It’s already been a very good year for animated movies at thebox office, with four of this year’s biggest animated hits cracking the top 10 so far,Finding Dory,Zootopia,The Secret Life of PetsandKung Fu Panda 3. Despite a solid history at the box office, the latest installment of theIce Agefranchise,Ice Age: Collision Course, will likely not be added to this list, as it suffered the worse opening in franchise history. This allowed the highly-anticipated sci-fi sequelStar Trek Beyondto take the top spot with $59.6 million.
Box Office Mojoreports thatStar Trek Beyondearned an impressive $15,173 per-screen average from 3,928 theaters, but it still represents the lowest opening in this rebooted franchise. DirectorJ.J. Abrams' 2009Star Trekopened with $75.2 million, en route to $257.7 million domestic and $385.6 million worldwide, from a $150 million budget. 2013’sStar Trek Beyondopened with $70.1 million with a domestic total of $228.7 and $467.3 million, from a $190 million budget.
Star Trek Beyondwas filmed under a $185 million budget, and while it fared quite well with critics (84% on Rotten Tomatoes), critical acclaim didn’t translate into a bigger box office debut this time. Theearly reactionsto this sci-fi sequel were incredible positive, with most critics and fans agreeing that this new movie is much better than the divisiveStar Trek Into Darkness. We’ll have to wait and see ifStar Trek Beyondwill suffer a big drop in its second weekend in theaters, but regardless of how it finishes at the box office, Paramount has already announcedStar Trek 4, which bringsChris Hemsworthback to the franchise as George Kirk, the late father ofChris Pine’s James Tiberius Kirk.
Star Trek Beyond, the highly anticipated next installment in the globally popularStar Trekfranchise, created byGene Roddenberryand reintroduced byJ.J. Abramsin 2009, returns with directorJustin Lin(The Fast and the Furiousfranchise) at the helm of this epic voyage of theU.S.S. Enterpriseand her intrepid crew. In “Beyond,” the Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.
Ice Age 5has the advantage when it comes to theater count, debuting this weekend in 3,992 theaters, with theStar Treksequel opening in 3,928 theaters andLights Outdebuting in 2,818 theaters. Despite its theater count advantage, bothStar Trek BeyondandLights Outare bona fide critical hits, whileIce Age 5is the complete opposite.Star Trek Beyondhas amassed an impressive 84% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, whileLights Outhas a 77% rating, although it was sporting a 100% rating earlier this week. The fifthIce Agemovie currently has a 13% score, and it debuted in fifth place with $21 million, behindThe Secret Life of Pets($29.3 million) andGhostbustersandLights Out, which both tied with $21.6 million, but we’ll have to wait and see which one comes out on top when the actual figures come out tomorrow.
Scrat’s epic pursuit of the elusive acorn catapults him into the universe where he accidentally sets off a series of cosmic events that transform and threaten the Ice Age World. To save themselves, Sid, Manny, Diego, and the rest of the herd must leave their home and embark on a quest full of comedy and adventure, traveling to exotic new lands and encountering a host of colorful new characters.
Lights Outcomes from producerJames Wan(The Conjuring), a tale of an unknown terror that lurks in the dark. When Rebecca left home, she thought she left her childhood fears behind. Growing up, she was never really sure of what was and wasn’t real when the lights went out…and now her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that had once tested her sanity and threatened her safety. A frightening entity with a mysterious attachment to their mother, Sophie, has reemerged. But this time, as Rebecca gets closer to unlocking the truth, there is no denying that all their lives are in danger…once the lights go out.
The top 10 is rounded out byFinding Dory($7.2 million),The Legend of Tarzan($6.4 million)Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates($4.4 million),Hillary’s America: The Secret History of The Democratic Party($3.7 million) andThe Infiltrator($3.2 million).Hillary’s America: The Secret History of The Democratic Partyis a surprising inclusion in the top 10, having opened in limited release last weekend and expanding from three theaters to 1,216 theaters. Also opening in limited release is Fox Searchlight’sAbsolutely Fabulous: The Movie, which took in $1.8 million, earning a solid $6,006 per-screen average from 313 theaters. Well Go USA’sTrain to Busanalso fared quite well, earning $285,900 from 27 theaters for a $10,589 per-screen average. The Film Arcade’sDon’t Think Twiceearned $90,126 from just one theater for the highest per-screen average of the weekend, although no box office datat was released for Mirror Images Ltd.‘sBeta Test, Reliance Big Pictures’Madaariand Strand’sSummertime.
Looking ahead to next weekend, Universal Pictures will debut the long-awaitedJason Bournein theaters, alongside STX Entertainment’sBad Momsand Lionsgate’sNerve, which debuts Wednesday, July 27. Also opening in limited release is Sony Pictures Classics’Equity, A24’sInto the Forest, IFC’sThe Land, Dimension Films’Viraland Open Road Films’ documentaryGleason. Be sure to check back on Tuesday for the next wave of predictions. Until then, check out the top 10 estimates for the weekend of July 22 below.
