Monday Update: The new Godzilla film won the weekend, as the Warner Bros. fantasy action sequel, subtitled King of the Monsters, earned $47.7M. While good for first place, it was significantly behind its 2014 predecessor Godzilla which started with $93.1M.

Last weekend’s leader, Disney’s musical Aladdin, fell -53.2% to $42.8M for the runner-up slot. That’s a steeper sophomore frame drop than other Disney live action remakes including Beauty and the Beast at -48.3%, The Jungle Book at -40.4%, Alice in Wonderland at -46.0%, or Maleficent at -50.6%.

Paramount’s music drama, the Elton John biopic Rocketman, began in third place with $25.7M. That was below most pre-release expectations, and only a little more than half the $51.0M start of last year’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

Universal’s horror Ma opened in fourth place with $18.0M.

Comparisons

Total box office this weekend was $173.8M.

That’s -4.1% below last weekend but +62.8% above this same weekend last year, when Solo: A Star Wars Story led for a second frame with $29.3M.

Year-to-date box office stands at $4.62B. That’s -7.5% behind this same date last year, up from -9.0% after last weekend.

Most analysts are still predicting 2019’s box office to ultimately beat 2018’s, on the strength of this year’s anticipated strong upcoming slate of films, especially sequels.

Demographics

The audience demographics for Godzilla: King of the Monsters on its opening weekend were 59.3% male and 62.6% over age 25.

The audience demographics for Rocketman on its opening weekend were 51.0% female and 86.0% over age 25.

Studio estimates of the audience demographics for Ma on its opening weekend were 53% female and 53% over age 25.

Among films in the top 10, with the caveat that demographics numbers for Brightburn and Booksmart were not yet available:

The most male audience in this weekend’s top 10 was John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum at 65.9%, while the most female audience was The Hustle at 62.6%. (It’s unclear whether the female-geared Booksmart exceeded that number.)

The most under-25 audience in this weekend’s top 10 was Pokemon: Detective Pikachu at 57.1%, while the most over-25 audience was Rocketman at 86.0%.

A full demographic breakdown of the top 30 movies this weekend, courtesy of BoxofficeProfile by Vertigo, is below. (Click to expand.)

Weekend Actuals (Domestic)

FRI, MAY. 31 – SUN, JUN. 2

Sunday Update: The summer box office continued heating up this weekend with the arrival of three major new releases, though only one managed to steal the crown from last weekend’s champ Aladdin. That title, predictably, was Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which took in an estimated $49 million in its opening frame. Meanwhile, the weekend’s other two wide newcomers — Rocketman and Ma — also managed healthy debuts in successful feats of counter-programming. 

Opening ultra-wide in 4,108 locations, Godzilla: King of the Monsters debuted on the more conservative end of expectations this weekend, hobbled by lukewarm reviews (its Rotten Tomatoes average is just 40%) and the somewhat tepid audience reaction to its predecessor Godzilla, which opened to a gargantuan $93.1 million in May 2014 before declining rapidly due to poor word-of-mouth. King of the Monsters is actually the third film in Warner Bros./Legendary’s ongoing “MonsterVerse” franchise, following on the heels of 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, a reboot of the silver screen’s other giant monster King Kong. That film debuted with a better $61 million, giving King of the Monsters the lowest debut in the franchise to date despite opening on the largest number of screens.

That said, King of the Monsters seems to be playing well with its target demo of older males, as the film’s opening-weekend audience consisted of 67% men and 59% moviegoers over the age of 35. Despite not being a favorite of critics, the sequel’s Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score currently stands at an impressive 87%— better than either Kong: Skull Island (69%) or Godzilla (66%)—while its “B+” CinemaScore is identical to those films. Word-of-mouth will clearly be a factor in how King of the Monsters holds up moving forward, though tentpole competition looks to be reasonably fierce over the next couple of weekends, with the release of the X-Men installment Dark Phoenix (June 7) and the franchise reboot Men in Black: International (June 14).

Falling to second place in weekend number two was Disney’s Aladdin, which dropped 53% to an estimated $42.3 million after debuting to an impressive $91.5 million last weekend. Among Disney live-action remakes, that counts as the second-steepest sophomore drop after this year’s Dumbo (60%), though, as we’ve mentioned previously, some of that can be attributed to the heavy loss of PLF screens this weekend. Luckily, Aladdin had the family audience mostly to itself in its second go-round, and it now stands at a superb $185 million as it faces down the release of next weekend’s animated sequel The Secret Life of Pets 2.

