Pixar has been a successful studio from the beginning. Toy Story made nearly $200 million by the end of its domestic run back in 1995 (which is equatable to about $400 million when factoring in inflation), and they have never failed to release a movie and make more than $300 million worldwide. That being said, this is still a surprise. Brad Bird's Incredibles 2 arrived in theaters this weekend, and not only shattered expectations, but also records. Check out the full Top 10 below, and join me after for analysis!
Previously it was Andrew Stanton's Finding Dory in 2016 that set the record for biggest Pixar opening weekend here at home, but now Incredibles 2 , which has been released on the exact same weekend two years later, has completely blown that number out of the water. Early estimates are saying that the new movie has made $180 million in its first three days, which is really pretty mind-boggling. It's the second biggest June opening of all time, with only Colin Trevorrow's Jurassic World ($208.8 million) being the only blockbuster to make more,and its the third biggest opening so far this year, behind only Joe and Anthony Russo's Avengers: Infinity War ($257.7 million) and Ryan Coogler's Black Panther ($202 million). You might have noticed that not only are these all superhero movies - showing that genre fatigue is definitely not a thing - but that they are all also releases from Walt Disney Studios.
A couple weeks back in looked like Incredibles 2 was going to make about $140 million in its opening weekend, but clearly those estimates were conservative. So what explains the boom? For starters, the reviews were top notch (it's holding a 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), and audiences absolutely love it (it's rocking an "A+" on CinemaScore). That kind of buzz will always get asses in seats, but there's also the fact that this is a family film - which means that the tickets for children are generally being purchased along with tickets for their guardians. Add in the disappointment of Ron Howard's Solo: A Star Wars Story, which has kept the box office relatively quiet for the last few weeks, and what was concocted was a perfect recipe for success.
With Incredibles 2 going above and beyond, sadly that didn't leave much attention to be left for the rest of the new releases out this week. For example, Warner Bros. was essentially competing against itself, launching Jeff Tomsic's comedy Tag just one week after Gary Ross' Ocean's 8, and that didn't turn out so great. The heist movie had a solid second go-round considering its competition, and as a result the new ensemble comedy with Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Ed Helms, Hannibal Burress and Jake Johnson had to settle for third place and a $14.6 million total (half of its $28 million budget). It will probably be able to make its money back by the end of its run, but it won't ultimately be seen as one of the big comedy hits of the summer.
Then there's Director X's Superfly, which opened at number seven, and couldn't beat out Ari Aster's terrifying horror film Hereditary in its second week. Put out by Sony, it was definitely the smallest new wide release of the week, put in only 2,200 theaters, but there wasn't enough buzz or interest to make it a real competitor in the middle of summer. The good news is that it was only made for a reported $16 million, meaning it still has a chance to make a profit, but I also wouldn't expect it to stick around for very long, especially given what's coming up next.
Speaking of which, following in Incredibles 2's footsteps we have what should be another one of the biggest films of the year. After already being out in international release for a couple of weeks, J.A. Bayona's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom will be heading to theaters this Friday. It should have a sizable impact on the summer blockbuster scene, so join me next Tuesday to see how it changes the Top 10.
