Studio Weekend Estimates: ‘Star Trek Beyond’ Boldly Goes To $59.6M Opening; ‘Secret Life of Pets’ In Second w/ $29.3M; ‘Lights Out’ Lights Up w/ $21.6M; ‘Ice Age: Collision Course’ Freezes w/ $21.0M

Paramount’s Star Trek Beyond explored new worlds this weekend with an estimated $59.60 million opening. The science fiction sequel starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, and Idris Elba topped the box office, ending the five week mini-streak of animated films The Secret Life of Pets and Finding Dory in first place.

Beyond, the third installment in the rebooted Star Trek franchise, opened a bit below both of its predecessors: 15.0 percent below the opening of 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness and 20.7 percent below the opening of 2009’s Star Trek. It also opened slightly below the $60.1 million inflation-adjusted opening weekend of 1998’s Star Trek: First Contact. Still, with a first place finish far ahead of any its competitors, this weekend should still be considered a solid win for the Beyond. The audience for Beyond was 57 percent male, 73 percent over age 25, and received an A- CinemaScore.

Beyond started with $22.26 million on Friday (including $5.5 million from Thursday night showings), declined a negligible 6.8 percent to $20.74 million on Saturday, and dropped another 19.9 percent to $16.60 million on Sunday. This places its opening weekend to Friday ratio at an estimated 2.67 to 1. A bit more front-loaded than the 3.24 for Into Darkness and 2.79 for Star Trek, this suggests that Beyond may not hold up as well in subsequent weeks as its predecessors did after their openings.

Universal’s The Secret Life of Pets came in second place after two weeks on top, declining 42.3 percent to an estimated $29.33 million. The animated film has earned $260.70 million through 17 days, which is 6.0 percent ahead of Inside Out and 29.7 percent ahead of Zootopia through the same points.

Warner Bros.’ Lights Out and Sony’s Ghostbusters battled for third place, as both studios estimated the exact same $21.6 million gross this weekend, with final numbers to be announced Monday. Horror film Lights Out opened this weekend better than many expected. It started with $9.16 million on Friday (including $1.80 million from Thursday night showings), declined 22.4 percent to $7.10 million on Saturday, and dropped another 24.9 percent to $5.33 million on Sunday. This places its opening weekend to Friday ratio at an estimated 2.35 to 1, about in line with the front-loaded nature of most horror movies. The film received a B CinemaScore from an audience that was 54 percent female and 37 percent under age 18.

Ghostbusters dropped 53.1 percent in its second weekend, about in line with what was expected given the inflated buzz for its opening weekend and its mixed reviews. The science fiction comedy reboot has earned $86.85 million through 10 days, which is 11.9 percent and 32.2 percent behind the inflation-adjusted grosses of 1984’s original Ghostbusters and 1989’s Ghostbusters II through the same points.

Fox’s Ice Age: Collision Course failed to heat up with an estimated $21.0 million opening weekend in fifth place, far below the openings for any previous installment in the animated franchise and almost certainly signaling an end to the series. The opening was 54.9 percent behind that of 2012’s Ice Age: Continental Drift and 49.6 percent behind that of 2009’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. The previous four installments had opened to first-, first-, second-, and first-place ranks respectively, so Collision Course opening in fifth place can only be described as a disaster — especially when two of the four films beating it were holdovers instead of new releases.

Disney’s Finding Dory declined 36.0 percent to an estimated $7.22 million and sixth place in its sixth weekend. It’s earned $460.19 million through 38 days, further extending its lead as the highest grossing film of the year domestically, and is running 21.2 percent ahead of Toy Story 3 and 15.6 percent ahead of predecessor Finding Nemo‘s inflation-adjusted gross through the same points.

Quality Flix’s conservative documentary Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party opened to an estimated $3.70 million and ninth place in its first weekend of wide release. Documentaries very rarely crack the weekend top 10, not least during the crowded summer movie season, but positive reviews among Republicans and an election season unlike any other in memory combined to help the movie reach that rare threshold. It actually fell a bit behind the $6.50 million seventh-place wide opening for one of conservative documentarian Dinesh D’Souza previous similar films, 2016: Obama’s America in 2012.

The Film Arcade’s Don’t Think Twice launched with the highest per-screen average of any film released so far this year, with an estimated $90 thousand in only one New York City theater. The comedy written and directed by comedian Mike Birbiglia and starring Keegan-Michael Key beat the year’s previous best per-screen average of Cafe Society‘s five-theater opening just last weekend, and represents the best average since The Revenant‘s four-theater opening last December.

The top 12 films this week made an estimated cumulative $183.37 million, which is 18.0 percent ahead of last weekend and 29.3 percent ahead of the same weekend last year.

Overseas Update:

The Legend of Tarzan made an estimated $44.7 million overseas this weekend, up 93.5 percent, in 61 markets. It’s now earned $145.7 million overseas and $216.5 million global total, led by $27.1 million in China, $11.8 million in Mexico, and $10.5 million in the United Kingdom.

 

Ice Age: Collision Course made an estimated $30.34 million, down 42.8 percent, in 60 markets. It’s now earned $178.99 million overseas and $199.99 million global total, led by $21.3 million in Mexico, $16.7 million in Germany, and $16.2 million in Brazil. (The film had been in release overseas for a few weeks prior to its domestic release this weekend.)

Finding Dory made an estimated $19.5 million overseas weekend, down 46.5 percent, in 45 markets. It’s now earned $321.5 million overseas and $781.7 million global total, led by $38.4 million in China, $35.0 million in Australia, and $28.7 million in Brazil.

