Weekend Actuals: LEGO Movie 2 Underperforms w/ $34.1M; What Men Want Laughs Up $18.2M; Cold Pursuit Chases Down $11.0M

Monday Update: After the lowest grossing January in years, February looks unlikely to turn things around immediately, as the month’s expected biggest release The LEGO Movie 2 opened to $34.1M, about $20M below expectations.

Warner Bros.’ animated sequel started -50.5% behind The LEGO Movie and -35.6% below The LEGO Batman Movie.

Paramount’s romantic comedy What Men Want debuted in second place with $18.2M, or -45.7% behind 2000’s original What Men Want. Lionsgate’s action drama Cold Pursuit began in third place with $11.0M. Both were on the lower end of expectations, but about in line with forecasts.

Elsewhere at the box office, Orion Pictures’ horror film The Prodigy took sixth place with a $5.8M start, while Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Aquaman spent their ninth and eighth weekends in the top 10, respectively.

Comparisons

Total box office this weekend was $114.3M.

That’s +55.4% above last weekend but -19.2% behind this same weekend last year, when Fifty Shades Freed led with $38.5M.

Year-to-date box office stands at $1.02B. That’s -14.5% behind this same date last year, up from -15.8% after last weekend.

Demographics

Among films in this weekend’s top 10, audience demographics by Vertigo for Cold Pursuit and The Prodigy were not yet available.

The audience for The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part in its opening weekend on top was 65.2% male and 49.5% under age 25.

The audience for What Men Want in its opening weekend on top was 66.5% female and 88.4% over age 25.

The most male audience in this weekend’s top 10 was The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part at 65.2%, while the most female audience was What Men Want at 66.5%.

The most under-25 audience in this weekend’s top 10 was Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse at 57.2%, while the most over-25 audience was Green Book at 92.9%.

A full demographic breakdown of the top 30 movies this weekend, courtesy of BoxofficeProfile by Vertigo, is below:


Monday’s Weekend Actuals (Domestic)

FRI, FEB. 8 – SUN, FEB. 10

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part $34,115,335 4,303 $7,928 $34,115,335 3 Warner Bros.
2 What Men Want $18,232,087 2,912 $6,261 $18,232,087 1 Paramount
3 Cold Pursuit $11,030,233 2,630 $4,194 $11,030,233 1 Lionsgate / Summit
4 The Upside $7,082,763 -18% 3,372 -196 $2,100 $85,663,129 5 STX Entertainment
5 Glass $6,279,655 -34% 3,254 -411 $1,930 $98,334,235 4 Universal
6 The Prodigy $5,853,061 2,530 $2,313 $5,853,061 1 Orion Pictures
7 Green Book $3,443,975 -21% 2,149 -499 $1,603 $61,378,751 13 Universal Pictures
8 Aquaman $3,201,653 -34% 2,202 -724 $1,454 $328,448,695 9 Warner Bros.
9 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse $3,043,626 -33% 1,726 -508 $1,763 $179,825,253 9 Sony / Columbia
10 Miss Bala $2,745,129 -60% 2,203 0 $1,246 $11,885,225 2 Sony Pictures
11 A Dog’s Way Home $1,958,714 -46% 2,009 -953 $975 $38,936,733 5 Sony Pictures
12 Escape Room $1,577,360 -46% 1,339 -603 $1,178 $54,617,593 6 Sony Pictures
13 The Kid Who Would Be King $1,450,604 -66% 1,846 -1682 $786 $15,665,409 3 20th Century Fox

