鈥淭he Lego Movie 2: The Second Part鈥� was easily the top ticket-seller in theatres over the weekend, but the film鈥檚 $35 million opening failed to stack up to its expected haul, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The animated sequel had been forecast to draw around $50 million. Instead, it debuted with half the $69 million the 2014 original did, despite good reviews and an A-minus CinemaScore.
With about a $100 million budget, Warner Bros.鈥� 鈥淭he Lego Movie 2鈥� had been pegged as a dependable, star-studded franchise release sure to kick-start a moribund box office. But after record ticket sales last year, Hollywood鈥檚 2019 has gotten off to such a bad beginning that the movie鈥檚 tagline of 鈥淓verything is not awesome鈥� is looking more like accurate industry analysis.
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鈥� The LEGO Movie 2 (@TheLEGOMovie)
鈥淭he expectations were certainly much higher for 鈥楾he Lego Movie 2鈥� considering the success of the first installment,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淲e were all hoping that this would be the weekend that got the momentum of the box office going in the right direction. We鈥檙e still waiting.鈥�
Every weekend this year has been down from the same weekend a year ago. That鈥檚 a streak sure to continue. Next weekend, the new releases include 鈥淗appy Death Day 2U鈥� and 鈥淎lita: Battle Angel.鈥� What opened the same weekend last year? 鈥淏lack Panther.鈥�
鈥淢omentum is everything at the box office,鈥� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淎nd we鈥檝e sort of lost that.鈥�
Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Will Ferrell and others reprise their voice roles in 鈥淭he Lego Movie 2,鈥� while Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph join the cast. Mike Mitchell directs the movie written by original writer-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
Oversaturation could be to blame. Since the 2014 original, which grossed $469 million worldwide, Warner Bros. released two spinoffs: 鈥淭he Lego Batman Movie鈥� in 2017 and 鈥淭he Lego Ninjago Movie鈥� later the same year.
Distribution executives for Warner Bros. declined to comment on the weekend鈥檚 results.
Until now, 2019鈥檚 sluggish box office was partly blamed on lack of quality releases, with only a handful of highly promoted films from major studios. This weekend saw a relatively robust slate of releases, including Taraji P. Henson鈥檚 鈥淲hat Men Want鈥� and the Liam Neeson thriller 鈥淐old Pursuit.鈥� Both did solid if not spectacular business.
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Paramount鈥檚 鈥淲hat Men Want,鈥� a loose remake of the 2000 Mel Gibson comedy, debuted with $19 million. Henson plays a sports agent with the ability to hear men鈥檚 thoughts in Adam Shankman鈥檚 film, a kind of gender flip from the original. The film got poor reviews (47 per cent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), but audiences gave it an A-minus CinemaScore.
Lionsgate鈥檚 鈥淐old Pursuit鈥� debuted with $10.8 million, a result in line with expectations despite the controversy that surrounded its star in the week leading up to release. Neeson drew heavy criticism after he acknowledged in an interview published last Monday that he wanted to kill a random black person when a close friend told him she had been raped by a black man.
Neeson later appeared on 鈥淕ood Morning America鈥� to say he鈥檚 not a racist. Organizers for the New York premiere of 鈥淐old Pursuit鈥� cancelled the film鈥檚 red carpet.
Orion Pictures鈥� horror thriller 鈥淭he Prodigy鈥� also debuted, with $6 million.
China鈥檚 first big-budget space-movie spectacle 鈥淭he Wandering Earth鈥� bowed in China over the Chinese New Year holiday weekend with a staggering $172.7 million Friday to Sunday, and nearly $300 million since opening Tuesday.
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 Monday.
1. 鈥淭he Lego Movie 2: The Second Part,鈥� $35 million ($18.1 million international).
2. 鈥淲hat Men Want,鈥� $19 million.
3. 鈥淐old Pursuit,鈥� $10.8 million ($2.8 million international).
4. 鈥淭he Upside,鈥� $7.2 million.
5. 鈥淕lass,鈥� $6.4 million ($6.6 million international).
6. 鈥淭he Prodigy,鈥� $6 million ($1.1 million international).
7. 鈥淕reen Book,鈥� $3.6 million ($11.4 million international).
8. 鈥淎quaman,鈥� $3.3 million ($6 million international).
9. 鈥淪pider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,鈥� $3 million.
10. 鈥淢iss Bala,鈥� $2.7 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to Comscore.
1. 鈥淭he Wander Earth,鈥� $172.7 million.
2. 鈥淐razy Alien,鈥� $77.7 million.
3. 鈥淧egasus,鈥� $52.4 million.
4. 鈥淗ow To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden
World,鈥� $38.2 million.
5. 鈥淎lita: Battle Angel,鈥� $32 million.
6. 鈥淏oonie Bears: Blast Into The Past,鈥� $27.8 million.
7. 鈥淓xtreme Job,鈥� $18.2 million.
8. 鈥淭he Lego Movie 2: The Second Part,鈥� $18.1 million.
9. 鈥淭he New King Of Comedy,鈥� $14.9 million.
10. 鈥淕reen Book,鈥� $11.4 million.
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
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