As what many expected, it was Suicide Squad that kept its grip on the top spot. However, the DC film didn't hold well, down a huge 67% from last weekend to $43.5 million, for a still very good $222.6 million. While a slightly better hold than Batman v. Superman (69%), its still much larger than the usual 55-60% superhero flicks typically drop on their second weekends. Bad reviews (27% on Rotten Tomatoes) and only a decent response from audiences is catching up on the villain group. Overseas, the film is doing strong, with the worldwide gross already at $470 million worldwide in just two weeks. At its' current pace, Suicide Squad is set for a worldwide finish around $700 million, which would still be more than enough to turn a profit. But, one thing is for sure, the quality on these movies is certainly in need of improvement.
Meanwhile, opening much stronger than expected in second place was a true rarity, an R-rated animated movie. Sausage Party, from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, sold its way to a strong $34.3 million, for a great $11,042 per-venue average from 3,103 locations. Considering adults haven't really had animated fare strictly for them, it seemed like this was well-positioned to break out. Reviews were great (82% on Rotten Tomatoes), though audience reception was mixed at a "B" CinemaScore. Sausage is a return to box office form for Rogen, after most of his recent movies struggled to open above $15 million. As for competition, War Dogs could be a bit of a stumbling block, but besides this, look for the comedy to play well through Labor Day Weekend.
Next up in third place was Disney with their Pete's Dragon remake. Despite earning strong reviews from critics (86% on Rotten Tomatoes), the re-imagining of the 1977 film failed to generate much excitement, pulling in $21.5 million ($5,811 per-venue average from 3,702 locations). That's the Mouse House's second-straight misfire, after Steven Spielberg's The BFG ($18.7 million first 3 days). But, audiences appear to be growing tired of Disney giving live-action reboots to their animated library, and this summer has just been way too crowded for family fare (only fellow Disney pic Finding Dory and The Secret Life of Pets have really connected with families this summer). However, August releases do tend to have strong legs, and with a strong "A" CinemaScore, that could definitely prove to be the case here (Planes, another Disney movie opening on this same frame in 2013, opened to $22 million before legging it out to a $90 million finish). Next weekend will bring some competition from Kubo and the Two Strings, but after that, its smooth-sailing to the end of September. Disney was expecting $25 million, while the budget was kept to a reasonable $65 million.Following a harsh drop last frame, Jason Bourne stabilized, off 38% in its third weekend to $13.8 million. The Matt Damon-Paul Greengrass reboot should continue to hold decently through Labor Day Weekend, and has earned a decent $127 million in 17 days. Its also about to pass $250 million worldwide. Showing an even more impressive hold in its third frame was Bad Moms, which was off just 19% to $11.4 million. The R-rated comedy is showing solid holding power in the face of new competition, and has earned a very solid $71.4 million in 17 days.
Despite new competition from Pete's Dragon, family audiences continued to flock to The Secret Life of Pets, which was off just 21% in its sixth weekend to $9.1 million, for a huge $336.2 million pick-up in 37 days. Pets is now in many overseas markets, and is approaching $600 million worldwide. Star Trek Beyond also recovered after two weekends of dropping hard, down 31% to $6.9 million. The latest installment of the outer space franchise has pulled in $139.8 million in 24 days, and will likely finish around $160 million. Its doing OK overseas, with $220 million worldwide so far.
Meanwhile, the final new release, musical biopic Florence Foster Jenkins, faltered in eighth place. The Meryl Streep flick earned $6.6 million from a semi-wide 1,528 locations ($4,320 per-venue average). That's behind expectations, which had projected a $8-9 million debut. For Streep, its also one of her lowest debuts to date, in line with last year's Ricki and the Flash. As for Florence, the flick earned strong reviews (88% on Rotten Tomatoes) and early Oscar buzz for both Streep and Hugh Grant. We'll see how word of mouth plays out for older audiences, but regardless, this opening is still too low to really give it much of a chance. The budget was a small $19 million, however, for distributor Paramount.Nine Lives followed with a 44% dip to $3.5 million. The Kevin Spacey talking cat flick will likely finish around a disappointing $20 million (in the face of a $30 million budget). Lights Out rounded out the Top 10 with a 47% drop to $3.2 million, for a strong $61.1 million pick-up in 24 days, and another $40 million overseas, in the face of just a $5 million budget.
And that's it for this weekend. Next weekend, the box office starts to seriously slow down as lesser releases take over. Jonah Hill and Miles Teller star in War Dogs, Laika returns with their latest Kubo and the Two Strings and historical remake Ben-Hur also opens. All three aren't expected to do strong business though. As always, we'll see.
