Men in Black International may have been the top grossing movie at the box office this weekend but that is not saying very much. It has been a rather slow weekend and you just know the accountants at the movie studios are wincing over the low ticket sales. The newest film in the Men in Black franchise featuring Chris Hemworth and Tessa Thompson is estimated to have brought in about $28.5 million during its opening weekend in theaters. With an estimated production budget of $110 million, the movie has a long ways to go before it has any hope of profitability.
The Secret Life of Pets 2 dropped to the number two spot on the charts during its second week at the box office. The animated flick brought in a little under $24 million even though it was shown on over 4,500 screens (compared to just over 4,200 screens for Men in Black International). With a total gross of over $92 million, The Secret Life of Pets 2 has more than earned back its production budget of $80 million but Hollywood’s unique accounting methods say the film has not turned a profit yet.
By now just about everyone who planned to see the 2019 remake of Aladdin at the theater has done so but the Will Smith vehicle still managed to eke out over $16.5 million during the fourth week of its theatrical run.
Dark Phoenix and Rocketman round out the Top 5 highest grossing movies for the week. Samuel L. Jackson just could not draw in moviegoers as Shaft premiered in sixth place with about $8.3 million in ticket sales. I have just enough dignity to avoid making a “shafted” joke but at least Jackson has a secure feature in the realm of superhero movies with roles like Nick Fury and Frozone under his belt.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is rapidly losing steam with just over $8 million brought in during its third week in theaters. That is a shame as yours truly reviewed the movie and found it to be an enjoyable romp with those cute and cuddly titans. Next time there is a giant monsters run amok movie I hope the director remembers to have more titans and fewer humans in it. We want to see epic battles with cities being decimated, not a family struggling to stay together.
Avengers: Endgame and Detective Pikachu had great theatrical runs but their presence is winding down with about $3.5 million and $1.2 million in ticket sales respectively.
It is easy to predict what movie will rule at the box office next weekend. This will be the weekend when the toys strike back. Toy Story 4 will make its theatrical debut and we all know that it will dominate the charts. Those of you who prefer your dolls to have a murderous streak can check out Child’s Play. This time around Chucky will have some neat new abilities like connecting to smart home features via WiFi. That should lead to some interesting new death scenes for the franchise but there is no way that a reimagined Chucky can topple the combined might of Woody and Buzz Lightyear along with a plastic spork. Speaking of killer dolls, Annabelle Comes Homes premieres on June 28th and will feature Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson who reprise their roles as married paranormal investigators, the Warrens. The last film set in The Conjuring universe didn’t fare too well. Let’s hope that Annabelle brings the franchise back into shape.
