‘Dumbo’ Soars To Top Spot At The Box Office, ‘Us’ And ‘Captain Marvel’ Keep Flying High Too
When Disney brings a new movie based on one of their classics to theaters, you’re able to bet they’re going to take the top spot at the box office. That’s especially true when the only real competition is holdovers from the previous weeks. But in this case, even though Disney’s live-action remake ofDumbosoared to the top spot with $45 million, it didn’t quite match the expectations put forth by the studio and analysts.
Meanwhile, Jordan Peele’sUsand theAvengers: EndgamepredecessorCaptain Marvelare still riding their own waves of box office success.
Dumbowas initially on track to make around $60 million-plus, so the $45 million is a bit of a disappointment. Maybe the50% critical score on Rotten Tomatoeskept some families away. Maybe the audience score of 60% did the same thing, though the “A-” CinemaScore might indicate otherwise. Either way, this movie certainly didn’t land as firmly as the studio hoped, and since the movie reportedly cost $170 million,Dumboneeds to make some bank overseas to make up for what will be a lower than expected domestic total.
Meanwhile, taking the #2 spot was Jordan Peele’sUswith $33.6 million in its second weekend (viaBox Office Mojo). That’s a 53% drop from the opening weekend, but that’s to be expected when you’re dealing with an eagerly anticipated horror flick like this. Plus, the mixed reaction from some general audiences who are coming away from the movie more confused than satisfied may keep the movie from getting as much word of mouth business. Even so,Ushas raked in $128 million in only 10 days, which is a big deal for an original horror movie. Usually only established franchises do that kind of business.
Captain Marvelstill had plenty of power going into her third weekend, and her big screen debut only dropped 40% with another $20.5 million. That brings the domestic total to $353 million. Internationally,Captain Marvelis still raking in serious bank too. Right now the global total is just over $990 million, which means it will hit the $1 billion sometime this week. It’s only the seventh film from Marvel Studios to do that, so all the whiny fanboys out there can cry about that all the way home (even though I’m sure they’ll sit firm on their conspiracy theory of Disney buying tickets to boost box office numbers).Five Feet Apartheld on to the #4 spot with $6.25 million, but they barely edged out a surprising entry in the top five this week.Unplannedis an anti-abortion drama from the faith-based production banner Pure Flix (do they ever do comedies?). Like many of their releases, the movie was aided by the kind of theater buyouts that churches do for these low-grade excuses for entertainment. That was enough to make it their second largest debut behind the ludicrous sequelGod’s Not Dead 2. Yippee!
You can check out the rest of the weekend box office chart overat Box Office Mojo.