Independence Day: Resurgence made an estimated $12.23 million overseas weekend, down 26.4 percent, in 54 markets. It’s now earned $260.30 million overseas and $361.52 million global total.

Now You See Me 2 made an estimated $11.5 million overseas weekend, down 36.6 percent, in 80 markets. It’s now earned $221.6 million overseas and $285.8 million global total, led by $97.1 million in China, $19.3 million in South Korea, and $16.3 million in Russia.

Ghostbusters made an estimated $10.5 million overseas weekend, down 54.9 percent. It’s now earned $36.0 million overseas and $122.8 million global total.

The Secret Life of Pets made an estimated $10.0 million, up more than double, in 14 markets. It’s now earned $63.0 million overseas and $323.7 million global total.

Lights Out opened with $8.3 million in 32 markets, for a $29.9 million global total.

 

Studio Weekend Estimates for Friday, July 22 – Sunday, July 24, 2016:

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Star Trek Beyond $59,600,000 3,928 $15,173 $59,600,000 1 Paramount
2 The Secret Life of Pets $29,330,000 -42% 4,048 -333 $7,246 $260,708,745 3 Universal
3 Ghostbusters (2016) $21,600,000 -53% 3,963 0 $5,450 $86,856,739 2 Sony / Columbia
4 Lights Out $21,600,000 2,818 $7,665 $21,600,000 1 Warner Bros. / New Line
5 Ice Age: Collision Course $21,000,000 3,992 $5,261 $21,000,000 1 Fox
6 Finding Dory $7,220,000 -36% 2,576 -960 $2,803 $460,199,119 6 Disney
7 The Legend of Tarzan $6,430,000 -44% 2,844 -707 $2,261 $115,824,084 4 Warner Bros.
8 Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates $4,400,000 -43% 2,137 -871 $2,059 $40,357,747 3 Fox
9 Hillary’s America – The Secret History of the Democratic Party $3,700,000 4846% 1,217 1214 $3,040 $3,791,524 2 D’Souza EntertainmentQuality Flix
10 The Infiltrator $3,293,840 -38% 1,537 -64 $2,143 $12,239,749 2 Broad Green Pictures
11 Central Intelligence $2,850,000 -47% 1,602 -779 $1,779 $123,168,163 6 Warner Bros. / New Line
12 The Purge: Election Year $2,350,000 -62% 1,701 -970 $1,382 $76,592,220 4 Universal

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Kabali $2,157,621 236 $9,142 $4,083,000 1 CineGalaxyGemini Film Circuit
2 Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie $1,880,000 313 $6,006 $1,880,000 1 Fox Searchlight
3 Independence Day: Resurgence $890,000 -75% 730 -1560 $1,219 $101,214,325 5 Fox
4 The BFG $882,000 -77% 686 -1496 $1,286 $50,825,057 4 Disney / DreamWorks
5 The Shallows $620,000 -79% 513 -1182 $1,209 $53,608,125 5 Sony / Columbia
6 Hunt for the Wilderpeople $584,823 3% 200 45 $2,924 $2,321,933 5 The Orchard
7 Captain Fantastic $572,782 98% 104 68 $5,508 $1,120,046 3 Bleecker Street
8 The Jungle Book (2016) $418,000 -19% 233 -43 $1,794 $361,647,897 15 Disney
9 Now You See Me 2 $305,000 -56% 257 -266 $1,187 $64,287,535 7 Lionsgate / Summit
10 Captain America: Civil War $108,000 -40% 116 -68 $931 $406,794,345 12 Disney
11 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows $105,000 -59% 114 -71 $921 $81,074,883 8 Paramount
12 Warcraft $69,165 -67% 104 -45 $665 $47,158,090 7 Universal

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Cafe Society $875,000 144% 50 45 $17,500 $1,377,379 2 Lionsgate / Amazon
2 Train To Busan $285,900 27 $10,589 $285,900 1 Inc. Well Go USA
3 The Innocents $127,000 -26% 61 -8 $2,082 $614,138 4 Music Box Films
4 Love & Friendship $121,875 -37% 88 -52 $1,385 $13,690,574 11 Roadside / Amazon
5 The Lobster $103,984 -37% 67 -34 $1,552 $8,854,962 18 A24
6 Swiss Army Man $98,334 -62% 81 -147 $1,214 $4,005,153 5 A24
7 Our Kind of Traitor $96,800 -68% 88 -174 $1,100 $3,023,777 4 Roadside Attractions
8 Don’t Think Twice $90,126 1 $90,126 $90,126 1 The Film Arcade
9 The Music of Strangers $80,168 -26% 81 -1 $990 $908,132 7
10 Maggie’s Plan $55,574 -56% 62 -65 $896 $3,237,562 10 Sony Pictures Classics
11 Alice Through the Looking Glass $51,000 -48% 78 -29 $654 $76,461,381 9 Disney
12 Our Little Sister $44,514 32% 20 11 $2,226 $133,803 3 Sony Pictures Classics
13 Cold War 2 $44,200 -57% 7 -16 $6,314 $452,982 3 Well Go USA
14 Zootopia $37,000 -46% 84 -47 $440 $341,233,778 21 Disney
15 Genius $24,500 -34% 30 -21 $817 $1,330,904 7 Roadside Attractions
16 Life, Animated $23,112 -21% 25 6 $924 $129,886 4 The Orchard
17 The Seventh Fire $8,418 1 $8,418 $8,418 1 Kino Lorber
18 Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You $7,500 -41% 4 1 $1,875 $47,702 3 Music Box Films
19 Phantom Boy $2,727 -37% 2 1 $1,364 $8,496 2 GKIDS
20 The Witness (2016) $2,500 7% 3 -2 $833 $136,095 8 FilmRise

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