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 They Shall Not Grow Old $1,707,803 -30% 827 92 $2,065 $13,600,319 8 Warner Bros.
2 Bohemian Rhapsody $1,301,745 -28% 839 -525 $1,552 $210,566,177 15 20th Century Fox
3 The 2019 Oscar Nominated Short Films $938,455 270 $3,476 $938,455 1  
4 Bumblebee $867,632 -55% 976 -805 $889 $125,773,102 8 Paramount Pictures
5 Mary Poppins Returns $830,005 -59% 842 -862 $986 $169,763,349 8 Disney
6 The Favourite $814,423 -48% 605 -949 $1,346 $30,214,464 12 Fox Searchlight
7 Vice $651,309 -43% 707 -630 $921 $45,221,362 7 Annapurna
8 A Star is Born $545,722 -39% 456 -496 $1,197 $208,731,591 19 Warner Bros.
9 Cold War $520,694 -1% 270 53 $1,928 $2,902,394 8 Amazon Studios
10 On The Basis Of Sex $485,215 -54% 416 -501 $1,166 $23,801,962 7 Focus Features
11 The Mule $451,337 -50% 503 -548 $897 $102,604,241 9 Warner Bros.
12 Stan & Ollie $430,368 -43% 352 -402 $1,223 $4,303,334 7 Sony Pictures Classics
13 Ralph Breaks the Internet $341,929 -55% 398 -397 $859 $197,572,913 12 Disney
14 If Beale Street Could Talk $271,434 -44% 266 -188 $1,020 $13,766,841 9 Annapurna
15 Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga $248,883 -59% 192 -1 $1,296 $1,039,478 2 FIP
16 Serenity $121,025 -93% 283 -2278 $428 $8,442,639 3 Aviron Pictures
17 Can You Ever Forgive Me? $100,074 -47% 103 -113 $972 $8,543,946 17 Fox Searchlight
18 Destroyer $82,180 -67% 144 -91 $571 $1,455,487 7 Annapurna Pictures
19 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald $74,902 -31% 149 -40 $503 $159,437,533 13 Warner Bros.
20 Second Act $73,040 -83% 127 -1123 $575 $39,206,384 9 STX Entertainment
21 Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch $66,610 -19% 110 -25 $606 $270,601,570 14 Universal

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Uri: The Surgical Strike $249,302 -60% 86 -46 $2,899 $4,019,057 5 PackYourBag Films
2 Capernaum $142,875 21% 63 16 $2,268 $736,165 9 Sony Pictures Classics
3 The Wife $94,835 -33% 99 -103 $958 $9,095,882 26 Sony Pictures Classics
4 Shoplifters $91,292 -43% 78 -61 $1,170 $2,960,827 12 Magnolia Pictures
5 Arctic $89,922 77% 15 11 $5,995 $156,830 2 Bleecker Street
6 Everybody Knows $71,207 4 $17,802 $71,207 1 Focus Features
7 Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year $66,913 67 $999 $114,108 1 STX Entertainment
8 Creed II $42,831 -30% 69 -36 $621 $115,613,077 12 MGM / Warner Bros
9 Never Look Away $38,825 102% 3 1 $12,942 $107,798 3 Sony Pictures Classics
10 The Invisibles $36,905 3% 18 4 $2,050 $121,333 3 Greenwich Entertainment
11 Holmes and Watson $36,876 90% 71 17 $519 $30,533,061 8 Sony Pictures
12 JONI 75: A Birthday Celebration $35,111 59 $595 $626,710 1 Trafalgar Releasing
13 Perfect Strangers $32,308 -5% 83 46 $389 $1,000,678 5 Lionsgate / Pantelion Films
14 Lords of Chaos $27,649 4 $6,912 $27,649 1 Gunpowder & Sky
15 At Eternity’s Gate $12,730 -53% 18 -21 $707 $2,294,915 13 CBS Films
16 Ben Is Back $11,974 -38% 20 -24 $599 $3,688,316 10 Roadside Attractions / LD Entertainment / Lionsgate
17 The Possession of Hannah Grace $11,676 -47% 25 -13 $467 $14,825,392 11 Sony / Screen Gems
18 Replicas $8,782 -48% 29 -22 $303 $4,037,923 5 Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
19 To Dust $8,496 1 $8,496 $8,496 1 Good Deed Entertainment
20 Widows $7,570 -32% 21 -12 $360 $42,390,464 13 20th Century Fox
21 Who Will Write Our History $6,448 -62% 6 1 $1,075 $75,256 4 Abramorama
22 The Wild Pear Tree $5,677 15% 2 1 $2,839 $14,615 2 Cinema Guild
23 Police Story and Police Story 2 $4,154 -84% 2 -3 $2,077 $44,002 2 Janus Films
24 Under The Eiffel Tower $3,957 11 $360 $3,957 1 The Orchard
25 The Gospel of Eureka $3,517 1 $3,517 $3,517 1 Kino Lorber
26 Canal Street $2,898 -81% 3 -23 $966 $247,843 4 Smith Global Media
27 Hale County This Morning, This Evening $2,796 -65% 3 -5 $932 $89,063 22 Cinema Guild
28 The World Before Your Feet $2,604 3 $868 $214,570 12 Greenwich Entertainment
29 The Image Book $2,248 -71% 4 -2 $562 $57,582 3 Kino Lorber Films
30 The Heiresses $1,940 -16% 1 -2 $1,940 $44,085 4 Distrib Films US
31 Of Fathers and Sons $1,080 29% 4 0 $270 $11,417 12 Kino Lorber
32 La Religieuse $1,066 1 $1,066 $27,605 6 Rialto Pictures
33 Maria By Callas $968 -18% 1 -2 $968 $1,264,409 15 Sony Pictures Classics
34 Becoming Astrid $942 -60% 3 1 $314 $105,146 12 Music Box Films
35 Burning $525 -79% 2 -2 $263 $703,439 16 Well Go USA Entertainment
36 The Bounty Killer $356 -93% 2 -3 $178 $48,091 3 Indican Pictures

