This weekend officially kicked off the summer movie season, and it did so in style with the launch of 20th Century Studios’ The Devil Wears Prada 2. While some forecasters assumed the Meryl Streep/Anne Hathaway re-teaming (co-starring Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt) would crack $100 million, we had it pegged at $70 million. In the end, it pulled in $77 million, which is a great start. However, overseas it was a major blockbuster, with the worldwide gross currently at $233 million. With numbers like that, don’t be surprised if we see a Devil Wears Prada 3 before long—which I assume would take less than twenty years to happen this time.
Michael Shows Strong Legs in Week Two
The other big story this weekend is that Lionsgate’s Michael is showing great (moonwalking) legs, with it only falling 44% in week two (amazing considering how high it opened), earning a $54 million weekend and a $183 million domestic haul. Overseas, it’s at $423 million, which is a staggering number. No wonder the studio is eager to get a sequel into theaters quickly.
Holdovers Stay Strong: Mario and Project Hail Mary
As expected, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was in third place with $12.1 million and a $402 million domestic total. Project Hail Mary wasn’t too far behind, making another $8.5 million for a $318 million domestic total—making it one of the year’s biggest success stories.
Mixed Results for New Releases
Neon’s horror title, Hokum, starring Adam Scott, had a respectable opening, making $6.4 million on only 1,885 screens, with a solid $3.4K per-screen average (according to Comscore). It earned a B CinemaScore, which is good for a horror film.
One new release that didn’t score as well with audiences is Andy Serkis’ long-awaited adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. It only landed $3.4 million for Angel Studios this weekend, with a C-minus CinemaScore—almost unheard of for this studio, whose movies usually score in the A range.
The Mummy and Other Titles Round Out the Top 10
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy lost about 1,000 screens this weekend, making $2.2 million for a $27 million domestic haul (although it’s seemingly made up the shortfall overseas, where it has more than doubled its domestic gross, with $80 million worldwide). With a budget in the $22 million range, it should be a solid moneymaker for WB/New Line.
Renny Harlin’s shark movie, Deep Water, failed to make a huge impact, grossing $2.1 million. Still, that’s not awful for a low-profile release, and the fact that it went theatrical at all should give it a nice boost once it hits streaming.
The anime release, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: The Movie – Tears of the Azure Sea, only cracked $1 million, which is on the low end for distributor Crunchyroll. It seemingly played to a more niche audience—although our critic still dug it.
Finally, the top 10 was rounded out by A24’s sleeper hit, The Drama, which made $908K for a $46 million total.
What’s Coming Next Weekend?
Next weekend sees the release of the James Cameron-directed Billie Eilish concert movie, the well-reviewed family film The Sheep Detectives, and Mortal Kombat 2. Which will top the box office? Let us know in the comments!
