Universal’s kid-friendly movie “The Bad Guys” has managed to steal it all for the ages, taking first place at the domestic box office.
The animated comedy raised $24 million from 4,009 North American theaters in its prime, enough to take the crown from “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.” At the end of its second week of release, the final chapter of the pre-made Harry Potter series dropped to third place with $14 million, a worrying mark for Warner Bros. ‘A charming movie franchise.
“The Bad Guys” may have outlasted the competition, but it wasn’t the only newcomer to the movie theater cartridges. “The Northman,” director Robert Eggers’ blood-stained Viking saga, and “The Unbearable Weight of Huge Talent,” a descriptive comedy in which Nicolas Cage plays a fictional version of himself, opened in theaters across the country with varying results. With three original films widely released, this weekend suggests that Hollywood really does still have new ideas — but audiences don’t always want to take a trip to see them.
“The Bad Guys” has a budget of $70 million, so even though the Dreamworks animation hit the box office, it may have to work its way up to profitability on its theatrical run. The international box office will be crucial to getting to the Lions. Already, the film has grossed $63 million overseas, bringing its global tally to $87.1 million. It helps that in addition to the strong reviews, audiences seemed to be running high on the film, which earned CinemaScore an “A” from ticket buyers. Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Anthony Ramos, Craig Robinson and Awkwafina lead the voice cast in “The Bad Guys,” which follows the Krakerjack crew of outlaws as they attempt their most challenging trick yet – becoming model citizens.
The Northman opened in fourth place, bringing in $12 million from 3,865 locations. This is a great result for an art movie, but unfortunately “The Northman” doesn’t fit the budget for an arthouse movie. The film reportedly cost $90 million, although sources close to production say the final figure was closer to $70 million after tax incentives were taken into account. And Focus Properties, which split the cost with New Regency, didn’t skimp on promotional efforts. The Northman features posters of stars Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Bjork and Willem Dafoe in Times Square.
“Reviews are excellent, but with a budget of about $75 million, The Northman will struggle to recover costs,” said David Gross, director of film consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research.
Lionsgate’s “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” took fifth place with $7.1 million, a fluctuating start given its $30 million budget. Directed by Tom Gormican, the goofy-friendly comedy of sorts follows Cage, whose star recedes as a top billionaire (played by Pedro Pascal) who offers him a million dollars to attend a birthday party in the Maldives. When events take a turn, Cage teams up with the CIA and directs his beloved movie characters to save his family from his biggest fan, who could be a dangerous arms dealer.
Despite the backlog of competition, Paramount’s family friendly sequel “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” overtook “Fantastic Beasts 3” and others to drop to second place with $15.2 million from 3,809 places. After three weeks in theaters, the follow-up to “Sonic” grossed $145.8 million. The film is less than $3 million short of surpassing the previous pandemic’s domestic box office gross of $148 million, although 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog likely would have enjoyed much longer on the big screen without COVID-19 spoiling those plans.
More is coming…
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