Many thought that this was a sequel audiences were anticipating, but analysts had a true rare misfire here. The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part failed to draw a huge audience with a $34.4 million debut (mild $7,994 per-venue average). That's half of the original LEGO Movie's $69 million debut back in 2014, and is also way off from The LEGO Batman Movie ($53 million) in 2017. It's ahead of LEGO Ninjago ($20.5 million), but that's not saying much. Now, what happened here? Competition was almost a non-factor and there was strong buzz heading into the weekend. However, I am beginning to think Warner Bros. had the wrong strategy for this franchise. It's only been a year and a half since the two spin-offs I mentioned a second ago. There is a real possibility that audiences might be getting tired out. WB spent a bit more money here than the other films too, with a reported $100 million budget. On the positive side, the extended President's Day frame is next weekend. But on the downside, more competition in the form of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World follows the next weekend. Warner Bros. and analysts were expecting $50-55 million.
It wasn't all bad news this weekend, however, as What Men Want opened in line with expectations to $19 million ($6,525 per-venue average). That isn't a revolutionary number, but it works well against a $20 million budget. A gender-swapped reimagining of the Mel Gibson-Helen Hunt film What Women Want, it was expected to open close to or above $20 million stateside. For Taraji P. Henson, this is in the same range as Hidden Figures and No Good Deed. There will be additional romantic comedy competition from Isn't It Romantic? next weekend, but Valentine's Day and the extended frame next weekend should help it bring in additional business.
Meanwhile, in a distant third place, Liam Neeson had one of the slowest starts of his career with his latest thriller, Cold Pursuit. The action flick opened to $10.8 million (mild $4,106 per-venue average), in line with expectations, but an overall mediocre debut. However, this is behind The Commuter ($13.7 million) from last year and well behind the high-teens to mid-20's millions that the actor normally draws. It is important to note that the film is rated R, which may have held it back from drawing a wider audience. At the same time, Neeson came under fire for some controversial comments he made last week. Some audiences may have been turned off by this as well. Ultimately, the film had a $60 million budget, which already spells bad news here. The CinemaScore was a "B-". It might pick up a bit of steam over the extended frame, but any chance it has for holding well after that seems slim. Distributor Lionsgate and analysts were projecting a debut of $9-10 million.
With not many options for older crowds, The Upside held on incredibly well in its fifth frame. The dramedy was off just 17% to $7.2 million, for a strong $85.8 million pick-up in five weeks of release. The Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston flick should make it above $100 million before its' finished. Meanwhile, Glass had a commendable hold, off just 33% to $6.4 million in its fourth frame. With $98.5 million in 24 days, the odd superhero flick continues to play solidly. It's also at $220 million worldwide, 11 times its' $20 million budget.
Opening weakly in sixth place was The Prodigy. The horror flick managed a $6 million debut (weak $2,373 per-venue average), behind the $7-9 million expected by analysts. Little marketing, awareness and buzz didn't help matters either. Distributor Orion Pictures hoped to take advantage of a marketplace lacking horror titles, but didn't quite succeed. Thankfully, the budget was only $6 million, so overall red ink should be minimal.
Best Picture Oscar nominee Green Book continued to thrive, off 18% to $3.6 million. With $61.5 million in 13 weeks of release, the historical drama could push to around $70 million or higher with the Oscars still two weeks away. Meanwhile, Aquaman continued to play well, off just 32% in its eighth weekend to $3.3 million. The superhero hit has pulled in a huge $328.5 million in 56 days, and over $1.1 billion worldwide.
Despite competition from LEGO, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse stood its ground. The leggy animated hit was off only 33% in its ninth weekend to $3 million. The potential Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature is at a strong $179.8 million in 63 days. It will finish just under $190 million, a strong number for a potential franchise-starter. The only unusual thing here is that the domestic gross is higher than overseas ($172 million).
Rounding out the Top 10 is Miss Bala, which fell a disturbing 60% in its sophomore frame to $2.7 million. The Gina Rodriguez thriller is at an abysmal $11.9 million in 10 days, and will likely close under $20 million stateside. Distributor Sony is thankful for a low budget at this point.
And that's about it. Stay tuned for a review for The LEGO Movie 2 in the next couple of days, followed by a preview of next weekend on Wednesday. The box office hopes to come back to life with three films hoping to earn strong starts. Horror sequel Happy Death Day 2U will compete against Rebel Wilson's Isn't It Romantic? and long-delayed action fantasy Alita: Battle Angel. All will hope for strong numbers over the extended President's Day frame. Hope all has a great week!
