of Mortal Kombat II, The Sheep Detectives, Takeover, Influenced, Couples Weekend, and Neglected.