Sunday Update: Despite predictions to the contrary, this weekend’s box office fortunes were something of a bust.

Case in point: The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, which took in an estimated $34.4 million in its opening frame, a sharp drop from expectations heading into the weekend. Meanwhile, the other three wide openers – What Men Want, Cold Pursuit, and The Prodigy – debuted to mixed results.

It may have finished in first place, but The LEGO Movie 2‘s opening gross (which doesn’t include $600K from a special pre-release screening back in January) counts as a major disappointment for Warner Bros, which saw the first LEGO Movie debut to an impressive $69 million in 2014. While no one expected the sequel to open quite that high, even the studio’s conservative expectations had the follow-up coming in between $50 and $55 million, or roughly what The LEGO Batman Movie managed in its opening frame back in 2017 ($53 million). Sadly, despite coming in with strong reviews (it currently sits at an 84% “Certified Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and debuting during a non-competitive period for family-oriented films in general, the sequel couldn’t get anywhere close to that range. So what happened?

One possible explanation for LEGO 2‘s underperformance is that fact that the franchise in general has been on a downward trend since the first installment racked up $257.7 million in North America five years ago. Though The LEGO Batman Movie still managed a solid $175.7 million domestic total, The LEGO Ninjago Movie debuted to just $20.4 million in September 2017 and finished with a lackluster $59.2 million domestically, making it the franchise’s first bona fide disappointment. That film also was the first of the series to garner less-than-fawning reviews, finishing with an average of just 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. According to Cinemascore, it was also the least-liked installment among moviegoers, earning a “B+” grade from opening-night audiences (as opposed to an “A” and an “A-” for The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Batman Movie, respectively) and a mere 46% Audience Score on Flixster (versus 87% and 80% for The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Batman Movie).

At the very least, audiences seem to be liking The LEGO Movie 2 considerably more than they did Ninjago. Its Cinemascore is an “A-” while its Flixster Audience Score is an encouraging 84%, meaning those who have seen the film seem to have enjoyed it. If word-of-mouth can overcome apparent burnout from audiences on the LEGO franchise in general, it could enjoy strong legs in the weeks ahead – or at least until the release of Universal’s highly-anticipated animated threequel How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World on February 22. Also on the bright side, it should enjoy a nice boost next weekend thanks to the President’s Day holiday.

