Cyborgs and male strippers were no match for dinosaurs and animated emotions at the North American box office during a sluggish July 4th weekend. Universal’s seemingly unstoppable Jurassic World held the top spot while Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out continued its winning ways in second place. Paramount’s Terminator: Genisys landed in third place with mediocre numbers while Warner’s Magic Mike XXL went limp in fourth.
Business took a hit across the board on Saturday as people opted for parties and fireworks instead of films. Still, business was up 13% from last year’s dismal numbers when the dismal Transformers: Age of Extinction stayed at number one for a second week.
Jurassic World eased 43% in its fourth round on 3,737 screens to earn an estimated $30.9 million. The dino phenomenon has earned $558 million domestically and an additional $826 million from foreign markets. The moderate drop in business was particularly impressive this weekend given the fact that the film lost many of its higher-priced IMAX screens to new arrival Terminator: Genisys.
World set a record for fastest film to reach $550 million, beating The Avengers to the milestone by a week. The film is now the fourth highest grossing domestic film of all time behind Avengers, Titanic and Avatar and the fifth biggest film of all time globally behind Furious 7, Avengers and the James Cameron duo. Considering its durability, the film should pass The Avengers on both lists by the end of its run and could possibly give Titanic a challenge in the domestic standings as well.
Right on T-Rex’s tail was the Disney hit Inside Out with $30.1 million from 4,158 theaters. The animated blockbuster was down 42% from its previous weekend and now has a domestic total of $246 million. Early overseas totals currently stand at $117 million. Like Jurassic World, the film is benefitting from kids now out of school on summer break. Unlike the dino epic, Inside Out is about to face direct competition on Friday courtesy of Universal’s Minions. Even with the arrival of the little yellow guys, Inside Out should have no problem crossing the $300-315 million mark by the end of July.
He always said he would be back, and this weekend saw Arnold Schwarzenegger keep his word. After skipping Terminator: Salvation, Arnie has returned as The Terminator in Paramount’s Terminator: Genisys. Given the middling $28.7 million from 3,758 screens -$44.1 million since debuting on Wednesday-, one has to wonder if he should have bothered. The latest attempt to revive the three-decade old franchise was met with indifference from both critics and the public.
The $155 million production scored the lowest domestic opening for a Terminator film since the original, but scored better numbers overseas with a $74 million weekend. To date, Terminator: Genisys has scored $85 million from foreign markets. With such markets as China, Germany and Japan yet to open the sci-fi flick, Genisys may be able to earn $300-400 million overseas.
Warner’s Magic Mike XXL landed softly in fourth place for the weekend despite opening in first place on Wednesday, where it earned $9.3 million. After that, it was downhill from there. Despite decent reviews and an “A-“ CinemaScore rating from ticket buyers, Magic Mike XXL could only entice $12 million from 3,355 screens from the weekend. It’s five-day total was $27 million, roughly $12 million below the $39 million the original earned three years ago. Fortunately for Warner, the budget on the male stripper sequel was only $15 million. A whopping 96% of the audience for XXL was female.
Another sequel no one was excited for, Universal’s Ted 2, got the stuffing knocked out of it in its second weekend on 3,448 screens. The comedy sequel dropped a steep 67% this weekend to earn an estimated $11 million to bring its ten-day total to $58.3 million. The film should see a final domestic total near the $70 million mark, nearly 65% less than the 2012 original’s $218 million final haul. The film has earned $36 million so far from overseas markets.
The remainder of the top ten was:
- Max (Warner) $7 million (-42%); $25.7 million
- Spy (Fox) $5.5 million (-30%); $97.8 million
- San Andreas (Warner) $3 million (-44%); $147.3 million
- Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Fox Searchlight) $1.32 million (+33%); $4 million
- Dope (Open Road Films) $1.1 million (-61%); $14.1 million
Next Friday sees the arrival of Minions and the horror film The Gallows.
