411 Box Office Report: A Quiet Place Part II Reclaims #1, Beats In The Heights

Paramount returned to the top of the box office this weekend with A Quiet Place Part II, which nicked In The Heights for the #1 spot. The horror sequel leapt two spots to take back the top spot with $11.7 million, down 40% in its third weekend. The film opened huge two weeks ago with a $45.7 million start, and while it fell behind The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It last week it showed resilience this weekend in climbing back to the apex.

The film is now standing at $109 million domestically, making it the first film since the pandemic began to gross $100 million at the North American box office. Worldwide, the take stands at $184.8 million. That makes it an unqualified hit against its $61 million budget and assured that Paramount’s franchise will continue. It seems likely to finish off its run north of $135 million in the US, and will also drive Paramount+ business when it arrives on the streaming service in about a month.

Paramount’s success is Warner Bros.’ disappointment, as In The Heights had to settle for #2. The adaptation of the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical grossed $11.4 million in its opening weekend, below the expected high teens to $20 million start that was being predicted going into the weekend. It’s the first real stumble for Warner Bros., which has had six weekends atop the box office with films in 2021 like Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, and The Devil Made Me Do It.

The studio had had high hopes for this one, banking on Miranda’s high profile from Hamilton, and they marketed the hell out of it. Unfortunately, it boils down to the fact that In The Heights didn’t have the name value of Hamilton and despite strong critical love (a 96% average on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences didn’t come out to the theaters. You can also chalk this up to the fact that it doesn’t have the kind of high-action or effects appeal that is driving people back into theaters. It’s also important to underscore that as it was targeted more as a family film, audiences may well have been more inclined to stay at home where they could watch it on HBO Max in its day-and-date release.

It’s not all bad news for this movie, though. Word of mouth was particularly (and unsurprisingly) good, with an A CinemaScore. In The Heights had a $55 million budget which is far from insurmountable if the film has good legs, which does seem likely. If it can get to $45 million or so in the US, it should be on a path to at least breaking even for the studio with international HBO Max business factored in. The film is rolling out overseas throughout the summer so worldwide grosses will take a while to calculate; in a smattering of minor territories thus far it has grossed $200,000 for a $11.6 worldwide total. It hits its first major territories in the UK, Mexico, Spain, Brazil and others next weekend.

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway performed a bit closer to expectations, as it opened with $10.4 million for Sony. The CGI/live-action family comedy did okay all things considered; while it was a fraction of the first Peter Rabbit’s $25 million start, that was always expected. The James Corden and Rose Byrne-headlined film was never really made for the domestic market anyway; like the first film, this one looks to make the majority of its money overseas. And it’s off to a good run there, where it began its rollout last month and is up to $57.9 million for a $68.3 million total.

Those are good numbers thus far for a mid-budget family comedy, which cost $45 million to produce (plus marketing, of course). The film is being received decently, with critics tallying up a 68% aggregate score on RT and the word of mouth garnering an A- CinemaScore. Both of those numbers are comparable to the original (63% RT, A-). The first film had a remarkable 4.6 multiple and while this one may not hit quite that level, it should be able to reach about $40 million in the US. Add in the overseas grosses that’s already here and is still to come, and it will be a profitable venture for Sony.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It slipped three spots in its second weekend, falling out of the top spot with $10 million. The third Conjuring film (the eighth in the cinematic universe) may have slipped a ways in the rankings, but its 58% slip isn’t particularly bad, ranking in the top half of holds for the overall franchise. The Devil Made Me Do It is currently at $43.8 million domestically and $111.8 million worldwide, both very good numbers so far. It’s assured to top the gross of The Curse of La Llorona ($54.7 million) and may be on track to also top Annabelle Comes Home ($74.2 million) and Annabelle ($84.3 million). That seems likely to be the the upper limit for this film, but it’s more than enough for Warner Bros. to be happy considering its $39 million budget and its HBO Max traffic.

Disney’s Cruella is continuing to perform well, down 39% in its third weekend with $6.7 million. That brings the live-action prequel to $56 million domestically and $129.3 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Disney film since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opened in December of 2019. The film is still looking likely to close out around $70 million domestically and with its Disney+ Premier Access revenue, this is a big hit against its estimated $100 million budget.

Spirit Untamed needed good holds to make back its budget, and that didn’t happen. The animated sequel brought in $2.5 million in its second weekend, down 59% from last weekend’s middling start. The film is now at $10.9 million domestically and $14.5 million worldwide, which puts it fairly outside hopes that it can make back its $30 million budget. Even with marketing costs kept moderately low, this will not be a success.

The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2 opened quietly at #7 with $1.1 million. The sequel to the 2016 parody of The Purge opened at a fraction of the origina’s $4.1 million. This one flew well under the radar and got a small, targeted release in 420 theaters, but it didn’t necessarily show the kind of strength that would encourage Hidden Empire Film Group to expand it in successive weeks. The movie wasn’t screened for critics, and there’s no information on its budget, but this one won’t likely make much more than $2 million. The first film was a success against a $900,000 budget; this one, it’s much harder to say.

Wrath of Man was down 2 spots to #8 in its sixth weekend with $615,000 which is off 51 from last weekend%. The revenge action thriller now stands at $26 million domestically and $124.6 million worldwide thus far. It will finish off around $28 million domestically, a big hit for United Artists.

Queen Bees started off at the #9 spot with $328,300. The elder ensemble dramedy, much like House Next Door, got a limited release at 500 theaters and did little business. There are a few reasons for this; one, the film is geared toward an older audience, which has been far more hesitant to come out to theaters as they open up from the pandemic. And the mediocre 48% Rotten Tomatoes score didn’t do much to change their mind for this one. Dramedies are always a somewhat risky venture, and this one just didn’t pay off. It should quickly vanish from the top 10 and won’t make much more than it currently has.

Spiral closed out the top ten, down 66% in its fifth weekend to $305,000. The Saw revival is now at $22.6 million domestically and $36.3 million worldwide. With the film already making money on home video, it is considered a minor success against its $20 million budget. Whether it means more films in the series or not is yet to be seen.

Next weekend will have just one high-profile release, as Lionsgate releases The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard. It should open in the low to mid-teens, which will be enough for the #1 spot.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. A Quiet Place Part II – $11.7 million ($109 million total)
2. In The Heights – $11.4 million ($11.4 million total)
3. Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway – $10.4 million ($10.4 million total)
4. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – $10 million ($43.8 million total)
5. Cruella – $6.7 million ($56 million total)
6. Spirit Untamed – $2.5 million ($10.9 million total)
7. The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2 – $1.1 million ($1.1 million total)
8. Wrath of Man – $615,000 ($26 million total)
9. Queen Bees – $328,300 ($328,300 total)
10. Spiral – $305,000 ($22.6 million total)