Many analysts had predicted this (not me), but Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation managed to open easily on top. The threequel pulled in $44.1 million (very solid $10,330 per-venue average), for a $45.4 million gross so far (this includes $1.3 million from Amazon Prime screenings a couple weeks back). In comparison, the first Hotel Transylvania earned $42 million in its debut back in 2012, while the sequel earned $48 million in its opening in 2015. Its important to note that both predecessors opened in September, whereas Sony moved this to a summer release (appropriately). For all three movies in this franchise to open above $40 million is a serious accomplishment. Most franchises usually fall downward with succeeding installments. But, credit a quirky marketing effort and an appealing theme (though its been used before a handful of times) to bring out families to theaters (especially with Incredibles 2 still pulling in the crowds).As for long-term potential, competition will be more of an issue this time around though, as Teen Titans GO! to the Movies and Christopher Robin will steal a good chunk of kids in the dog days of summer. However, with the summer vacation theme, this is the kind of animated film that will probably play through Labor Day. Early overseas numbers are promising too, with a $56 million overseas opening ($100 million worldwide launch). On a budget of just $80 million, Sony is going to be seeing quite a bit of profit from this installment. Reviews weren't the greatest, but it did chart the highest Rotten Tomatoes score of the series (at 61% positive), while audiences awarded the film an "A-" CinemaScore. Sony was predicting a $35 million launch.
Following an OK debut last weekend, Ant-Man and the Wasp took an alarming 62% hit in its sophomore frame to $29.1 million. In comparison, the first Ant-Man was off 56% in its second weekend. Instead, the sequel dropped more in line with the 63% drop of last year's Spider-Man: Homecoming. In 10 days, the sequel has earned $133.1 million, or ahead of the first film's $106 million 10-day pick-up. Next weekend has little competition, however, so look for it to level off in the coming days. Overseas, the film continues to perform at moderate speed, with the worldwide gross approaching $300 million.
Meanwhile, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson suffered a rare misstep this weekend with his latest action thriller Skyscraper. Despite being heavily-marketed, the flick failed to pull in a huge audience, settling for third place with $24.9 million (mild $6,585 per-venue average). This was below the $30 million predicted by distributor Universal, and many analysts (I ended up on the high end, as Johnson's films tend to overperform). One has to wonder if so many Dwayne Johnson films in recent memory might have contributed to this film's underperformance (we've had Rampage, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Baywatch and Fate of the Furious in the last 15 months). Overseas numbers aren't too hot either (though China has not opened), with $40 million earned so far from many territories. On a $125 million budget, the film is going to need real durability to ultimately be a success. Reviews were mixed (51% on Rotten Tomatoes), while audiences gave it a "B+" CinemaScore.Despite added competition from Hotel Transylvania, Incredibles 2 held on remarkably well. The Pixar sequel was down 43% in its fifth weekend to $16.3 million, for a huge $535.9 million pick-up in one month of release. Right now, I don't think its going to have enough juice to make it to the $600 million mark. But, I doubt Disney is complaining. Overseas, it's not quite as strong, but still doing great business, with the worldwide numbers at $850 million so far and climbing.
Finally behind the superhero sequel (barely) was the other major sequel on the list, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. The latest in the blockbuster dino franchise did have its best hold yet (probably due to double-features with Skyscraper), down 43% to $16.2 million, for a very very good $364 million gross in 24 days. Unless Mission: Impossible Fallout does major damage to it in two weeks, Fallen Kingdom should have enough gas in the tank to get above $400 million stateside. It also got off to a record-breaking start in Japan, with the worldwide gross at $1.14 billion and continuing to grow.
Following a somewhat muted start, The First Purge had a very good sophomore hold for its genre. The prequel (of sorts) was down only 46% in its second weekend to $9.3 million, for a solid $49.7 million pick-up in 12 days. That's a stronger hold than the previous three films, which all dropped around 55-60% on average. It looks like the prequel will probably end up in the same $60-70 million vicinity as its predecessors (Election Year ended up at $79 million as the highest-grossing installment).
Expanding to nationwide release, action comedy Sorry to Bother You earned a solid $4.2 million from 805 locations (decent $5,228 per-venue average ranks fourth for the weekend). Since its limited debut last week, it's earned $5.3 million. With critical acclaim (95% on Rotten Tomatoes), look for this to possibly be a sleeper success story.
In its third weekend, Sicario: Day of the Soldado continued to fade fast, down 49% to $3.9 million. With $43.2 million in 17 days, the sequel will pass its predecessors' $47 million final gross, but won't improve on it much. Meanwhile, Uncle Drew continued to also fade fast, down 51% in its third weekend to $3.2 million, for a mild $36.7 million pick-up in 17 days with little left in the tank. On a more positive note, Ocean's 8 continued to play well in its sixth weekend, as it rounded out the list. The female ensemble fell 43% to $2.9 million, for a very good $132.3 million gross in 42 days. It's also earned over $250 million worldwide.
And that's about it. Next weekend will bring some added competition from three more sequels. Look for a predictions report on Wednesday.