Coming in second place was Paramount’s What Men Want, a spiritual sequel to Nancy Meyers’ smash-hit comedy What Women Want starring Mel Gibson. Starring Taraji P. Henson as a woman who can suddenly hear what men are thinking, the film debuted with an estimated $19 million, roughly in line (or perhaps a tad below) expectations. Working in the film’s favor was both Henson’s starpower, a recognizable brand for older audiences (the previous film debuted back in 2000), and a strong appeal with older women, who have been largely neglected so far in terms of the year’s theatrical offerings. While reviews were only so-so (it has a 47% on Rotten Tomatoes), comedies in general tend to be somewhat more critic-proof than other genres (though a “Fresh” score could conceivably have helped the film edge a bit higher). Nonetheless, this is a good-enough debut for a film budgeted at a reported $20 million and a further illustration of Henson’s pull as a leading actress.

Third place went to Lionsgate’s release of Summit Entertainment’s Cold Pursuit, the Liam Neeson actioner about a snowplow driver who seeks revenge against the drug dealers he believes killed his son. With an estimated $10.8 million opening, the film finished roughly in line with expectations this weekend, though its debut certainly fell on the low end of the star’s string of action films over the last decade (Taken 2 being the high point with an opening of $49.5 million back in October 2012). This one finished closer to last year’s The Commuter ($13.7 million opening, $36.3 million final) and 2015’s Run All Night ($11 million opening, $26.4 million final), though with considerably stronger reviews than those last couple of titles, it could conceivably enjoy stronger holds in the coming weeks. Still, in general it’s been a case of diminishing returns for these types of Neeson vehicles since his Taken heyday, with openings in the low teen millions now a far more typical result.

Fourth and fifth went to holdovers The Upside and Glass, which grossed an estimated $7.2 million and $6.4 million, respectively. The Kevin Hart-Bryan Cranston drama posted another strong hold, dipping just 17% from last weekend and now boasting a hefty $85.8 million after five weeks. Glass, meanwhile, dropped four spots after finishing in first over the prior three weekends. The M. Night Shyamlan superhero thriller now stands at $98.5 million after four weeks of release.

Just missing the Top 5 was the weekend’s other new wide release The Prodigy, which took in an estimated $6 million from 2,530 locations in sixth place. The horror film starring Taylor Schilling comes from Orion Pictures, which is still gaining its footing after recently being revived as a standalone brand by its parent company MGM. Given its reported $6 million budget, this certainly isn’t a terrible result for the film, putting it in similar territory to The Possession of Hannah Grace, which debuted with $6.4 million back in November and finished with $14.8 million in North America.

Seventh place went to that old standby Green Book, which eased just 17% to an estimated $3.5 million in its thirteenth weekend of release. The Universal drama and Best Picture nominee currently has $61.5 million in the bank.

Eighth and ninth went to superhero holdovers Aquaman and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which brought in an estimated $3.3 million and $3 million after eight and nine weeks of release, respectively. With $328.5 million, the former title has now officially surpassed the lifetime gross of DCEU stablemate Suicide Squad ($325.1 million total) and will soon surpass Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice‘s $330.3 million total to become the second highest-grossing DCEU title in North America after Wonder Woman ($412.5 million). Spider-Verse, meanwhile, has a robust $179.8 million total.

Rounding out the Top 10 was Sony’s Miss Bala, which tumbled 59% to an estimated $2.7 million in its second weekend of release. The drama-thriller starring Gina Rodriguez now has $11.8 million after ten days.

Overseas Update:

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part brought in an estimated $18 million in 63 overseas markets, giving it a worldwide debut of $52.4 million.

Fox’s Alita: Battle Angel grossed an estimated $32 million in its overseas debut in 11 markets, leading with South Korea at $10.9 million. The James Cameron-produced sci-fi epic opens in North America next weekend and in China on February 22.

Universal’s How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World opened in an additional six markets this weekend and brought in an estimated $38.2 million, bringing its overseas total to $138.7 million ahead of its North American launch on February 22. It opens in China on March 1.


Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates (Domestic)

FRI, FEB. 8 – SUN, FEB. 10

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part $34,400,000 4,303 $7,994 $34,400,000 3 Warner Bros.
2 What Men Want $19,000,000 2,912 $6,525 $19,000,000 1 Paramount
3 Cold Pursuit $10,800,000 2,630 $4,106 $10,800,000 1 Lionsgate / Summit
4 The Upside $7,220,000 -17% 3,372 -196 $2,141 $85,800,366 5 STX Entertainment
5 Glass $6,420,000 -33% 3,254 -411 $1,973 $98,474,580 4 Universal
6 The Prodigy $6,004,403 2,530 $2,373 $6,004,403 1 Orion Pictures
7 Green Book $3,570,000 -18% 2,149 -499 $1,661 $61,504,776 13 Universal Pictures
8 Aquaman $3,300,000 -32% 2,202 -724 $1,499 $328,547,042 9 Warner Bros.
9 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse $3,040,000 -33% 1,726 -508 $1,761 $179,821,627 9 Sony / Columbia
10 Miss Bala $2,725,000 -60% 2,203 0 $1,237 $11,865,096 2 Sony Pictures
11 A Dog’s Way Home $1,950,000 -46% 2,009 -953 $971 $38,928,019 5 Sony Pictures
12 Escape Room $1,650,000 -43% 1,339 -603 $1,232 $54,690,233 6 Sony Pictures
13 The Kid Who Would Be King $1,500,000 -65% 1,846 -1682 $813 $15,714,805 3 20th Century Fox

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 They Shall Not Grow Old $1,670,000 -32% 827 92 $2,019 $13,562,516 8 Warner Bros.
2 Bohemian Rhapsody $1,300,000 -28% 839 -525 $1,549 $210,564,432 15 20th Century Fox
3 Bumblebee $860,000 -55% 976 -805 $881 $125,765,470 8 Paramount Pictures
4 The Favourite $800,000 -49% 605 -949 $1,322 $30,200,041 12 Fox Searchlight
5 Mary Poppins Returns $762,000 -63% 842 -862 $905 $169,695,344 8 Disney
6 Vice $645,657 -43% 707 -630 $913 $45,215,710 7 Annapurna
7 A Star is Born $550,000 -38% 456 -496 $1,206 $208,735,869 19 Warner Bros.
8 Cold War $500,859 -5% 270 53 $1,855 $2,882,559 8 Amazon Studios
9 The Mule $470,000 -48% 503 -548 $934 $102,622,904 9 Warner Bros.
10 Stan & Ollie $450,827 -40% 352 -402 $1,281 $4,323,793 7 Sony Pictures Classics
11 Ralph Breaks the Internet $355,000 -53% 398 -397 $892 $197,585,984 12 Disney
12 Free Solo $307,200 -76% 153 -330 $2,008 $15,915,210 20 National Geographic Entertainment
13 If Beale Street Could Talk $274,477 -44% 266 -188 $1,032 $13,769,884 9 Annapurna
14 Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga $250,000 -59% 193 0 $1,295 $1,040,595 2 FIP
15 Serenity $125,000 -93% 283 -2278 $442 $8,446,614 3 Aviron Pictures
16 Destroyer $77,645 -69% 144 -91 $539 $1,450,952 7 Annapurna Pictures
17 Second Act $70,000 -83% 127 -1123 $551 $39,203,344 9 STX Entertainment

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Capernaum $140,773 19% 63 16 $2,234 $734,063 9 Sony Pictures Classics
2 The Wife $100,015 -29% 99 -103 $1,010 $9,101,062 26 Sony Pictures Classics
3 Arctic $82,619 62% 15 11 $5,508 $149,527 2 Bleecker Street
4 Everybody Knows $75,000 4 $18,750 $75,000 1 Focus Features
5 Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year $70,000 67 $1,045 $70,000 1 STX Entertainment
5 Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year $70,000 67 $1,045 $70,000 1 STX Entertainment
7 Never Look Away $40,465 111% 3 1 $13,488 $109,438 3 Sony Pictures Classics
8 The Invisibles $36,000 0% 18 4 $2,000 $120,428 3 Greenwich Entertainment
9 Perfect Strangers $32,500 -4% 83 46 $392 $1,000,870 5 Lionsgate / Pantelion Films
10 Lords of Chaos $28,086 4 $7,022 $28,086 1 Gunpowder & Sky
11 Replicas $8,400 -50% 29 -22 $290 $4,037,541 5 Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
12 To Dust $8,400 1 $8,400 $8,400 1 Good Deed Entertainment

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