“DC League of Super-Pets,” an animated adventure about the four-legged friends of legendary superheroes, opened in first place at the domestic box office with $23 million from 4,313 theaters.
Although the film from Warner Bros. sold enough tickets to dethrone Jordan Peele’s “No” on the US charts, it’s a mediocre start given the film’s $90 million price tag. Sure, the Legion of Super-Pets isn’t as recognizable as Superman, Aquaman, or their other Justice League owners, but “DC League of Super-Pets” might have resonated a bit more with audiences given its affiliation with DC Comics and its high level. -Voice voting on Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart.
“DC League of Super-Pets” didn’t gain much ground at the international box office, where it launched to $18.4 million from 63 markets. In total, the film has grossed $41.4 million worldwide.
In times of pandemic, “DC League of Super-Pets” is another kid-friendly movie that has struggled to impress in its debut at the box office. Movies aimed at parents with young children have been a mixed bag, which is concerning because family audiences were always a reliable source of revenue before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In terms of opening weekend earnings, “DC League of Super-Pets” came in behind Pixar’s “Lightyear,” which debuted with $51 million, and “Minions: The Rise of Gru” from ‘Universal, which opened to a strong $107 million. But its start is in line with other pandemic-era family films like “The Bad Guys” ($23.9 million), “Sing 2” ($22.3 million) and “Encanto ” by Disney ($27 million). Still, it’s hard to imagine the “DC League of Super-Pets” featuring anyone from Warner Bros. pouring a celebratory glass of bubbly; this time last year, the studio’s “Space Jam: A New Legacy” opened to $31 million while simulcasting on HBO Max.
It helps that in addition to the positive reception from ticket buyers (it earned an “A-” CinemaScore), “DC League of Super-Pets” doesn’t have much competition on the horizon. He has a clear lead until Sony’s “Lyle Lyle Crocodile” opens on October 7. Warner Bros. expect “DC League of Super-Pets” to enjoy a long life in theaters before it reaches new audiences (and maybe some regulars) on HBO Max.
“This is a moderate opening by animated series standards,” said David A. Gross, who heads the film consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research. “Recently, several animated films have extended their runs to six weeks, generating healthy domestic multiples.”
While several animated films have gotten off to slower starts than their respective studios would have liked, many have shown plenty of staying power at the box office, as Gross points out. For example, “The Bad Guys” and “Encanto” each ended their theatrical runs with $96 million in North America. And “Sing 2” had particularly long legs, with $162 million.
This weekend’s other new domestic release, BJ Novak’s dark true-crime comedy “Vengeance,” barely cracked the top 10. The R-rated Focus Features film opened in line with expectations, earning $1.75 million from 998 theaters.
The well-reviewed “Revenge” drew mostly male audiences (men accounted for 55% of ticket buyers). The film earned a “B+” CinemaScore. Novak, who also wrote the screenplay, portrays a reporter and podcaster from New York City who travels to Texas to investigate the death of a girl he was only casually dating.
Despite the start of the “DC League of Super-Pets,” last weekend’s champion “No” fell to second place with $18.5 million from 3,807 locations, a 58% decline. The UFO thriller starring Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer has grossed $80.5 million in North America so far. “No” has yet to open at the international box office.
Disney’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” took third weekend with $13.1 million from 3,650 locations in its fourth weekend in theaters. Those ticket sales push the Marvel adventure past $300 million at the domestic box office, up from its current tally of $301 million. Internationally, the fourth “Thor” movie has grossed $361 million, bringing its global total to $662 million.
“Minions: The Rise of Gru” landed in fourth place with $10.8 million from 3,578 theaters and, despite opening in theaters five weeks ago, likely took some business away from “DC League of Super- Farts” in the process. The latest “Despicable Me” spin-off has been one of the few success stories for children at the pandemic box office, with ticket sales of $320 million in North America and $710 million dollars worldwide.
Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick” rounded out the top five with $8.2 million in its 10th weekend of release. After two months on the big screen, Tom Cruise’s blockbuster sequel has raked in $650 million at the domestic box office while managing to stay in the top five of weekend charts since the weekend of Memorial Day.
“Maverick” will soon overtake “Titanic” ($659 million) and “Jurassic World” ($653 million) to become the seventh-highest-grossing film in domestic box office history. With an additional $671 million from foreign audiences, “Top Gun: Maverick” has grossed $1.3 billion to date.
In sixth and seventh, Sony’s “Where the Crawdads Sing” ($7.5 million from 3,526 locations in its third weekend, $53.5 million to date) and Baz Luhrmann’s musical biopic ” Elvis” ($5.8 million from 2,901 locations in its sixth weekend, $129 million). till date) have quietly remained in theaters. Both represent counterprogramming wins during the summer blockbuster season.
On the other hand, A24’s multiverse adventure “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has passed a major box office milestone, surpassing $100 million in global ticket sales. It is the first A24 film to reach this box office benchmark. The film, which was re-released in domestic theaters over the weekend, has become a sleeper hit, earning $68.9 million in the U.S. and another $31.1 million internationally.
At the specialty box office, Lena Dunham’s polarizing coming-of-age story “Sharp Stick” brought in $18,000 from two theaters, which translates to $9,000 per location. Dunham wrote and directed the film, which centers on a 26-year-old woman who is socially and sexually retarded after undergoing a hysterectomy as a teenager. Utopia opens the film, which expands nationwide from August 5.
Another independent title, IFC Films and Shudder’s “Resurrection,” earned $92,700 from 97 locations, averaging $955 per theater. “Resurrection” will be released on video-on-demand on Friday, August 5, and will continue to play in theaters throughout the summer.
Written and directed by Andrew Semans, the psychological thriller stars Rebecca Hall as a woman whose carefully constructed life is shattered when an unwanted shadow from her past returns. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews, with most praise directed at Hall’s performance. In Vulture’s review, critic Bilge Ebiri warns, “Good luck sleeping after watching Resurrection.”