John Krasinski鈥檚 claimed the top spot at the box office this weekend according to studio estimates Sunday. Its $35 million North American debut was also a bit lower than some projections.
Is that a disappointment? An ominous sign of the box office times? Or is the final story on 鈥� " yet to be written? It's not just your imagination: In these bumpy early weeks of the 2024 summer box office season, in which nothing has been a runaway hit and every new movie has more and more pressure to succeed, 鈥淚F鈥� hit a nerve.
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Cailey Fleming, and an army of A-list voices including Steve Carell, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Louis Gossett Jr., Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Maya Rudolph, 鈥淚F鈥� was an original idea from Krasinski, who wrote, directed and co-stars.
Paramount debuted the film, which cost a reported $110 million to produce, in 4,041 locations in North America. Internationally, it earned an estimated $20 million from 56 markets, adding up to a $55 million global debut.
鈥淔amilies came out in force and they loved the film,鈥� said Chris Aronson, who heads Paramount鈥檚 domestic distribution.
There are several somewhat contradictory narratives swirling around its performance as well. With its PG-rating, 鈥淚F鈥� was the first major family friendly film to open in theaters in weeks. And unlike a front-loaded superhero or horror movie, family pics are often running a marathon not a sprint. Last June, Pixar鈥檚 鈥淓lemental鈥� was assumed to be dead on arrival when it opened with $29.5 million domestically. But it continued earning throughout the summer and ultimately made nearly $500 million globally.
鈥淚F鈥� got middling reviews from critics (it's currently sitting at a 鈥渞otten鈥� 49% on Rotten Tomatoes), but, as with 鈥淓lemental,鈥� audiences gave it a solid A CinemaScore this weekend. The studio considers it a successful debut and is optimistic about its longevity as summer actually begins for school age children.
鈥淚 think it bodes well for moviegoing in general as we move into the summer movie season," Aronson said. "Kids are out of school starting this coming week and I couldn鈥檛 think of a better film to be in the marketplace than this one: It鈥檚 new, it鈥檚 fresh, its original, and it鈥檚 such a heartwarming film.鈥�
鈥� 鈥� continues to be . In just 10 days, it surpassed $100 million domestically and $237 million globally. It came in second place in its second weekend with $26 million (down 55%).
But there also hasn鈥檛 been a major movie moment akin to last year鈥檚 鈥淭he Super Mario Bros. Movie,鈥� 鈥淏arbie鈥� or 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� in quite some time. Last year on this weekend 鈥淔ast X鈥� opened to over $60 million.
鈥淭his is a very unusual summer. It got off to an unusual start without a Marvel movie," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淭he box office has been in a holding pattern 20% down from last year.鈥�
鈥淚F鈥� wasn鈥檛 the only new film to open this weekend either. Lionsgate鈥檚 horror 鈥淭he Strangers鈥擟hapter 1鈥� overperformed with a $12 million debut from 2,856 locations. The innovative marketing campaign staged some viral moments by bringing the 鈥渟trangers鈥� to major events, from the Trump trial to Coachella.
The biopic 鈥� " opened in North America to an estimated $2.9 million from 2,010 screens.
The filmed-for-IMAX documentary 鈥� 鈥� also made $1.3 million this weekend from 227 screens. It鈥檚 playing on the premium large format screens through May 22 before flying to Prime Video on May 23.
The summer, which for Hollywood , is still getting started and could rev up next weekend with the infusion of 鈥淔uriosa: A Mad Max Saga鈥� and 鈥淭he Garfield Movie."
Dergarabedian noted that Memorial Day weekend is a time when moviegoers play can play catch up with films they've missed and heard about. For a film like 鈥淚F," which picked up over the weekend with word of mouth buzz, that could bode well. Still, there is no sugar-coating the reality that the 2024 box office is not going to build on 2023.
"On almost every level this is a non-traditional summer in the lineup of films and the trajectory of the box office," Dergarbedian said. 鈥淏ut collectively these films should have a solid Memorial weekend.鈥�
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淚F,鈥� $35 million.
2. 鈥淜ingdom of hte Planet of the Apes,鈥� $26 million.
3. 鈥淭he Strangers鈥擟hapter 1,鈥� $12 million.
4. 鈥淭he Fall Guy,鈥� $8.5 million.
5. 鈥淐hallengers,鈥� $2.9 million.
6. 鈥淏ack to Black,鈥� $2.9 million.
7. 鈥淭arot,鈥� 2 million.
8. 鈥淕odzilla x Kong: The New Empire,鈥� $1.7 million.
9. 鈥淭he Blue Angels,鈥� $1.3 million.
10. 鈥淯nsung Hero,鈥� $1.1 million.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
