It was a given that the poorly reviewed Jurassic World: Dominion would step down in its second weekend, allowing Disney and Pixar’s Lightyear to take command, right? Wrong! It appears that families chose to take the kiddos to Dominion instead of Lightyear, maybe because it was live-action. And it’s Father’s Day weekend, and it seems that most adults took their dads to see Top Gun: Maverick.
<— This was going to be my headline picture this weekend. Guess not, huh?
Audiences that DID see Lightyear loved it. It got an A- via CinemaScore and 4 stars and an 85% positive from PostTrak. It has an 86% certified audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Its critical score is lower, at 77%.
Why Lightyear didn’t perform to expectation is debatable. Many are put off by Chris Evans voicing the lead character instead of Tim Allen, who we all grew up with. And along those lines, it seems that some aren’t interested because it isn’t an ensemble like the previous Toy Story installments.
There is also a lesbian kiss. I mean, it’s Pride Month, so that’s kind of great, but not everyone is open to that, especially in a “kids” movie.
Speaking of, it does appear that Lightyear is performing as more of a “kids” movie than a “family” movie, AND it’s playing as a “boys” movie. Whereas, the past Toy Story movies attracted both boys and girls.
Ultimately, Lightyear will end up in the #2 position, earning $51 million over three days, which is well below its LOWEST projected gross of $70M, and a projected $55M+ over four. (Many businesses in the U.S. are closed on Monday due to the Juneteenth Holiday.)
Dominion chomped down $58.66M over three days and is projected to take in $68M over four. It also benefited from most cineplexes keeping it on the larger format screens like IMAX, which command higher ticket prices. Next weekend, most cinemas will surrender those to Lightyear, which might help it. Maybe.
But Top Gun: Maverick, in its fourth week, is still going strong and takes the #3 spot. It is down a tiny 17% from last weekend. This is Tom Cruise’s top-grossing movie of all time, but it is now officially producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s highest-grossing domestic film, swooping past 2006’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, which earned $423M, but that was from its entire run. Maverick is only one month into its run.
(This is just domestic. It’s no surprise that the U.S. military-based Maverick isn’t performing quite so well abroad. Worldwide, it’s still trailing Bruckheimer’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Stranger Tides, which made $1.05B, and 2007’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End’s $961M.)
This marks the third-best fourth week in history (once again, domestically), falling just behind American Sniper ($89.1M) and Avatar ($50.1M).
Here is the Top Five:
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- Jurassic World Dominion (Universal) – 3-day $58.66M/4-day $68M/Total $259.1M/Wk 2
- Lightyear (Disney) – 3-day $51M, 4-day est $55M+/Wk 1
- Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount) – 3-day $44M/4-day est $48M, Total $470.1M/Wk 4
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Disney) – 3-day $4.2M/4-day $4.4M, Total $405.2M/Wk 7
- Bob’s Burgers (20th Century/Disney) – 3-day $1.1M/4-day $1.3M, Total $30M/Wk 4
Though it isn’t in the Top Five, Everything, Everywhere, All At Once is continuing to defy expectations. It is now A24’s top-grossing movie. It made $984 thousand over three days and is expected to make $1.08M over four. That puts it over $65M in its 13th week.
All of the top movies face some competition next weekend, as Baz Luhrman’s Elvis is opening. This is a dark horse. It’s a musical, and Luhrman’s style isn’t for everybody. It also features a lot of modern music.
Then again, Luhrman isn’t the most prolific director, so his fans are probably hungry for a new picture. And Elvis is still worshipped by many. There have been so many successful musical biopics in the last few years, so that could serve this movie well.
What did you check out this weekend? Did you blast off with Lightyear, or did you check out the dinos (and locusts) of Jurassic World? Or something else? Will you be grooving to Elvis next weekend? Or will you be checking out something else? Or maybe just hitting the pool and avoiding the cinema altogether?
