--It was a great weekend to be Universal, as they held the Top 3 spots at the box office. Of course, F9 repeated itself at #1, down 66% to $24 million ($32.8 million including Monday), for a strong projected $125.9 million pick-up in 11 days. That easily ranks as the biggest movie to date of the pandemic season. Even more impressive, the sequel is set to pass $500 million worldwide tomorrow. Another sign moviegoing is returning to normal.
--Originally scheduled for September, DreamWorks Animation's The Boss Baby: Family Business moved up to a day-and-date release on Peacock and theaters, and the strategy worked well. The result? A second place launch with $17.3 million (a projected $23 million through Monday), averaging a decent $4,747 per-venue. While nowhere near the $50 million launch of its' predecessor, that was never expected to begin with given the season we are in. Family Business posted the biggest debut for a family film during this pandemic, ahead of Tom and Jerry's $14 million debut from February. I wonder if Disney feels like they missed an opportunity with Pixar's Luca here? Hmmm....
--Opening in third was the latest in Universal's horror franchise, The Forever Purge. The low-budget flick opened ahead of expectations with a solid $12.8 million (solid $4,178 per-venue average), and a projected $15.9 million through Monday.
--A Quiet Place: Part 2 is continuing to play very very well, off just 32% to $4.2 million in its sixth weekend ($5.6 million through Monday), for a very good $145.8 million gross in six weeks (and $260 million worldwide).
--The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard took fifth, and was off 38% to $3 million ($3.9 million through Monday). The action sequel is at an OK $32.3 million pick-up in 20 days (and nearly $50 million worldwide).
As for the rest of the Top 10:
-Cruella was off 33% to $2.6 million ($3.2 million through Monday), for a decent $77.2 million pick-up in six weeks. It's earned $200 million worldwide.
-Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway was down 53% to $2.25 million ($3.1 million through Monday), for a $35.2 million gross in four weeks. It's earned $130 million worldwide.
-The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It was off 57% to $1.3 million ($1.6 million through Monday), for a $62.5 million gross in one month (and a very good $180 million worldwide).
-In the Heights was off 43% to $1.28 million ($1.7 million through Monday), for a light $27.3 million gross in 24 days as it heads for $30-35 million stateside.
-Indie thriller Zola opened in 10th place with $1.23 million ($1.65 million through Monday), for a $1,125 per-venue average in four days.
