By Lindsey Bahr
The summer box office showed signs of slowing down this weekend as the animated "DC League of Super-Pets" opened in theaters across North America.
The superhero spinoff about Superman's dog earned $23 million from 4,314 locations, according to studio estimates Sunday. Though slightly less than expected, it was still enough to capture the first-place spot and knock Jordan Peele's "Nope" into second place in its second weekend.
Analysts had pegged "DC League of Super-Pets" for a $25 million launch, which was on the lower end for animated openings this summer. In June, the $50.6 million for "Lightyear" was considered underwhelming for the $200 million Disney/Pixar movie. Then in early July, Universal's "Minions: The Rise of Gru" captured $107 million in its first three days.
But "Super-Pets" is more comparable to Universal's "The Bad Guys," which netted out with around $97 million domestic after a $23 million opening, and it's much, much stronger than Paramount's "Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank's" $6.3 million debut several weeks ago.
"This opening is a huge win for DC fans, the box office, WB and our filmmakers," said Jeff Goldstein, the studio's president of domestic distribution.
"DC League of Super-Pets" was not intended to be a midsummer release. Originally, "Super-Pets" had been slated for May, while this weekend was reserved for "Black Adam," Warner Bros.' other Dwayne Johnson superhero pic. But postproduction delays due to a backup at VFX houses forced "Black Adam" to move back to October. Instead of giving up the prime date, the studio filled the open spot with a family-friendly title with an all-star voice cast, including Kevin Hart, John Krasinski, Keanu Reeves and Kate McKinnon as an evil guinea pig.
"Super-Pets" has several summer vacation weeks left with little significant competition, and the hope is that it will continue to grow steadily thanks to positive feedback from audiences this weekend. And with $18.4 million from international showings, it has already grossed $41.4 million globally.
"The interest is red hot," Goldstein said. "Young family movies play for a long time. Given our CinemaScore of A- and word of mouth, we're going to be around for a while."
Second place went to Universal's "Nope," which fell 57% from its debut last weekend and earned an additional $18.6 million. The North American grosses for "Nope" are now sitting at $80.6 million before it begins its international expansion in August.
"Thor: Love and Thunder" took third place with $13.1 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $301.5 million. Its global total is now sitting at $662 million, without a release in China.
"Minions: The Rise of Gru" stuck its heels in fourth place in its fifth weekend with $10.9 million. Worldwide, it has now earned $710.4 million.
And rounding out the top five was "Top Gun: Maverick," which made an additional $8.2 million in its 10th weekend, bringing its domestic total to $650.1 million.
Major new theatrical releases were limited this weekend, but gave audiences a variety of options. Focus Features debuted the film "Vengeance" in 998 locations this weekend, where it earned an estimated $1.8 million. B.J. Novak's directorial debut follows a podcaster (Novak) who travels from New York to west Texas to investigate the death of his girlfriend. The well-reviewed thriller features Issa Rae and Ashton Kutcher. And Bleecker Street opened the Sundance charmer "A Love Song," starring Wes Studi and Dale Dickey, in four theaters, where it earned an estimated $18,702.
Things are slowing down at the domestic box office heading into August, which is not uncommon. And there are still big films to come, like Sony's "Bullet Train" with Brad Pitt, which speeds into theaters next weekend.
"July generated over $1 billion, and that's impressive. It's the first billion-dollar month since December 2019," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "That gives us a tailwind going into August, but don't expect any $100 million debuts for a while."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "DC League of Super-Pets," $23 million.
2. "Nope," $18.6 million.
3. "Thor: Love and Thunder," $13.1 million.
4. "Minions: The Rise of Gru," $10.9 million.
5. "Top Gun: Maverick," $8.2 million.
6. "Where the Crawdads Sing," $7.5 million.
7. "Elvis," $5.8 million.
8. "The Black Phone," $2.5 million.
9. "Jurassic World: Dominion," $2.1 million.
10. "Vengeance," $1.8 million.
Lindsey Bahr is an AP film writer
Actor Daniel Day-Lewis Ends Retirement For A Film Directed By His Son
Daniel Day-Lewis is coming out of retirement, seven years after his last movie, for a film directed by his son Ronan Day-Lewis.
The project was announced Tuesday by Focus Features and Plan B, who are partnering on "Anemone." The film, Ronan Day-Lewis' directorial debut, will star his father along with Sean Bean and Samantha Morton. The film was co-written by the two Day-Lewises.
Earlier Tuesday, Daniel Day-Lewis and Bean were spotted driving a motorbike through Manchester, England, stoking intrigue about his impending return to acting. After making Paul Thomas Anderson's 2017 film "Phantom Thread," the 67-year-old had said he was quitting acting.
"All my life, I've mouthed off about how I should stop acting, and I don't know why it was different this time, but the impulse to quit took root in me, and that became a compulsion," he told W Magazine in 2017. "It was something I had to do."
Since then, his appearances in public have been infrequent. In January, though, he made a surprise appearance at the National Board of Review Awards to present an award to Martin Scorsese, who directed him in "Gangs of New York" (2002) and "The Age of Innocence" (1993).
"Anemone," currently in production, is described as exploring "the intricate relationships between fathers, sons and brothers, and the dynamics of familial bonds."
Ronan Day-Lewis, 26, is a painter who has previously exhibited his works in New York. His first international solo exhibition debuts Tuesday in Hong Kong.
"We could not be more excited to partner with a brilliant visual artist in Ronan Day-Lewis on his first feature film alongside Daniel Day-Lewis as his creative collaborator," said Peter Kujawski, chair of Focus Features. "They have written a truly... Read More