Box Office: ‘DC Super Pets’ Plunges 64% As ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Passes ‘Titanic’

In holdover news for Friday, DC League of Super-Pets took a sharp dive, earning $3.35 million (-64%) on its second Friday. That sets the stage for a $10.8 million (-53%) Fri-Sun frame, which is not a great hold for a big animated film that didn’t open well. For example, DreamWorks and Universal’s The Bad Guys opened with $24 million this past April and dropped just 32% in weekend two for a $16 million gross. Super Pets’ $44.7 million ten-day total will be on par with Bad Guys’ $44.6 million ten-day cume, thanks to decent ‘school’s out for the summer’ weekday grosses. Still presuming a conventional rate of descent, we can expect a domestic finish of $65-$70 million for the $90 million Dwayne Johnson/Kevin Hart kid-targeted caper. Come what may, this one isn’t playing to the older/adult demographics.

Universal and Monkeypaw’s Nope didn’t hold much better. Jordan Peele’s original, R-rated horror flick earned $2.52 million (-57%) on day 15 for a likely $8 million (-57%) third-weekend gross. That will give the $69 million Daniel Kaluuya/Keke Palmer release a $97.5 million 17-day total. On the plus side, it will today pass Universal’s Halloween Kills ($92 million) as the biggest R-rated release since Bad Boys for Life ($204 million) in January of 2020. And it’ll still crack $100 million domestic sometime next week. At this rate of descent, it’ll still end up just above $110 million domestic, on par with M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass in early 2019. However, most of this month’s releases are horror movies (Bodies Bodies Bodies, The Fall, Beast, The Invitation, Barbarian, etc.), so legs beyond that are not remotely guaranteed.

Thor: Love and Thunder earned $2.2 million (-42%) on Friday for a likely $7.4 million (-44%) fifth-weekend gross and a new $316 million 31-day domestic total. For all the rambling online about Marvel being in trouble or Thor 4 being a disappointment, Love & Thunder will pass the $315 million domestic cume ($321 million adjusted for inflation) of Ragnarök. It should be at around $695 million worldwide tomorrow, nearing Thor: Ragnarök’s no China/no Russia cume of $712 million ($854 million total in 2017). No, it’s not playing as a breakout sequel to Thor 3, but A) money is money, and B) it didn’t bring much new to the table after the last two Thor movies. To the extent that its reception may have been disappointing, it’s not like Marvel needs Thor 5.

In a paragraph about Comcast, Illumination’s Minions: The Rise of Gru earned $2.09 million (-38%) on Friday for a likely $6.9 million (-38%) sixth weekend. That’ll give the $80 million animated prequel/sequel $334.32 million domestic, just behind Minions ($336 million in 2015). At this rate, it’ll end with around $350 million domestic and $800 million worldwide. Amblin’s Jurassic World Dominion will surpass the $955 million total of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. That’s partially thanks to $157 million in China, making it the second biggest global grosser in 2022. Blumhouse’s The Black Phone will earn $1.4 million (-44%) this weekend to pass $85 million domestic. Focus Features’ Vengeance will earn $630,000 (-64%) in weekend two for a $3 million cume as Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris earns $540,000 (-43%) for an $8 million total.

Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick earned another $1.9 million (-21%) on Friday for a $6.7 million (-21%) 11th weekend and $662 million domestic cume. It fell out of the top five for the first time, putting it fifth in terms of most consecutive top five weekends. Considering the lack of big August releases, I’d expect it to return to the top five, although E.T.’s record of 27 non-consecutive weekends is probably safe. Even if stays out of the top five going forward, it’s still ahead of such nine-weekend-wonders as Black Panther, The Force Awakens and The Sixth Sense. It’ll today sail past the $659.5 million lifetime gross of James Cameron’s Titanic to become the seventh biggest domestic earner ever. It will be Paramount’s biggest domestic hit unless next year’s rerelease of Titanic puts it back on top.

Sony’s Where the Crawdads Sing grossed $1.665million (-29%) on Friday for a likely $5.46 million (-28%) weekend and $64.43 million 24-day domestic cume. It’s shameful that Crawdads is the only big movie about/for women. Sony benefits from offering such fare amid a season of macho actioners and male-skewing dramas. At this rate of descent, the $24 million drama will pass Morbius ($74 million) and end its run over/under $80 million domestic. Finally, amid a chaotic week for Warner Bros. Discovery, Elvis is again showing that, say it with me now, Warner Bros. is more than Batman and Harry Potter. The well-reviewed and well-received Austin Butler/Tom Hanks musical biopic earned $1.43 million (-36%) on Friday for a likely $3.67 million (-36%). That will give the $85 million drama a $136.2 million domestic and over/under $245 million worldwide cume.