411 Box Office Report: Hoppers Holds At #1, Reminders Of Him & Undertone Start Well

It was a good weekend at the box office as Pixar’s Hoppers held onto the top spot while newcomers Reminders Of Him and Undertone overperformed. Hoppers remained at #1 as expected this weekend, slipping just 37% to gross $28.5 million. That’s a good hold for the film, which delivered the best non-sequel Pixar start since Coco in its opening weekend.

The animated film’s hold was actually better than Coco, which fell 46% in its sophomore frame. However, we also have to note that Coco opened on Thanksgiving weekend and the weekend after usually has slightly higher than average drops. Either way, Hoppers is definitely a nice comeback for Pixar, which has had a rough time launching new stories in the post-COVID lockdown era. Hoppers now has a very good $86.8 million domestically and $164.7 million worldwide against a $150 million budget. It’s looking on course to close with at least $130 million and probably more in the US and should ultimately be considered a success by the studio.

Coming in at #2 was the first new release of the weekend as Reminders Of Him took in $18.3 million. That’s nicely above the mid-teens number that most were expecting for this Colleen Hover adaptation. Hoover has a devoted fanbase who are proving not to be underestimated; they turned It Ends With Us into a smash, Regretting You into a box office success and now this one is poised to do the same.

Reminders Of Him outside Regretting You, which opened to $13.7 million in October. The new film has the benefit of better reviews than Regretting, and numbers about on par with It Ends With Us at a 55% critic aggregate on Rotten Tomatoes. It should be noted however that with romantic drama, it’s usually the audience that matters more than the critics and the audience likes this at an 89% RT audience score. The B CinemaScore is the same as Regretting You, and just a little below It Ends With Us’ A-.

Even better for Universal Pictures: this film is the least expensive Hoover adaptation yet at $25 million. It has already added $10 million overseas, a strong start for $28.2 million worldwide. Following the likely path set out by Regretting You, it could get as high as $60 million or more in the US. That will make it nicely profitable.

Also profitable is Undertone. The A24 horror film delivered a $9.3 million start in its opening weekend. That’s better than the projected $7 million opening going into the weekend and well above the mid-single digit start expected as of last weekend.

This is a big win for A24, putting their horror efforts back on track. While the studio had some big wins last year in films like Marty Supreme and The Materialists, their horror fare — once considered A24’s backbone — faltered. Opus and Death of a Unicorn both faltered badly and while Bring Her Back was generally liked, it wasn’t a big hit either.

Undertone was picked up by the studio out of Fantasia. The film, about a podcaster whose latest investigation goes down a disturbing road, cost just $500,000 to produce. A24 paid more than that for it and marketing costs of course will factor in, but however you slice it this is going to be a profitable film. The movie was a hit with critics at a 73% RT critic score, though it’s been more divisive among moviegoers who gave it a 52% RT audience rating and C CinemaScore. It’s likely to close out domestically around $20 million to $22 million, more than enough for it to be a success.

Scream 7 felt the bite from Undertone a bit and slid down 51% from last weekend to $8.5 million. Considering the divisive reaction to the movie and last week’s big drop, this is actually a decent third weekend. Disliked or not, it’s also the highest worldwide-grossing film in the franchise at $106.5 million domestically and $176.9 million worldwide, pushing past the original film’s $173 million total. The domestic number is just a short skip back from Scream VI’s $106.5 million final gross. With a $45 million budget, it’s already a hit.

GOAT is holding on strong, with the Sony Pictures Animation film off just 27% in its third weekend with $4.7 million. The film now is also a hit at this point with $90.6 million domestically and $162.8 million worldwide against an $80 million budget. It’s now looking like it should cross the $100 million mark stateside with relative ease.

The Bride’s bad news turned worse this weekend. The Warner Bros. flick was down 70% in its second weekend, picking up just $2.1 million. Sure, Scream 7 had a similar second weekend drop, but it fell from a much higher spot and cost much less. The Bride is deep into box office bomb territory at this point, as it has just $11.3 million in the US and $27 million worldwide against an $80 million budget plus marketing. At this point, even $18 million would be a surprise for its final domestic total.

An anime blast from the past re-released in theaters in Kiki’s Delivery Service. The 1989 Hayao Miyazaki film was put into 249 theaters by GKIDS and delivered with $1.7 million. Those Studio Ghibli films will always draw interest from the core fanbase. Kiki was not a huge box office hit in the US when it first released (it was a different time for anime); it didn’t even arrive here until 2004. But it was big in Japan and has done well in many re-releases, with all-time totals of $2.7 million domestically and $41.8 million worldwide.

Wuthering Heights was down 55% in its fourth weekend to $1.7 million. The romantic drama has grossed $81.9 million stateside and $226.4 million worldwide, profitable against an $80 million budget with a likely $86 million to $88 million US total.

We had another re-release come in at #9 with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. The 1991 live-action sequel hit 1,372 theaters for its 25th anniversary release and grossed $1.5 million. It has an all-time total of $80.1 million domestically.

Crime 101 closed out the top 10 with $1.1 million. That’s off 44% in its fifth weekend. The crime thriller has $35.6 million in the US and $67 million worldwide, not profitable against a $90 million budget but doing its job as a loss leader for Prime Video. $38 million is the likely final.

We will have a new #1 next weekend as the Ryan Gosling-led sci fi adventure Project Hail Mary is looking at $55 million or more. Meanwhile, the horror sequel Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is hopeful for $10 million.

Box Office Top Ten (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)

1. Hoppers – $28.5 million ($86.8 million total, $164.7 million WW)
2. Reminders Of Him – $18.3 million ($18.3 million total, $28.2 million WW)
3. Undertone – $9.3 million ($9.3 million total, 9.3 million total WW)
4. Scream 7 – $8.4 million ($106.5 million total, $176.9 million WW)
5. GOAT – $4.7 million ($90.6 million total, $162.8 million WW)
6. The Bride – $2.1 million ($11.3 million total, $27 million WW)
7. Kiki’s Delivery Service – $1.7 million ($2.7 million total, $41.8 million WW)
8. Wuthering Heights – $1.7 million ($81.9 million total, $226.4 million WW)
9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze – $1.5 million ($80.1 million total, $80.1 million WW)
10. Crime 101 – $1.1 million ($35.6 million total, $67 million WW)