WEEKEND ESTIMATES: A Quiet Place Part II Sets Pandemic Record in Domestic Debut , Cruella Finishes Second with $20M+ Bow

The summer movie season is here, welcoming mass audiences back to the movies and launching a recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic for the domestic box office. 

The weekend’s debut of Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II and Disney’s Cruella introduced the most important milemarker for the domestic recovery effort since Tenet’s release in September 2020. This time around, however, the results are significantly more upbeat. 

The domestic launch of A Quiet Place Part II set a new pandemic benchmark with an estimated $48.3 million three-day haul from 3,726 screens. The four-day figure, which spans the length of the Memorial Day weekend, is estimated to come in at $58.5 million. The film recorded the highest domestic debut for IMAX since January 2020 with an estimated $4.1 million three-day and $5 million four-day contribution from the premium format. 

The tally represents the biggest opening weekend of the pandemic by a considerable margin, eclipsing Warner Bros.’ Godzilla vs. Kong three-day bow of $31.6 million, four-day take of $34.1 million, and six-day opening week haul of $50.2 million from 3,064 screens. Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II is playing exclusively at cinemas for a 45-day period, whereas Godzilla vs. Kong opened simultaneously on HBO Max at no additional cost to subscribers.

A Quiet Place Part II’s domestic debut came in just 3 percent shy of its predecessor’s opening numbers: A Quiet Place launched to $50.2 million from 3,508 screens over a three-day frame in April 2018. The sequel is expected to overtake the original’s $54.3 million haul over the first four days of release. 

A Quiet Place Part II earned $22 million in its initial set of markets overseas, representing 30 percent of its international rollout. It opened in third place in China with $14.9 million from 10,212 locations. Other leading markets at this point in release include first place finishes in Australia ($4M), Indonesia ($1.5M), New Zealand ($790k), and Ukraine ($315k). The sequel is set to open in Russia and the UK next weekend. Key markets on the schedule include Mexico (June 11); France and South Korea (June 16); Japan and Spain (June 18); Italy and Germany (June 24); and Brazil (July 23). 

In second place, Disney’s Cruella is estimated to finish its three-day domestic debut with $21.3 million from 3,892 locations. The four-day holiday weekend figure is tracking to come in at $26.5 million. The studio is reporting an A CinemaScore for Cruella with audience demographics leaning 64 percent female and a 4.5 out of 5 star rating from ComScore PostTrack polling. 

Cruella’s box office was undoubtedly impacted by the studio’s decision to release the film simultaneously on its streaming platform, Disney+, as a premium rental. The weekend result is a considerable improvement over Disney’s previous day-and-date PVOD release during the pandemic, Raya and the Last Dragon. That title opened to $8.5 million from 2,045 screens in March, a disappointing result exacerbated by the decision from several top circuits to pass on the film.

Cruella opened on par with Disney’s lowest-performing live action adaptation from recent years, 2016’s Pete’s Dragon. That film opened to $21.5 million from 3,70s screens en route to a $76.2 million domestic run. On a wider scale, Cruella opened below Disney’s prior live action iteration of the series, 1996’s 101 Dalmatians, which premiered to $33.5 million from 2,794 screens en route to a $136 million domestic run. It is performing on par with that title’s sequel, 102 Dalmatians, which opened to $19.8 million in the year 2000 and ended its run at $66.9 million. 

Cruella added $16.9 million from 29 overseas markets to hit a $37 million three-day global debut. Mexico led the international rollout with a $2.6 million first place finish, taking nearly two-thirds of the weekend’s market share and registering the country’s second biggest pandemic debut behind Godzilla vs. Kong. Other top markets include South Korea ($2.5M), the UK ($2.2M), and Australia ($1.3M). As is the case in the United States, Cruella is available as a PVOD rental in markets where Disney+ is available. The film will expand to China, Russia, Greece, Israel, Slovakia, Netherlands, and Chile next weekend. 

Cruella faced stiff competition from Universal’s F9 in overlapping markets, finishing behind the action movie in South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Despite coming out on top in those markets, F9’s overseas momentum slowed significantly from last week’s strong debut due to an 85 percent drop over its sophomore frame in China. F9 earned $20.7 million from 11,112 locations in China, lifting its running total in the country to $185.3 million. 

None of the other 7 markets where F9 is currently in release experienced as steep a drop. The film’s second weekend brought in $3.7 million from South Korea (-42%, $15.2M total), $2.8 million Russia (-59%, $13.3M total), $1.4M from Saudi Arabia (-46%, $5.4M total), and $1 million from the United Arab Emirates (-62%, $4.2M total). F9’s next major market is Australia, where it is scheduled to open on June 17. 

Warner Bros. opened The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It in two overseas markets this weekend, including a $3.8 million first place finish from 975 screens in the United Kingdom. Sony/Columbia’s Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway dropped to second place in its sophomore frame in the UK. The family title earned $3.2 million from UK theaters, reaching a market cume of $10.8 million. The film added $4.6 million from an additional 11 markets to hit $36.8 million worldwide ahead of its June 11 debut in North America. 

Studio 3-Day Weekend Estimates: May 28-30, 2021