Weekend Wrap-Up: Dinos Help the Box Office Hold On

July 3, 2018

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was within a rounding error of our prediction with $60.91 million over the weekend. Additionally, both new releases, Sicario: Day of the Soldado and Uncle Drew, beat expectations, as did every other film in the top five helping the overall box office reach $178 million. Granted, this weekend still plummeted 36% from last weekend, but last weekend was the biggest ever weekend in June, so falling from that figure isn’t disappointing. In fact, it is 4.8% higher than the same weekend last year, which is higher than the rate of inflation, so I would call that a significant margin. Year-to-date, 2018 has pulled in $6.15 billion, making it the fastest year to get to the $6 billion mark. This is also $560 million or 10.0% higher than the same pace last year. I’m going to make a prediction that is the the peak lead 2018 will have over 2017, at least in terms of percentage.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom earned $60.91 million over its second weekend of release, giving it a two-week total of $265.70 million. On the positive side, the film is already very profitable. On the negative side, it took Jurassic World just six days to earn what Fallen Kingdom earned in 10. Furthermore, the first Jurassic World fell just 49% during its second weekend of release, so this comparison is going to look worse and worse as Fallen Kingdom’s box office run continues.

Incredibles 2 added $46.42 million during its third weekend of release to its running tally, which now sits at $440.60 million. There is direct competition on the horizon, but this film will likely be over $500 million before that happens.

Sicario: Day of the Soldado opened with $19.01 million. This is better than Sicario’s best weekend, but that film opened in limited release, so it is hard to compare. Day of the Soldado has earned much weaker reviews and only a B from CinemaScore, so it won’t have the same legs. The official reports have the film’s budget at $35 million, although unofficially some have claimed it's $45 million. If the latter number is correct, then this film will need help breaking even any time soon.

Uncle Drew opened in fourth place with $15.24 million over the weekend. The film reportedly only cost $18 million to make, so this is a great opening weekend. Furthermore, its reviews are good and it earned an A from CinemaScore, so that suggests better than average legs. It won’t get to $50 million domestically, but it should do well enough to break even during its initial push into the home market.

Ocean’s 8 rounded out the top five with $8.33 million over the weekend for a total of $115.00 million after four weeks of release. It will top $130 million domestically, which is enough to cover its entire production budget. It just needs to cover its advertising budget internationally, which it most certainly will.

- Weekend Box Office Chart

- Sicario: Day of the Soldado Comparisons
- Uncle Drew Comparisons

Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, Incredibles 2, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Ocean’s 8, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Uncle Drew