Summary
-
Despicable Me 4
repeats as the No. 1 movie at the box office with an estimated domestic take of $44.7 million. - Nicolas Cage’s new horror film,
Longlegs,
impresses over its opening weekend and makes a record-setting killing for NEON, but it still has to settle for second place behind Gru and his mouthy Minions. - Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum’s new romantic comedy,
Fly Me to the Moon,
debuts at No. 5 with $10 million.
Longlegs arguably had a better shot at stealing the moon, like Steve Carell’s former super-villain character once did, than winning the top spot over its opening weekend against Despicable Me 4. And, in the end, families did opt for Gru and his adorable yellow Minions over Nicolas Cage’s serial killer at the box office. The latest installment in the Despicable film franchise made an estimated $44.7 million (per The Numbers) en route to No. 1, while Longlegs settled for the No.2 slot with $22.6 million.
The competition for the top spot between Despicable Me 4 and Longlegs was most heated on Friday (July 12). Cage’s new horror film made it a fight with $10 million, while the Carell-led sequel brought in $13.7 million. But that’s as close as the race would get. Once the weekend arrived, the family-friendly Despicable Me 4 ran away with a sizable lead it would not relinquish. On Saturday, July 13, that day’s tally was $17.5 million for Illumination’s animated adventure, while Longlegs lagged way behind at only $7.2 million.
Sunday proved to be no different. Despicable Me 4 once again easily amassed a larger audience, which translated into $13.5 million, and Longlegs couldn’t keep up at $5.4 million. In fact, the horror flick lost out on the No. 2 spot temporarily on both Saturday and Sunday to this year’s biggest summer blockbuster so far: Inside Out 2. The “emotional” film made $8.2 million and $6.4 million on those two days respectively.
Fly Me to the Moon Barely Lands Top-5 Spot
While Despicable Me 4 repeated as the No. 1 movie for the second weekend in a row, and NEON’s record-setting Longlegs certainly enjoyed an auspicious beginning to its theatrical run, another newcomer barely managed to crack the Top 5. No. 3 Inside Out 2 ($20.7 million) and No. 4 A Quiet Place: Day One ($11.8 million) both fared better than Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson’s rom-com did. Fly Me to the Moon rounded out the Top 5 with $10 million.
A24’s MaXXXine suffered the biggest drop off (69%) from last weekend as the Mia Goth-led film plummeted from No. 4 to No. 8 at the box office. Meanwhile, The Lion King (1994) actually cracked the Top 10 this week as its 30th anniversary screenings brought in just over $1 million.
Related
Glen Powell’s Twisters Swirling Up a Storm with Strong Opening Weekend Projections
The long-awaited follow-up to 1996’s Twister, which starred Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, eyes a $50-million opening weekend domestically this July.
After Despicable Me 4 wins the top spot at the box office for two weekends in a row, Gru and his Minions are going to have a little more competition joining the animated adventure in cinemas quite soon. Glen Powell’s Twisters storms into the summer movie season next on July 19, while Deadpool & Wolverine is one week closer to beginning its highly anticipated theatrical run.
This week’s best per-theater average goes to A24’s
Sing Sing,
with $34,280, which opened in limited release (4 cinemas).