Moviegoers voted with their dollars and chose the familiar over the new this Memorial Day weekend. The Walt Disney Co.鈥檚 live-action remake of 鈥淎laddin鈥� crushed the competition at the box office, which included two new original R-rated films that opened as counterprogramming to the family pic: The critically acclaimed teen comedy 鈥淏ooksmart鈥� and the horror movie 鈥淏rightburn.鈥�
But the strategy didn鈥檛 quite work. 鈥淎laddin鈥� did better than expected, grossing an estimated $86.1 million to take the top spot at the North American box office, according to studio estimates on Sunday. It鈥檒l likely pass $100 million by Monday. The others didn鈥檛 even break $10 million.
顿颈蝉苍别测鈥檚 is the #1 Movie in the World.
鈥� 顿颈蝉苍别测鈥檚 Aladdin (@disneyaladdin)
See the film now playing in theaters. Get tickets:
鈥淎laddin,鈥� a musical-adventure directed by Guy Ritchie, stars Will Smith, Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott and draws heavily on the music and story of the 1992 animated film (the top earner of that year) that it鈥檚 based on.
鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted,鈥� said Cathleen Taff, 顿颈蝉苍别测鈥檚 president of theatrical distribution. 鈥淏etween the fun action-adventure and spectacular music combined with the cast, which is so charming and has such great chemistry together, we鈥檝e hit something that fans are embracing and walking out of wanting to share with others.鈥�
Audiences, who were 54% women and 51% families, gave the remake an A CinemaScore, which is much more promising for its continued success than the tepid critical reviews. The studio also got another metric with the newly launched verified Rotten Tomatoes audience rating. Over 7,000 people rated the film to give it a 93%.
鈥淚鈥檓 so pleased that Rotten Tomatoes launched this, it means people bought the ticket. You can trust that people giving you the score actually sat through the movie,鈥� Taff said. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 ask for a better barometer of fan reception.鈥�
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With an international gross of $121 million, 鈥淎laddin鈥� has already earned over $207 million globally. It cost a reported $183 million to produce.
The top few spots at the holiday box office were populated by known brands and sequels. 鈥淛ohn Wick: Chapter 3 鈥� Parabellum,鈥� now in its second weekend, placed second with $24.4 million. 鈥淎vengers: Endgame鈥� took third with $16.8 million, and 鈥淧ok茅mon Detective Pikachu鈥� landed in fourth with $13.3 million.
Original films are struggling to attract significant audiences at the moment. Sony鈥檚 modestly budgeted horror movie 鈥淏rightburn鈥� opened in fifth with $7.5 million. The James Gunn-produced film starring Elizabeth Banks puts a sinister spin on the Superman myth and has received mediocre reviews from critics.
A surprise for many, however, was 鈥淏ooksmart,鈥� an Annapurna film distributed by United Artists Releasing, which debuted in sixth with only $6.5 million, despite excellent reviews and steady buzz from its SXSW film festival debut. Although in line with studio expectations going into the weekend, some had thought that this would be a summer breakout hit.
Olivia Wilde directed the film that stars Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein as two teenage overachievers and rule-followers who decide to go to a party on their last night of high school. Many compared it to 鈥淪uperbad,鈥� which opened in August 2007 to $33 million.
But despite all the hype, including a lot of celebrity endorsements on social media from the likes of Natalie Portman and Ryan Reynolds, audiences just didn鈥檛 turn out for 鈥淏ooksmart鈥� in noteworthy numbers.
Wilde saw the writing on the wall Saturday and tried to change the course with a Twitter plea.
鈥淎nyone out there saving @Booksmart for another day, consider making that day TODAY,鈥� Wilde wrote. 鈥淲e are getting creamed by the big dogs out there and need your support. Don鈥檛 give studios an excuse not to green-light movies made by and about women.鈥�
Those who did make to 鈥淏ooksmart鈥� were mostly women (61 and under the age of 35 (74%). And the target 17-34 age group gave a more favourable exit score (an A) than audiences overall, who gave it a B+.
鈥淧eople are in a popcorn mood,鈥� Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian said. 鈥淔ilms trying to be more introspective and fresh are having a tougher time getting their head above water.鈥�
Still, he noted, to have three R-rated films in the top 6 (鈥淏rightburn,鈥� 鈥滲ooksmart鈥� and 鈥淛ohn Wick: Chapter 3鈥�) is impressive. And one limited release that did manage to connect was the Laurel Canyon music documentary 鈥淓cho in the Canyon,鈥� which earned an impressive $103,716 from two locations in Los Angeles. It expands to New York next week.
The deficit is still running around 9% for the year, but next weekend could chip away at that with a diverse set of new offerings including the Elton John biopic 鈥淩ocketman,鈥� 鈥滸odzilla: King of the Monsters鈥� and the Octavia Spencer thriller 鈥淢a.鈥�
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.
1.鈥滱laddin,鈥� $86.1 million ($121 million international).
2.鈥滼ohn Wick: Chapter 3 鈥� Parabellum,鈥� $24.4 million ($24.8 million international).
3.鈥滱vengers: Endgame,鈥� $16.8 million ($15.3 million international).
4.鈥漃ok茅mon Detective Pikachu,鈥� $13.3 million ($24.3 million international).
5.鈥滲rightburn,鈥� $7.5 million ($4.5 million international).
6.鈥滲ooksmart,鈥� $6.5 million.
7.鈥滱 Dog鈥檚 Journey,鈥� $4.1 million ($6.5 million international).
8.鈥漈he Hustle,鈥� $3.8 million ($4.6 million international).
9.鈥漈he Intruder,鈥� $2.3 million.
10.鈥滾ong Shot,鈥� $1.6 million ($788,000 international).
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to Comscore:
1. 鈥淎laddin,鈥� $121 million.
2. 鈥淛ohn Wick: Chapter 3 鈥� Parabellum,鈥� $24.8 million.
3. 鈥淧ok茅mon Detective Pikachu,鈥� $24.3 million.
4. 鈥淎vengers: Endgame,鈥� $15.3 million.
5. 鈥淎 Dog鈥檚 Journey,鈥� $6.5 million.
6. 鈥淭he Gangster, The Cop, The Devil,鈥� $6.4 million.
7. 鈥淩ocketman,鈥� $6.4 million.
8. 鈥淢ayday Life 3D,鈥� $5.5 million.
9. 鈥淭he Hustle,鈥� $4.6 million.
10. 鈥淏rightburn,鈥� $4.5 million.
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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/ldbahr
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
