The summer movie box office is here, and while the numbers may be a bit lower than we're used to seeing, the numbers are there nonetheless. A Quiet Place Part II opened in theaters over the Memorial Day Weekend and while it didn't set any records compared to previous years, it was able to set a record as the highest grossing opening weekend this year, which is still an achievement. Audiences came back to theaters to see the new thriller, but will audiences be willing to come back in a couple weeks for a big screen blockbuster musical in the same numbers? Quite possibly. In the Heights is looking to have a strong opening of its own.
A Quiet Place Part II ended its standard three-day weekend with $47.4 million in box office receipts, more than enough to take the crown as the biggest opening of 2021, beating Godzilla vs. Kong, which took just over $32 million over the same Friday-Sunday period. While the strong numbers for A Quiet Place Part II, certainly show that audiences are willing to return to theaters in strong numbers, most of the big movies coming out in theaters in June aren't expected to match that same success. Although the big screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights is looking to make a play, as that movie is expected to bring in an opening weekend of anywhere between $25 and $45 million, according to Box Office Pro.
The fact that the high estimate for In the Heights is looking to still come in just under the under the total brought in by A Quiet Place Part II would seem to indicate that the musical won't be enough to overcome the horror film at the box office. But considering that the range is so wide to begin with, with the estimate being that the movie could only bring in $25 million or could almost double that number, indicates that there's a lot of uncertainty regarding just how the film adaptation of the stage musical could do. So seeing it out perform its current high estimates certainly wouldn't be impossible.
There is, of course, the HBO Max question. In the Heights will be released on the streaming service on the same day it opens in theaters, and that certainly could cut into the film's box office. At the same time, people were certainly willing to go see Godzilla vs Kong in theaters in order to get the "proper" experience for a big screen monster movie, and the big screen is going to serve the massive musical equally well. So we will certainly see a lot of people willing to experience the spectacle on the screen it was intended for.
If In the Heights isn't able to outperform A Quiet Place Part II, then the horror-thriller will be able to hold on to the opening weekend crown for most of the month of June, no other film is expected to come even close to what A Quiet Place Part II was able to do at the box office.
That is until June 25, when F9 is released. Whoever has the best opening weekend of 2021 when that movie comes out will almost certainly fall to the newest installment of that franchise, which could break the $100 million mark on its opening weekend.
