As everyone expected, it was the franchise finale How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World on top. Yet, despite some mixed expectations, the threequel came out ahead of projections with a strong $55.5 million (strong $13,038 per-venue average), ahead of the debuts of both of its predecessors (unadjusted for inflation, $43.7 million and $49.9 million respectively). For a finale to exceed its' predecessors is a rarity in today's world. And for distributor Universal, it's a promising start to their relationship with DreamWorks Animation (the studio along with Illumination hopes to make Universal a formidable competitor against Disney/Pixar). With a strong "A" CinemaScore, Dragon looks set for a promising run. It has families pretty much to itself until Wonder Park opens in three weeks (Captain Marvel probably will attract teens). Overseas has also been strong, where it opened mostly back at the start of the year. Prior to its domestic launch, it already had $180 million earned. It's at $275 million worldwide through the end of this weekend. Looks like over $500 million is in store here for Hiccup and gang. Another positive is that the budget here was lighter than its predecessors, ($129 million). Analysts were expecting $40 million.
After a modest launch last week, Alita: Battle Angel failed to show signs of strong word-of-mouth. The sci-fi flick was down 58% to $12 million, for a mild $60.7 million pick-up in 11 days. While the total gross might be stronger than anyone thought it would finish with, its' still not a great number (considering the $170 million budget). With one more week until Captain Marvel, Alita looks very unlikely to get to $100 million. On the other hand, it did get off to a successful $62 million launch in China, which definitely helps. It's at $265 million worldwide with China's holding power likely to be the key factor in whether or not it becomes profitable.
As expected, The LEGO Movie 2 got hit hard by the arrival of a new cartoon (I wonder if having the two so close together wasn't such a good idea), down 52% to $10 million in third place. With just $83.6 million stateside in 17 days, the sequel should get above $100 million stateside. But that's less than half of the original LEGO Movie's $257 million final gross. Overseas is proving to be a major disappointment, with just $50 million earned so far. Warner Bros. could definitely decide to end the series here.
Meanwhile, expanding to decent numbers, Fighting with My Family pulled in $8 million (slow $2,955 per-venue average). Opening in line with where I saw it, Family pulled in some Dwayne Johnson and wrestling fans, but didn't really appeal outside of that. The budget was a light $11 million, which definitely helps matters for distributor MGM. Audiences really enjoyed it too, giving the film an "A" CinemaScore. Maybe it will find some decent legs, but it could get lost in the midst of a marketplace that looks to get more crowded next month. Analysts were expecting a debut in the $7-10 million range.Most holdovers didn't quite hold on really well. Isn't It Romantic fell 47% after Valentine's Day to $7.5 million, for a mild $33.8 million gross in 12 days. Warner Bros. is probably thankful for the budget being only $31 million at this point. Meanwhile, What Men Want was down 51% in its third frame to $5.2 million. Taraji P. Henson's remake has earned a solid $45.1 million in 17 days, and it looks even better against a $20 million pricetag. Happy Death Day 2U was down 48% in its sophomore frame to $5 million. The sequel continues to perform way behind expectations with just $21.6 million in 12 days, still behind its' predecessor's $26 million opening weekend.
Cold Pursuit was down 45% to $3.3 million in its third frame, for a forgettable $27.1 million gross in 17 days. The Liam Neeson thriller continues to perform weakly for a well-received thriller (those comments from Neeson prior to release might be hurting it). Continuing to play like a champ, The Upside has spent seven weeks in the Top 10. The crowd-pleaser was off just 42% to $3.2 million, for a strong $99.7 million pick-up in 49 days. Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart's dramedy remake will pass the century mark as soon as tomorrow.
Meanwhile, faith-based sports drama Run the Race was able to crack the Top 10 from just 853 locations. Produced by renowned NFL player Tim Tebow, the flick earned $2.3 million (weak $2,665 per-venue average). That's not a great start, but it is on the higher end among recent faith-based films opening in semi-wide release. No budgeting information was released.
And that's about it. Next weekend will bring Tyler Perry's final turn as a cross-dresser with his infamous Madea bowing out with A Madea Family Funeral tracking for a very solid launch to kick off March. I will have a predictions post coming on Wednesday. Hope everyone has a great week! :)
