Weekend Actuals: ‘Despicable Me 3’ Earns $72.4/99.0M, Breaks 7-Year Record for Highest Theater Count; ‘Baby Driver’ Revs To $20.5/29.9M; ‘The House’ Falls w/ $8.7/11.9M

Wednesday Update: On the first year since 2006 where July 4 fell on a Tuesday, Despicable Me 3 and their inescapable band of minions led the box office with $72.4 million for the three-day, $99.0 million when factoring Monday and Tuesday into the weekend.

While less than the openings for Despicable Me 2 and Minions, it still represents a good start and the best animated opening since last summer’s The Secret Life of PetsDM3 also broke the record for most theaters simultaneously showing a single film, beating the seven-year record held by Eclipse.

Sony’s Baby Driver took second place with $20.5 million, or $29.9 million for the five-day, on the strength of its status as one of the best-reviewed films of the year. This is also a much-needed win for Sony, which had arguably lacked a real box office hit in all of 2017.

Warner Bros.’ The House came in below its already-low tracking, debuting outside the top five completely with a sixth place start of $8.7 million, or $11.9 million for the five-day. It’s the lowest debut for a Will Ferrell wide release, despite his claim as one of the most bankable comedy stars of the 21st century.

Fuller analysis is below, followed by the table of weekend actuals at bottom.


Sunday Update: The most successful animated franchise since Shrek continued this weekend, as Despicable Me 3‘s yellow minions saw green with $75.4 million. In the process, the film broke the record held since 2010 for highest theater count. Among other openers, Baby Driver beat most expectations, while The House opened lower than most expectations.

Universal’s animated DM3, starring the voices of Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig, boasts the highest-grossing animated weekend since The Secret Life of Pets last summer. It merited an “A” average CinemaScore from an audience that was exactly 50-50 male/female and comprising 69 percent families.

“We’re the highest-grossing animated film of the year, and we anticipate we’ll probably stay #1 as the biggest opening film of 2017 for quite some time,” Universal’s President of Domestic Distribution Nick Carpou tells Boxoffice in an interview. “It’s an indicator that the public really anticipated this, which is a testament to expectations and tremendous marketing. We couldn’t be happier, for what it is and what it represents.”

Actually, Universal could be at least a little happier, since this installment does represent a financial downturn for the franchise, starting 9.7 percent behind Despicable Me 2 and a sharper 38.4 percent behind spinoff Minions. However, that comparison might be slightly unfair because this year’s extended Independence Day weekend means much of the film’s audience will attend on Monday and Tuesday, rather than just Friday through Sunday.

After adding in Monday and Tuesday’s grosses, DM3‘s “full weekend” grosses could match or exceed DM2. Still, there’s though there’s no chance it will match the opening of Minions, even with two “extra” days in its opening weekend.

Playing at 4,529 theaters, DM3 also sets a new record for most theaters at which a single film has simultaneously shown. The former seven-year record of 4,468 theaters was set in summer 2010 by Eclipse, the third installment in the Twilight series.

Not only was DM3 expected to be a cash cow during an extended weekend anyway while previous installment Minions had opened in a huge 4,311 theaters two years ago, but several other releases from the past month have financially underperformed and thus allowed more theater space for DM3 than might have been expected a month ago. The Mummy left 1,220 theaters this weekend, Cars 3 left 680, Captain Underpants left 876, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales left 779.

To clarify, theater count is not the same thing as screen count, since a film can play on multiple screens at an individual location or multiplex. While DM3‘s screen count isn’t yet known, it’s almost certain that it didn’t overtake Star Wars: The Force Awakens with an estimated 14,400 screens. (Even though Force played in fewer actual theater locations.)

Sony/TriStar’s action thriller Baby Driver pushed the pedal to the metal with $21.0 million and second place. That ranking became more likely as tracking pick up recently pre-release, but was considered highly unlikely when the film was initially greenlit for an Independence Day weekend release against seemingly-stiff competition and with the unproven Ansel Elgort in the title role. As recently as Thursday, Sony’s own projections were for a mid-teens opening over the five-day.

Co-starring Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx, the film opened early on Wednesday of last week and was the highest grosser of both Wednesday and Thursday. Though those two days surely diminished the opening weekend somewhat, the film nonetheless rode its wave of fantastic reviews and word of mouth, including a phenomenal 97 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.

