Not precisely the inaugural weekend of dreams.
With $35 million, director John Krasinski’s fantasy-comedy “IF,” which asserts that your childhood imaginary friends are real, just barely missed box office totals. “IF” was predicted to earn at least $40 million in its first weekend of release going into the weekend. It appeared that “IF” would open at $30 million based on Friday’s crowd, but after Saturday’s impressive performance, estimates were updated. Although first-place ticket sales were sufficient and respectable for an original PG family film, the film’s start is shaky considering that it cost $110 million to produce and many more millions to sell. It brought in an extra $20 million abroad, bringing its total earnings worldwide to $55 million.
The good news for “IF”‘s distributor, Paramount Pictures, is that critics loved the movie, awarding it a “A” CinemaScore. It should be as resilient as the latest original family-friendly films, such as “Migration” and “Elemental,” which continued to sell tickets months after their releases. While those movies had somewhat obvious release dates, “IF” will face off against another family movie, Sony’s animated “The Garfield Movie,” the following weekend.
“IF,” which centres on Brooklyn neighbours Cal and Bea (played by Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming) who have the power to see other people’s imaginary acquaintances, was written, directed, produced, and starred by Krasinski. The star-studded voice cast of IFs is completed by George Clooney, Jon Stewart, Maya Rudolph, Bradley Cooper, Emily Blunt, Steve Carell, and Matt Damon. Tomris Laffly of Variety described it as “a sweetly old-fashioned yet messily conjured children’s tale that sadly falls short of its thematic ambitions.” Reviews have been divided, with the film holding a 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Comscore reports that the domestic box office had another dismal weekend, trailing 2023 by about 22% and 2019 by 42% at this stage. The release of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” which debuted to overwhelmingly positive reviews at the Cannes Film Festival, and “The Garfield Movie,” which has already begun its international distribution with a $49 million budget, for Memorial Day weekend is expected to bring in big box office revenue for theatre owners. Later in the summer, multiplexes will try to fill seats with Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s “Deadpool & Wolverine,” Universal and Illumination’s “Despicable Me 4,” and Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.”
“The lineup for the early summer is quiet. David A. Gross of the film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research states that the business is waiting for an over-performer to surpass expectations and make a breakthrough. “We are still far behind pre-pandemic box office totals, and as summer approaches, it won’t get any easier to make comparisons.”
“The Strangers: Chapter 1,” another new release from Lionsgate, defied predictions by opening in third place with $12 million from 2,856 theatres. Targeting a budget of between $7 and $9 million, the film wound up costing $8.5 million, placing it in a favourable position during its theatrical run. “The Strangers” received negative reviews from critics and viewers, which is not shocking given the genre; it has a “C” CinemaScore and a dismal 13% on Rotten Tomatoes.
I don’t care about reviews. With Chapters 2 and 3, Lionsgate plans to develop “The Strangers” into a trilogy that stands alone from the 2008 thriller of the same name, starring Liv Tyler. A young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) who find themselves stuck overnight in a spooky tiny town after their car breaks down is the focus of the first part. Naturally, disguised strangers who appear to have no pity or purpose terrorise them.
According to Gross, “[Chapter 1] will be profitable and give the series something to build on.”
The Amy Winehouse movie “Back to Black,” which opened in theatres recently as well, debuted at No. 5 with a pitiful $2.85 million from 2,010 locations. For a film that is opening nationally, it’s a dismal start, even though Focus Features paid less than $20 million to acquire the film in the United States and several other countries. Overseas sales of “Back to Black” have now reached $37 million.
The film, which has a 35% Rotten Tomatoes rating and a “B+” CinemaScore, was more beloved by audiences than by reviewers. The R-rated film “Back to Black,” which takes a close look at the life and career of a destructive musical genius, was directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. Amy Winehouse, a British singer-songwriter who shot to popularity with hits like “Back to Black” and “Rehab,” passed away in 2011 at the age of 27 from alcohol poisoning, is portrayed by Marisa Abela.
The box office winner from the previous weekend, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” dropped to second place with $26 million from 4,075 theatres, a 55% decrease from its opening. The fourth installment of the Disney and 20th Century “Apes” remake series has made $100.9 million in revenue in the United States and $237 million worldwide thus far.
In its third weekend of distribution, Universal’s original action-comedy “The Fall Guy,” starring Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling, another Hollywood Ryan, debuted at No. 4 with $8.4 million from 3,845 locations. The film, which received favourable reviews, didn’t take off at the beginning of the summer and has since made only $63 million domestically and $127 million internationally. “The Fall Guy” needs to have a lot of resilience to make it through its theatrical run and recoup the $140 million the studio spent on production expenditures alone.
In other news, 268 Imax screens worldwide brought in a healthy $1.325 million for Amazon MGM’s documentary “The Blue Angels,” with an average of $5,774 per screen. J.A. The non-fiction film, which is only available in Imax, was produced by Abrams and “Top Gun: Maverick” star Glen Powell. It follows a year in the cockpit with the Navy and Marine Corps flight squadron, one of the best aviator teams in the world, through their rigors training and aerial touring performance.
Neon’s comedy “Babies,” directed by Pamela Adlon and likewise on limited release, brought in $171,321 from 12 locations, or $14,277 per site. In the movie, Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau play best friends in their 30s who support one another during pregnancy and motherhood. It will keep growing over the next few weeks.