Dancing into third place was Paramount’s Elton John musical biopic Rocketman, which opened to an estimated $25 million from 3,610 locations (including $580K from a Fandango preview event held on May 18). While that’s far short of last year’s mega-hit Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody ($51 million opening), it’s nonetheless a healthy debut, particularly considering that it came with a more-restrictive R rating (versus Bohemian Rhapsody’s PG-13). Also unlike Rhapsody, the musical fantasy based on the life of Elton John benefitted from largely positive reviews (it’s at 90% on Rotten Tomatoes). It also held strong appeal with older moviegoers and women specifically.

That appeal with the over-35 demo could be predictive of how Rocketman holds up in subsequent weekends. This one certainly has the potential to demonstrate stronger-than-average legs, as older audiences have less of a tendency to rush out on opening weekend—meaning a significant segment of moviegoers who intend to see the film simply haven’t made it out to the theater yet. It could also benefit from strong word-of-mouth based on its Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score (88%) and solid “A-“ CinemaScore.

The weekend’s final wide release, Universal’s Octavia Spencer horror film Ma, debuted in fourth place with an estimated $18.26 million, which counts as a healthy opening for the reported $5 million Blumhouse title. Among recent releases from the genre-movie powerhouse, its debut was roughly in line with last year’s Truth or Dare, which opened to $18.6 million on its way to a $41.1 million total. Ma received a mixed response from critics (its Rotten Tomatoes score is a barely-fresh 61%), while audiences seem to be roughly of the same mind based on its “B-“ CinemaScore and 68% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score. Luckily, the film’s aggressive marketing campaign went a long way in selling this as a must-see event for horror fans this weekend, particularly with a dearth of similar fare in theaters currently.

Falling to fifth place was John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, which dropped 55% to an estimated $11.1 million in weekend number three. The Lionsgate action film now boasts a robust $125.7 million, a marked improvement over the two previous films in a series that has expanded its audience in impressive fashion with each new entry.

Avengers: Endgame finished in sixth place with an estimated $7.8 million, bringing the total for the Disney/Marvel blockbuster to a jaw-dropping $815.5 million after six weeks in theaters. The film is now and will remain the second highest-grossing domestic release of all time after Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

In seventh, POKÉMON Detective Pikachu brought in an estimated $6.66 million, giving the Warner Bros. release $130.6 million after four weeks. That’s a decent-if-not-spectacular total, though this one has notably brought in twice the amount of business overseas.

Following a disappointing three-day opening of just $6.9 million last weekend, the teens-on-the-loose comedy Booksmart fell 47% to eighth place with an estimated $3.7 million, bringing the total for the United Artists release to $14.7 million after ten days. Despite fantastic reviews and a much-buzzed-about opening at SXSW, the Olivia Wilde-directed romp simply hasn’t caught on with moviegoers; on the bright side, it seems destined to fare considerably better in its post-theatrical life.

Tumbling a steep 70% to ninth place was last weekend’s superhero/horror flick Brightburn, which brought in an estimated $2.31 million in its sophomore frame and now has $14.2 million after ten days. Rounding out the Top 10, the Anne Hathaway-Rebel Wilson comedy The Hustle brought in an estimated $1.38 million, giving the United Artists release $33.2 million after four weeks.

Overseas Update:

Godzilla: King of the Monsters debuted with an estimated $130 million in 75 international markets, bringing its global opening tally to $179 million. The film enjoyed its most impressive numbers in China, where it brought in an estimated $70 million, while it tallied an estimated $8.4 million in its title monster’s native Japan. 

After earning $4 million in its debut frame in the U.K. last weekend, Rocketman opened in 39 new markets and grossed an estimated $19.2 million, lifting its international cume to $31.2 million and its global total to $56.2 million.

Aladdin grossed an estimated $78.3 million overseas in its sophomore frame, bringing its international tally to $260.9 million and its worldwide cume to a fantastic $445.9 million. Notably, the film’s global performance combined with the one-two punch of Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame to lift Disney past the $5 billion mark in worldwide receipts just five months into the year. $1.683 billion of the total comes from North American grosses, while $3.509 billion stems from international markets. That doesn’t account for films released by 20th Century Fox, which Disney assumed control over earlier this year. 

Universal’s The Secret Life of Pets 2 continued its international rollout this weekend with an estimated $17.2 million, including $11.5 million in Russia. Its overseas tally now stands at $28.4 million ahead of its Stateside release on June 7.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum brought in an estimated $12.7 million overseas, bringing its international cume to $95.9 million and its worldwide total to $221.7 million. 

Avengers: Endgame took in an estimated $8.6 million overseas this weekend, lifting its international total to $1.8977 billion and its global cume to $2.7132 billion.

Studio Weekend Estimates (Domestic)

FRI, MAY. 31 – SUN, JUN. 2