With an opening comparable to other recent $100+ million hits such as Now You See Me and Kingsman: The Secret Service, in combination with its great word of mouth and comparatively few adult-centric offerings this summer until Dunkirk in late July, look for this to continue well in the weeks ahead.

Warner Bros.’ R-rated comedy The House had a shaky foundation, as the house collapsed with a $9.0 million start in sixth place. Despite the star power of Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler, the film was unable to overcome negative word of mouth including a 16 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

This marks the worst wide opening of Ferrell’s career since his leading man status began in 2003. It also continues this summer’s poor showings for R-rated comedies such as Rough Night and Snatched. House does start slightly higher than some other recent R-rated comedies like Keeping Up with the Joneses and Rough Night, though that’s not saying much.

[Read our interview with The House director Andrew Jay Cohen here.]

Elsewhere at the box office, last weekend’s leader Transformers: The Last Knight took third place with $17.0 million, Wonder Woman continues to experience the mildest declines of any superhero film in recent memory with a mere 37 percent drop to $15.5 million and fourth place, The Beguiled started decently in limited release, and The Big Sick started fantastically in platform release.

The top 10 films this weekend earned an estimated $161,172,275 total. That’s 23.9 percent above last weekend, 9.0 percent below the equivalent weekend last year, and 10.2 percent behind Independence Day weekend last year.

Overseas Update:

Two films utterly commanded the international markets.

Despicable Me 3 earned $95.6 million, after opening early last weekend in a few markets ahead of its domestic release. With a $171.0 million total global weekend, the film has earned $116.9 million overseas and $192.3 million globally to date. And that’s before several major markets including China have yet to open.

“Even though it wasn’t a holiday weekend anywhere else, we often had 70-75 percent market share overseas,” Universal’s President of International Distribution Duncan Clark tells Boxoffice in an interview. “Great work was done by our local marketing teams getting these movies adapted for local consumption. Plus China and Germany and France are coming this weekend, with Japan and Korea coming in July.”

Transformers: The Last Knight, after leading the overseas box office for the past two frames, fell 66 percent to a $68 million overseas weekend. The movie has earned $327.8 million overseas and $429.9 million globally, helping ease much of the sting from being by far the lowest-performing of the five entries in the franchise domestically.


5-Day Weekend Actuals for top films, Friday, June 30 – Tuesday, July 4, 2017:

Rank Title 5-Day Weekend Gross Theaters Average Total Gross Week # Studio
1 Despicable Me 3 $99,020,280 4,259 $23,250 $99,020,280 1 Universal
2 Baby Driver $29,974,822 3,226 $9,292 $39,003,927 1 Sony
3 Wonder Woman $24,072,825 3,403 $7,074 $354,602,300 5 Warner Bros.
4 Transformers: The Last Knight $24,054,844 4,132 $5,822 $109,158,195 2 Paramount
5 Cars 3 $14,160,696 3,576 $3,960 $125,350,795 3 Disney
6 The House $11,905,080 3,134 $3,799 $11,905,080 1 Warner Bros.
7 47 Meters Down $5,396,301 2,250 $2,398 $34,350,297 3 Entertainment Pictures
8 The Mummy (2017) $4,427,025 1,760 $2,515 $76,143,865 4 Universal
9 The Beguiled (2017) $4,388,547 674 $6,511 $4,707,995 2 Focus Features
10 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales $3,844,235 1,674 $2,296 $166,899,822 6 Disney
11 All Eyez on Me $2,506,519 1,258 $1,992 $43,358,982 3 Lionsgate/Summit
12 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 $2,418,111 966 $2,503 $384,262,086 9 Disney
13 The Big Sick $2,417,398 71 $34,048 $2,973,388 2 Lionsgate
14 Rough Night $1,821,499 1,657 $1,099 $20,887,146 3 Sony
15 Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie $1,652,481 1,452 $1,138 $69,798,274 5 Fox

3-Day Weekend Actuals for Friday, June 30 – Sunday, July 2, 2017:

