It was a bad weekend for sequels at the box office, as two new releases severely underperformed.
The Secret Life of Pets 2 claimed the top spot at the box office this weekend, but it was with just $47.1 million, way, way down from the first film’s record breaking debut of $104 million back in 2016. Clearly, families weren’t clamoring for a sequel here. Unless the film performs strongly overseas, this probably heralds the end of this particular franchise, and that’s no secret.
Meanwhile, speaking of endings, Fox’s X-Men franchise ends with an incredible whimper, as Dark Phoenix could only muster up $33 million, far and away the worst debut weekend in the history of the film series. While some fans, including myself, enjoyed the critically maligned film, far more are clearly done with this iteration of the X-Men. At this rate, I doubt Dark Phoenix will even cross the $100 million mark in North America, a sad ending to a once powerful franchise.
As for the rest of the top five, Disney’s Aladdin was in third place with $24.5. Godzilla: King of the Monsters free fell to fourth place with $15.5, while Rocketman closed things out in fifth place with $14 million.
So, to recap, here were our predictions:
1) The Secret Life of Pets 2 – $60 million
2) Dark Phoenix – $40 million
3) Disney’s Aladdin – $24 million
4) Godzilla: King of the Monsters – $20 million
5) Rocketman – $16 million
And here’s how the weekend is estimated to turn out:
1) The Secret Life of Pets 2 – $47.1 million
2) Dark Phoenix – $33 million
3) Disney’s Aladdin – $24.5 million
4) Godzilla: King of the Monsters – $15.5 million
5) Rocketman – $14 million
Next weekend sees the release of Men In Black: International. Be sure to check back on Friday to see our predictions!
