By Lindsey Bahr, Film Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --The "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" dinosaurs ruled the box office for a second weekend in a row, but also left a little room for more modest newcomers like "Sicario: Day of the Soldado" and the basketball comedy "Uncle Drew" to over-perform in the crowded marketplace.
Studios on Sunday estimate that the blockbuster sequel to "Jurassic World" earned an additional $60 million in its second weekend in North American theaters, bringing its domestic total to $264.8 million. While its second weekend drop is about 10 percent steeper than that of the first film, worldwide, the film has grossed $932.4 million to date and is barreling toward the $1 billion mark.
The dinosaurs didn't gobble up all the attention this weekend, however. "Incredibles 2," now in its third weekend in theaters, took second place with $45.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $439.7 million.
North American audiences came out in larger than expected numbers for both the action thriller "Sicario: Day of the Soldado" and "Uncle Drew."
The "Sicario" sequel starring Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro earned $19 million to take third place. The film, distributed by Sony Pictures, cost a reported $35 to $40 million to produce.
Landing in fourth place was the basketball comedy "Uncle Drew," which features NBA All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Shaquille O'Neal. With a production price tag under $20 million, the film exceeded expectations grossing $15.5 million and got audience stamp of approval with an A CinemaScore.
The ad and marketing campaign included spots during the NBA playoffs and finals, a Wheaties box featuring Irving as Uncle Drew, and an Uncle Drew capsule collection from Nike.
Lionsgate, which distributed the movie, knew the film had built-in marketability because of the celebrity of the stars, but was also pleased to discover that the film in early screenings appealed to non-basketball fans too.
"That was the surprise, that wow, we have a picture that really plays to a general audience," said David Spitz, Lionsgate's president of domestic distribution. "It has a really sweet message."
The A CinemaScore, which suggests that the film will have good word-of-mouth buzz, could bode well for the film over the Fourth of July holiday and into the rest of the summer.
"We're hoping it's the old adage, 'It's not a sprint, it's a marathon,'" Spitz said.
Lower down on the charts the Indian film "Sanju," a biopic about Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, earned an impressive $2.6 million from only 356 screens in its opening weekend. And the Fred Rogers documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" now playing on 654 screens, continues to do well in its expansion. It added $2.3 million to its earnings this weekend.
After two weekends of $100 million plus movies, this past weekend provided a little blockbuster break before "Ant-Man and the Wasp" opens this week. But even without a record-breaker or a $100 million movie, the box office is still up 15.3 percent from last summer's abysmal performance and 9.3 percent for the year overall.
"We can't have every weekend like the last two weekends," said comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
"The theatrical box office is on a major roll right now," Dergarabedian added. "This puts to bed any notion that the summer movie season has run its course. Audiences want to go out to the movie theater during the summer season."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," $60 million ($56.1 million international).
2. "Incredibles 2," $45.5 million ($44.3 million international).
3. "Sicario: Day of the Soldado," $19 million ($8.4 million international).
4. "Uncle Drew," $15.5 million.
5. "Ocean's 8," $8 million ($13.8 million international).
6. "Tag," $5.6 million ($3.7 million international).
7. "Deadpool 2," $3.5 million ($2.8 million international).
8. "Sanju," $2.6 million ($22.2 million international).
9. "Solo: A Star Wars Story," $2.3 million ($6.1 million international).
10. "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" $2.3 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:
1. "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," $56.1 million.
2. "Incredibles 2," $44.3 million.
3. "Animal World," $31.6 million.
4. "Sanju," $22.2 million.
5. "Ocean's 8," $13.8 million.
6. "Escape Plan 2," $11.6 million.
7. "Sicario: Day of the Soldado," $8.4 million.
8. "Witch," $7.3 million.
9. "Solo: A Star Wars Story," $6.1 million.
10. "Tag" and "The Accidental Detective 2," $3.7 million.
Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More