‘Bullet Train’ Fends Off ‘Top Gun 2’ As ‘Thor 4’ Passes $720 Million

In holdover news for the weekend, Sony’s Bullet Train again topped the domestic box office with $13.4 million (-55%). That gives the $90 million Brad Pitt-and-friends action comedy a $54.5 million ten-day cume. That drop is essentially tied with Hobbs & Shaw this weekend in 2019. That Dwayne Johnson/Jason Statham actioner legged out to 1.6x its respective $108 million ten-day total. Even Guardians of the Galaxy, coming off a $94 million debut and facing the $64 million launch of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, dropped 55% in weekend two before becoming the leggiest MCU movie ever (3.5x weekend-to-final and 1.89x its ten-day cume). The last biggie(s) of the summer usually benefits from a lack of tentpole competition as kids get ready to go back to school. See also: The Fugitive, The Sixth Sense, S.W.A.T., Suicide Squad and The Hitman’s Bodyguard.

Those films earned between 1.45x (Suicide Squad) and 1.89x (Guardians of the Galaxy) their respective ten-day totals. Considering the embarrassing lack of big newbies between now and Sony’s The Woman King on September 16 and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Don’t Worry Darling on September 23, a similar run wouldn’t be shocking. The R-rated, David Leitch-directed new-to-you adaptation will end its domestic run with between $82 million and $105 million domestic. It has earned $60 million overseas for a $114.5 million global cume. If it plays like the Fast & Furious spin-off globally, sans China and Russia, it’ll still flirt with tripling its budget worldwide. We’re not looking at the next World War Z or even Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but it’ll be a decent sum for a one-and-done star vehicle that will play like gangbusters in post-theatrical and, in several months, on Netflix.

Top Gun: Maverick cannot be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And Tom Cruise absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead. The number two movie this weekend was Paramount and Skydance’s blockbuster legacy sequel. The $170 million Joseph Kosinski-directed action drama earned another $7.15 million (+2%) in weekend 11. That’s the fourth biggest eleventh-weekend gross, not counting Oscar season flicks that wide in weekend four or whatever, behind Titanic, Avatar and E.T. It has earned $673.8 million domestic, possibly days away from passing Avengers: Infinity War ($679 million in 2018) to become the sixth-biggest domestic grosser ever. It now has $1.377 billion worldwide. It might pass Avengers: Age of Ultron ($1.405 billion in 2015) and Frozen II ($1.45 billion in 2019/2020) to become the biggest ‘part two’ sequel globally.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC League of Super Pets earned $6.9 million (-38%) weekend and $58 million 17-day total. Give or take being the last animated biggie in the marketplace until Walt Disney’s Strange World over Thanksgiving, the $90 million Dwayne Johnson/Kevin Hart toon should end with around $75 million. That’s about par for the course for most non-event WB toons (Storks, Smallfoot, etc.). It’s disappointing, to be sure, but under normal circumstances, it would have been the gimme alongside an overperforming Elvis (which earned $2.53 million, dropping 36%, for a $141 million domestic cume) and Black Adam (which was supposed to open on July 29). Whether or not this matters to Zaslov’s big picture plans, the fun, family-friendly and occasionally clever comedy will play well in post-theatrical. Festival debuts notwithstanding, I sincerely wish Don’t Worry Darling was opening in mid-August instead of late September.

Jordan Peele’s Nope earned $5.3 million (-38%) in weekend four for a $106 million 24-day total. It’s lower than Get Out and Us ($176 million and $175 million), and $69 million makes it among the more expensive horror movies, original or not, in the last decade or so, but PVOD will pick up any theatrical slack. It opened in 19 overseas territories, grossing $6.4 million and giving it a $114 million global cume. The Black Phone has earned $87.5 million domestic and $150 million worldwide on an $18 million budget. Minions: The Rise of Gru has earned $343 million domestic and $790 million worldwide. It should ‘finish’ with around $835 million as we wait to see if China will push it past $900 million worldwide. Jurassic World Dominion has grossed $373.1 million domestic and $974 million worldwide, meaning it should finish over/under $990 million.

Thor: Love and Thunder earned $5.31 million (-31%) weekend for a $325.4 million 38-day domestic total. It has now sold more tickets in North America than Thor: Ragnarok ($315 million in 2017) and has passed the no China/no Russia total of that third Thor flick ($712 million) globally. With $720.5 million worldwide and a likely over/under $750 million finish, it’s the definition of a rock-solid MCU hit. And, to paraphrase Joker, I’m tired of people pretending that it’s not, especially for a fourth Thor film that didn’t bring much new to the table. The mid-July MCU movies usually earn less than the summer kick-off films. The Thor series has never been tops (Ragnarök earned less domestically and worldwide in 2017 than both Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming) among Marvel’s ongoing franchises. Marvel needs no caping, but the grosses are the grosses.

Sony’s Where the Crawdads Sing continued to leg out as the only big summer movie aimed at women. The Daisy Edgar-Jones melodrama earned $4 million (-30%) weekend and $72.15 million domestic total. The $24 million release should reach around $80 million domestic, which makes it an old-school hit. Amblin’s Easter Sunday, distributed by Universal, earned $2.4 million (-56%) in weekend two for a $9.82 million ten-day total. At least Universal and Focus are trying to keep the live-action comedy alive in theaters, even if the likes of Marry Me, Easter Sunday, Bros and Easter Sunday may need a bump from PVOD and eventual Peacock viewership to offset theatrical expectations. Moreover, Universal just became the first studio since 2019 to crack $3 billion in global grosses, thanks to various movies pulling good-to-great grosses.