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Despicable Me 3 $72,434,025 4,529 $15,993 $72,434,025 1 Universal
2 Baby Driver $20,553,320 3,226 $6,371 $29,582,425 1 Sony / TriStar
3 Transformers: The Last Knight $16,880,555 -62% 4,132 63 $4,085 $101,983,906 2 Paramount
4 Wonder Woman $15,706,011 -37% 3,404 -529 $4,614 $346,235,486 5 Warner Bros.
5 Cars 3 $9,689,279 -60% 3,576 -680 $2,710 $120,879,378 3 Disney
6 The House (2017) $9,132,450 3,134 $2,914 $9,132,450 1 Warner Bros. / New Line
7 47 Meters Down $4,517,143 -36% 2,250 -221 $2,008 $32,426,597 3 Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
8 The Mummy $3,013,395 -50% 1,760 -1220 $1,712 $74,730,235 4 Universal
9 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales $2,525,546 -53% 1,674 -779 $1,509 $165,581,133 6 Disney
10 All Eyez On Me $1,824,631 -69% 1,258 -1213 $1,450 $42,677,094 3 Lionsgate / Summit
11 Rough Night $1,275,124 -73% 1,657 -1505 $770 $20,340,771 3 Sony
12 Captain Underpants $1,114,612 -74% 1,452 -876 $768 $69,260,405 5 Fox / DreamWorks Animation

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 The Beguiled $3,163,472 1280% 674 670 $4,694 $3,482,920 2 Focus Features
2 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 $1,539,519 -49% 966 -502 $1,594 $383,383,494 9 Disney
3 Beatriz at Dinner $1,057,021 -40% 683 192 $1,548 $4,711,505 4 Roadside Attractions
4 The Hero $839,239 182% 401 320 $2,093 $1,520,586 4 The Orchard
5 Megan Leavey $484,110 -60% 433 -538 $1,118 $11,807,237 4 Bleeker Street
6 The Book Of Henry $270,145 -72% 363 -283 $744 $3,870,052 3 Focus Features
7 Paris Can Wait $263,580 -54% 214 -194 $1,232 $4,704,374 8 Sony Pictures Classics
8 Baywatch $248,335 -67% 196 -284 $1,267 $57,271,082 6 Paramount
9 The Boss Baby $220,587 -33% 215 -26 $1,026 $173,531,392 14 Fox / DreamWorks Animation
10 Alien: Covenant $172,131 -50% 213 -81 $808 $73,653,439 7 Fox
11 The Fate of the Furious $159,825 10% 144 -15 $1,110 $225,450,695 12 Universal
12 It Comes At Night $150,698 -81% 174 -645 $866 $13,536,228 4 A24
13 King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword $120,185 34% 172 39 $699 $38,851,518 8 Warner Bros.
14 Beauty and the Beast $77,493 -48% 156 -35 $497 $503,860,035 16 Disney
15 Snatched $75,173 -32% 143 -30 $526 $45,719,421 8 Fox
16 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul $68,212 -35% 135 -25 $505 $20,478,702 7 20th Century Fox
17 Smurfs: The Lost Village $47,561 -34% 103 -18 $462 $44,820,941 13 Sony / Columbia

