Monday Update: It’s been a rough month for sequels and reboots, and this weekend was no exception. Sony’s reboot Men in Black: International opened below expectations with $30.0M, while Warner Bros.’ sequel Shaft started at about half its projection with $8.9M.

This follows last weekend’s two main new releases, X-men sequel Dark Phoenix and The Secret Life of Pets 2, which both started below expectations as well.

In fact, Dark Phoenix this frame had the eighth-steepest sophomore weekend drop for a film playing in at least 3,000 theaters, falling -71.5%.

Amazon Studios’ Late Night was a bright spot this weekend, opening on the higher end of expectations with $5.2M in ninth place.

Comparisons

Total box office this weekend was $135.8M.

That’s -18.0% below last weekend and -49.9% above this same weekend last year, when Incredibles 2 led with $182.6M. (Pixar’s next release Toy Story 4 comes out next weekend.)

Year-to-date box office stands at $5.08B. That’s -6.9% behind this same date last year, down from -5.8% 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.

Weekend Actuals (Domestic)

FRI, JUN. 14 – SUN, JUN. 16

Sunday Update: The string of Summer 2019 underperformers continued at the box office over Father’s Day weekend, with newcomers Men in Black: International, Shaft and Late Night all stumbling in their respective debuts. The most notable disappointment was Men in Black, which brought in an estimated $28.5 million from a whopping 4,224 locations, far below what previous installments in the long-running series managed. The overall result represented a nosedive from the same frame last year, when the Top 10 brought in a combined $258.5 million on the strength of the record $182.6 million debut of Disney/Pixar’s Incredibles 2. Of course, next weekend’s debut of the sure-to-be-massive Toy Story 4 should help remedy that. 

Despite debuting in first place, Men in Black: International managed roughly half of what the three previous films in the franchise did in their respective openings, making this the lowest debut weekend of the long-running series to date. When adjusting for inflation, the result is even starker, as the first Men in Black’s $51 million opening in July 1997 would translate to roughly $81 million in 2018 dollars. Of course, this is the first film in the series not to feature original stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones — instead featuring Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth — which may very well have impacted turnout.

Fortunately the reported budget on Men in Black: International is $110 million, roughly half of MIB 3’s $225 million price tag. The latter film did over 2/3 of its business overseas, and Sony is clearly hoping for the same kind of ratio here given its underwhelming debut Stateside. Notably, the Rotten Tomatoes score for this one is just 24% — even worse than the 39% average of 2002’s poorly-received Men in Black II — while the CinemaScore from opening-day audiences was a so-so “B.” 

In second place, Universal’s The Secret Life of Pets 2 brought in an estimated $23.8 million in weekend number two. That’s a drop of ?% from its disappointing $46.6 million debut last weekend, roughly the same as the first film’s 51.3%. The sequel now has $92 million after ten days and will likely be all but obliterated by next weekend’s highly-anticipated Toy Story 4.

Still strong in third place was Disney’s Aladdin, which grossed an estimated $16.7 million in its fourth weekend of release – a drop of just 32% from last weekend’s total. The family release now has $263.4 million to date.

Disney’s release of Fox’s Dark Phoenix crumbled in its sophomore frame due to poor word-of-mouth, plummeting 72% to an estimated $9 million for $51.8 million after ten days. The final film in Fox’s main X-Men series cost a reported $200 million, making this one of the most costly disappointments of the year to date.

Holding steady in fifth place was Paramount’s Rocketman, which enjoyed another strong hold in its third weekend with an estimated $8.8 million, representing a dip of just 36%. The Elton John musical biopic, which seems to be benefitting from strong word of mouth, now has a very good $66.1 million to date.

Warner Bros.’ Shaft brought in an estimated $8.3 million in sixth place, which counts as a disappointing result for the action-comedy reboot. The film’s 35% Rotten Tomatoes average certainly didn’t help matters, though moviegoers who did turn out seem to have enjoyed it, with the sequel/reboot garnering an “A” CinemaScore and a Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score of 92%. Notably, the last film in the series, 2000’s Shaft starring Samuel L. Jackson (who returns in the new installment along with original Shaft star Richard Roundtree), brought in a much-better $21.7 million (roughly $37 million adjusted for inflation) over Father’s Day weekend 19 years ago.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters leveled out a bit after last weekend’s near-70% decline with an estimated $8.1 million in seventh place, a drop of 45% from last weekend’s total. The total for the Warner Bros. monster flick now stands at $93.6 million after seventeen days of release.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum continued strong in its fifth weekend, dropping a tiny 18% weekend-over-weekend with an estimated $6.1 million in eighth place. The Lionsgate threequel has an excellent $148.6 million in the bank through Sunday.

The weekend’s final wide opener, the well-reviewed Mindy Kaling-Emma Thompson comedy Late Night, grossed an estimated $5.1 million in ninth place after bringing in $246K from just four screens last weekend. That’s not a great result for the film, which Amazon Studios picked up for a record-breaking $13 million at the Sundance Film Festival. The total for the workplace comedy now stands at $5.4 million. 

Finally, in tenth, Universal’s Ma brought in an estimated $3.6 million for a total of $40.3 million to date. It’s worth mentioning that the horror film just barely edged out Avengers: Endgame ($3.5 million), which fell out of the Top 10 for the first time since hitting theaters on April 26. The Disney/Marvel epic now has $830.4 million in North America.

Limited Release:

Focus Features’ star-studded zombie comedy The Dead Don’t Die brought in an estimated $2.4 million from 613 locations, giving the film an okay per-screen average of $3,834. 

Overseas Update:

Men in Black: International grossed an estimated $73.7 million from 56 overseas markets, bringing its global opening tally to $102.2 million including $26.3 million from China.

Aladdin brought in an estimated $47.5 million internationally this weekend, bringing its overseas total to $461.4 million and its worldwide tally to $724.8 million. Top markets for the Disney release include China ($51.7 million), the U.K. ($38.3 million) and Korea ($38.1 million). 

Dark Phoenix grossed an estimated $24.2 million overseas, bringing its international total to $152.5 million (including $55.4 million in China) and its global tally to $204.3 million. 

Godzilla: King of the Monsters grossed $14.1 million in 79 markets, bringing its overseas cume to $245.8 million and its worldwide total to $339.5 million. That includes $123.2 million in China and $20 million in the title character’s native Japan. 

Studio Weekend Estimates (Domestic)

FRI, JUN. 14 – SUN, JUN. 16