After a handful of new releases at the box office last weekend, you might think that studios would take a week off and keep it relatively quiet. But that’s not what happened this weekend, as studios like Sony, Universal, and WB (along with a couple of others) released 5 new wide releases, making an already-crowded multiplex that much stuffier. That being said, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s raunchy tween comedy “Good Boys” found itself surprising everyone and coming away with the box office crown.
With 2019’s biggest original comedy debut and the first #1 R-rated comedy since 2016, “Good boys” almost doubled analysts pre-release expectations with a really solid $21 million debut. The film itself only cost a reported $20 million (before marketing) and features a largely unknown cast (outside of “Room” actor Jacob Tremblay and some cameos), so a $21 million opening is nothing short of great for Universal.
And as we look towards the next week, the news for “Good Boys” keeps getting better. Strong reviews (80% on Rotten Tomatoes) and good audience survey results (‘B+’ CinemaScore, which is a little low but still good for this type of film) mean that next weekend should have a strong hold and keep adding to the surprising total. As for a good comparable film for “Good Boys” to emulate, another Rogen/Goldberg comedy “Blockers” saw a solid debut of $21 million and, with some strong box office legs, turned that into a $60 million domestic total and $94 million worldwide. For “Good Boys” to keep pace, next weekend, the film would have to turn in an $11 million weekend #2. So, we’ll have to keep an eye out for that.
As for the four other films that opened wide this weekend, the biggest disappointment is easily “The Angry Birds Movie 2,” with its 3-day total of $10.5 million and a 6-day opening of only $16 million. This is not the start that Sony had in mind for the sequel to the surprise breakout animated hit in 2016. The first ‘Angry Birds’ film opened with a three-day weekend of $38 million. So, yeah, debuting in 6 days with less than half of the first film shows that audiences just don’t care about the franchise much anymore, despite a ‘B+’ CinemaScore from the audience and a 76% fresh rating on RT.
Any hope that Sony can recoup its reported $65 million budget is going to rely heavily on international grosses, which is where the first film succeeded. Once again, an American film is going to rely on the international bailout to rescue it from being a complete box office failure. That’s life in 2019.
A sequel that didn’t disappoint (well, not to an ‘Angry Birds 2’ degree, at least) is “47 Meters Down: Uncaged.” The sequel to the surprise hit thriller from 2017 dumped its two main stars (Mandy Moore and Claire Holt) and replace them with a trio of unknowns, but kept the “pretty girls underwater being stalked by sharks” premise. That decision seems to have paid off, at least at this point, as ‘Uncaged’ earned $9 million in its first three days, only $2 million off of the debut weekend of the first film. Now, the real question is about legs on this one. 2017’s “47 Meters Down” ended its domestic run with a solid $44 million domestic total. For ‘Uncaged’ to reach that number, genre fans are going to need to keep coming back for more. Unfortunately, a 50% on RT and a ‘C+’ CinemaScore points to a long road ahead. But hey, you never know.
And now, the final two debuts for the weekend can be best summed up with a resounding oof, as Richard Linklater’s “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” and festival favorite “Blinded by the Light” both debuted in a competitive weekend with very soft openings.
Bruce Springsteen-inspired coming-of-age film, “Blinded by the Light” was expected to be a breakout hit for WB/New Line after the studio spent a reported $15 million for distribution rights earlier this year. Great reviews (90% on RT) and an ‘A-’ CinemaScore point to the fact that expectations were likely on the mark, as ‘Light’ is a definite crowd-pleaser. Somewhere, along the way, however, the marketing must have failed, as the film debuted with only a $4.45 million opening. The odds of WB/New Line coming close to recouping its investment is almost zero, at this point, with a soft opening like that, especially with the sheer number of new films vying for available screens. So, if you’re someone that was hoping to check out “Blinded by the Light” in theaters, better get on that soon.
But for as bad as “Blinded by the Light” and “Angry Birds 2” is this weekend, at least they both made the top 10 domestically. Linklater’s latest film, “Where’d You Go, Bernadette,” with a star like Cate Blanchett, couldn’t crack the top 10 and instead debuted at #11 with a dismal $3.46 million opening. But the weak debut is only the beginning of the bad news.
‘Bernadette’ currently sits at a 43% on Rotten Tomatoes (yes, well below even “47 Meters Down: Uncaged”) and scored only a ‘B’ CinemaScore, pointing to a bit of a disconnect with audiences. And in regards to the latter issue, it would seem that audience disconnect could be from the entire premise and ultimate execution of the film. Based on a bestselling novel, Linklater reportedly disagreed with producers and the studio during the development of the film and changed the entire structure, removing the mystery element of the novel, which is what seemingly drew much of the interest from readers. What you’re left with is a film that asks a question in the title (and in much of the marketing, by the way), but answers the mystery within the early parts of the film, giving no actual tension to where Bernadette actually went.
At this point, ‘Bernadette’ is yet another disappointment for Annapurna, which is a studio in desperate need for a big hit. And those hoping for a long run in theaters will be out of luck, as the awards buzz, especially for Blanchett, seems to be non-existent at this point. Much like “Blinded by the Light,” if you want to catch this on the big screen, better hit up the multiplex this week. Because theaters will be dropping the 1,400 screen count way down starting next weekend to make room for films that actually are going to make some money.
What films are probably going to make money next weekend, you might ask? Well, the big debut is none other than the annual late-summer horror film. This year, that slot goes to “Ready or Not,” the low-budget horror-thriller about a game of Hide and Seek that turns deadly for a newlywed. Though it’s not expected to be a dominating title, there’s some solid buzz about the film stemming from early screenings and it could become a breakout hit, if audiences aren’t totally swept up in the Back to School season. And if that wasn’t enough, Gerard Butler is going to save the world again in his third ‘Has Fallen’ film, “Angel Has Fallen.” If nothing else, with its 3,000+ theater debut, the action film will easily suck up many of the screens that have been going to these low-performing films from the last couple of weekends (see ya, “The Kitchen” and ‘Bernadette’). And finally, the last wide release for next weekend is the inspirational film “Overcomer,” which uh, exists.
Here’s the domestic top ten for August 16 to August 18:
1. Good Boys – $21M (Debut)
2. Hobbs & Shaw – $14M ($134M Overall)
3. The Lion King – $12M ($496M)
4. The Angry Birds Movie 2 – $10.5M ($16M)
5. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark – $10M ($40M)
6. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged – $9M (Debut)
7. Dora and the Lost City of Gold – $8.5M ($34M)
8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – $7.6M ($114M)
9. Blinded by the Light – $4.45M (Debut)
10. The Art of Racing in the Rain – $4.4M ($17M)
*BONUS*
11. Where’d You Go, Bernadette – $3.46M (Debut)