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 The Big Sick $1,651,958 292% 71 66 $23,267 $2,208,448 2 Lionsgate
2 Maudie $102,714 16% 23 -5 $4,466 $2,934,974 3 Sony Pictures Classics
3 The Exception $89,848 -30% 48 0 $1,872 $380,998 5 A24
4 The Women’s Balcony $66,223 -29% 28 -6 $2,365 $740,929 18 Menemsha Films
5 My Cousin Rachel $55,216 -72% 61 -102 $905 $2,585,037 4 Fox Searchlight
6 Reset (Ni Shi Ying Jiu) $54,276 20 $2,714 $54,276 1 Well Go USA
7 Gifted $41,403 -25% 56 -20 $739 $24,600,750 13 Fox Searchlight
8 Everything, Everything $40,326 -74% 88 -89 $458 $33,718,252 7 Warner Bros.
9 Going in Style $37,445 -44% 77 -46 $486 $44,944,380 13 Warner Bros. / New Line
10 The Lost City of Z $26,639 158% 50 40 $533 $8,512,896 12 Amazon Studios / Bleecker Street
11 The Bad Batch $25,344 -72% 46 16 $551 $144,418 2 Neon
12 Letters from Baghdad $19,518 -40% 20 2 $976 $171,438 5 Vitagraph Films
13 Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge $18,212 6 $3,035 $18,212 1 Society Films
14 Moka $14,695 4% 3 -4 $4,898 $49,720 3 Film Movement
15 The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography $12,035 3 $4,012 $12,035 1 Neon
16 13 Minutes $11,750 3 $3,917 $11,750 1 Sony Pictures Classics
17 Born in China $11,395 -63% 43 -22 $265 $13,861,554 11 Disneynature
18 Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer $8,961 -39% 33 9 $272 $3,781,893 12 Sony Pictures Classics
19 The Wedding Plan $8,174 -71% 18 -16 $454 $1,372,194 8 Roadside Attractions
20 Your Name. $7,505 -20% 9 0 $834 $5,000,181 13 FUNimation Entertainment
21 Love, Kennedy $7,411 -33% 7 -3 $1,059 $224,954 5 Purdie Distribution
22 The Ornithologist $7,365 20% 5 3 $1,473 $18,012 2 Strand Releasing
23 Le Trou $6,756 1 $6,756 $8,950 1 Rialto Pictures
24 Dawson City: Frozen Time $6,656 -36% 6 0 $1,109 $59,266 4 Kino Lorber Films
25 The Lovers $5,480 -21% 10 -5 $548 $2,179,191 9 A24
26 Stalker $5,211 -34% 3 -1 $1,737 $206,888 9 Janus
27 Obit. $4,637 -44% 10 0 $464 $295,309 10 Kino Lorber
28 A Quiet Passion $4,242 -80% 7 -27 $606 $1,855,666 12 Music Box Films
29 Il Boom $3,744 -42% 1 0 $3,744 $29,006 3 Rialto Pictures
30 In Pursuit of Silence $3,624 -30% 1 0 $3,624 $10,569 2 Cinema Guild
31 Pop Aye $3,598 1 $3,598 $12,300 1 Kino Lorber
32 Manifesto $3,577 -73% 6 -4 $596 $120,946 8 FilmRise
33 Logan $3,208 -44% 11 -11 $292 $226,273,160 18 Fox
34 All the Rage (Saved by Sarno) $2,910 -70% 1 0 $2,910 $15,926 2 The Film Collaborative
35 Like Crazy $1,823 32% 5 2 $365 $104,383 9 Strand Releasing
36 Colossal $1,783 369% 4 -3 $446 $3,027,086 13 Neon
37 The Death of Louis XIV $1,417 1 $1,417 $41,938 14 Cinema Guild
38 Slack Bay $1,282 29% 3 -3 $427 $57,773 11 Kino Lorber Films
39 Starless Dreams $1,161 1 $1,161 $5,937 24 Cinema Guild
40 Donnie Darko (15th Anniversary Re-Release) $1,132 1 $1,132 $202,279 14 Arrow Films
41 The Skyjacker’s Tale $1,097 1 $1,097 $1,097 1 Strand Releasing
42 Risk $756 68% 2 1 $378 $200,075 9 Neon
43 Harmonium $665 -77% 1 -2 $665 $10,267 3 Film Movement
44 Hermia & Helena $558 2 $279 $35,371 6 Kino Lorber
45 Afterimage $496 147% 1 0 $496 $30,589 7 Film Movement
46 Buster’s Mal Heart $444 72% 1 0 $444 $72,082 10 Well Go USA
47 2:22 $294 1 $294 $294 1 Magnolia Pictures
48 Glory $252 3% 1 0 $252 $17,945 12 Film Movement
49 Scum $175 -66% 1 0 $175 $3,936 3 Kino Lorber
50 Soul on a String $74 1 $74 $3,629 7 Film Movement
51 Champion $64 -98% 1 -3 $64 $174,978 7 ArtAffects Entertainment

Studio 3-Day Weekend Estimates for Friday, June 30 – Sunday, July 2, 2017:

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Despicable Me 3 $75,410,275 4,529 $16,651 $75,410,275 1 Universal
2 Baby Driver $21,000,000 3,226 $6,510 $30,029,105 1 Sony / TriStar
3 Transformers: The Last Knight $17,000,000 -62% 4,132 63 $4,114 $102,103,351 2 Paramount
4 Wonder Woman $15,575,000 -37% 3,404 -529 $4,575 $346,104,475 5 Warner Bros.
5 Cars 3 $9,524,000 -60% 3,576 -680 $2,663 $120,714,099 3 Disney
6 The House (2017) $9,000,000 3,134 $2,872 $9,000,000 1 Warner Bros. / New Line
7 47 Meters Down $4,682,000 -34% 2,250 -221 $2,081 $32,591,454 3 Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
8 The Mummy $2,785,260 -54% 1,760 -1220 $1,583 $74,502,100 4 Universal
9 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales $2,411,000 -55% 1,674 -779 $1,440 $165,466,587 6 Disney
10 All Eyez On Me $1,880,000 -68% 1,258 -1213 $1,494 $42,732,463 3 Lionsgate / Summit
11 Captain Underpants $1,225,000 -71% 1,452 -876 $844 $69,370,793 5 Fox / DreamWorks Animation

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 The Beguiled $3,259,740 1322% 674 670 $4,836 $3,579,188 2 Focus Features
2 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 $1,430,000 -53% 966 -502 $1,480 $383,273,975 9 Disney
3 Beatriz at Dinner $1,119,380 -36% 683 192 $1,639 $4,773,864 4 Roadside Attractions
4 The Hero $920,315 209% 401 320 $2,295 $1,601,662 4 The Orchard
5 Megan Leavey $441,376 -64% 433 -538 $1,019 $11,764,503 4 Bleeker Street
6 The Book Of Henry $270,545 -71% 363 -283 $745 $3,870,452 3 Focus Features
7 Paris Can Wait $269,498 -53% 214 -194 $1,259 $4,710,292 8 Sony Pictures Classics
8 The Boss Baby $230,000 -30% 215 -26 $1,070 $173,540,805 14 Fox / DreamWorks Animation
9 Baywatch $225,000 -70% 196 -284 $1,148 $57,247,747 6 Paramount
10 Alien: Covenant $175,000 -49% 213 -81 $822 $73,656,308 7 Fox
11 It Comes At Night $161,790 -80% 174 -645 $930 $13,547,320 4 A24
12 The Fate of the Furious $139,030 -4% 144 -15 $965 $225,429,900 12 Universal
13 Beauty and the Beast $79,000 -47% 156 -35 $506 $503,861,542 16 Disney

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 The Big Sick $1,672,200 297% 71 66 $23,552 $2,228,690 2 Lionsgate
2 The Exception $101,904 -20% 48 0 $2,123 $393,054 5 A24
3 Maudie $98,581 11% 32 4 $3,081 $2,930,841 3 Sony Pictures Classics
4 The Little Hours $61,560 2 $30,780 $61,560 1 Gunpowder & Sky
5 My Cousin Rachel $55,000 -72% 61 -102 $902 $2,584,821 4 Fox Searchlight
6 Churchill $29,745 -58% 26 -29 $1,144 $1,181,463 5 Cohen Media Group
7 The Bad Batch $27,736 -69% 46 16 $603 $146,810 2 Neon
8 Score: A Film Music Documentary $20,698 2 $10,349 $35,786 3 Gravitas Ventures
9 Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge $18,212 6 $3,035 $18,212 1 Big World Pictures
10 Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary $14,762 -24% 7 0 $2,109 $363,031 12 Abramorama
11 13 Minutes $12,612 3 $4,204 $12,612 1 Sony Pictures Classics
12 The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography $12,078 3 $4,026 $12,078 1 Neon
13 Born in China $11,000 -64% 43 -22 $256 $13,861,159 11 Disneynature
14 Love, Kennedy $7,346 -34% 8 -2 $918 $224,889 5 Purdie Distribution
15 Maurice (2017 re-release) $4,084 57% 4 1 $1,021 $45,926 7 Cohen Media Group
16 Manifesto $3,000 -78% 6 -4 $500 $120,369 8 FilmRise
17 Food Evolution $2,744 -4% 2 1 $1,372 $7,057 2 Abramorama
18 Colossal $1,831 382% 4 -3 $458 $3,027,134 13 Neon
19 Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan $1,534 -76% 2 -3 $767 $129,143 6 Abramorama
20 Hare Krishna! $1,011 -87% 2 0 $506 $43,430 3 Abramorama
21 Risk $756 68% 2 1 $378 $756 9 Neon

 

 

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