The summer movie season got a boost in what is shaping up to be quite a big period for cinemas. Big superhero movies, live-action adaptations, franchise tentpoles. They are all dropping this summer, and theaters are finally starting to feel some confidence. How To Train Your Dragon will give them more. It has owned the weekend box office.
One of my kids went to see it at the weekend and said it was superb. It seems audiences everywhere are agreeing. The film is beating pre-release expectations by some margin and is on course to be the highest earner in the whole franchise.
It has pulled in $83.7 million domestic from the weekend, with a further $114 million overseas. It is comfortably number one at the box office with an audience score of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Basically, all is looking good on the Isle Of Berk.
Another live-action adaption of an animated favorite is in second place. Lilo & Stitch grabbed another $15 million domestic. It now stands at nearly $860 million worldwide.
Coming completely out of nowhere was Celine Song’s Materialists with just over $12 million domestic to take third place. A movie I had heard so little about, I just had to Google what the hell it is. According to the blurb:
“A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex.”
Jesus Christ. They walk among us.
Unbelievably, it turns out it is an A24 movie. A rom-com, and their third-biggest wide opening to date.
In fourth place is Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning with $9.3 million taking it to $506 million globally.
Ballerina continues to prove that, no matter how good the movie, female-led action movies simply don’t hunt outside of some pretty narrow parameters. It is in fifth with $9 million domestic and still yet to break the $100 million mark globally at the box office.
Next week, Disney Pixar’s Elio lands alongside 28 Years Later.
