411 Box Office Report: Toy Story 4 Reigns Again, Annabelle Comes Home Starts at #2

It was a second weekend atop the box office for Woody and company, with Toy Story 4 holding onto the #1 spot. The Pixar sequel brought in $57.9 million, down a decent 52% from last week’s opening figure. That’s on par with the second weekend drop of the second Toy Story, and better than The Incredibles 2’s 56% fall, though it’s more than Toy Story 3’s 46% slip. The numbers suggest that the film’s great word of mouth is helping and bode very well for future holds.

As of now, Toy Story 4 stands at $236.9 million domestically and $496.5 million worldwide, well on the way to a sizable profit against its $200 million budget. The domestic total is aiming for a mid to high $300 million range, which would be enough to make Pixar happy.

Meanwhile, horror came in at #2 for the second weekend in a row as Annabelle Comes Home notched a solid $20.4 million. That’s right around where it was expected to do, particularly since it opened on Wednesday which means that the three-day weekend gross was a bit muted. The number comes in well below the previous low for a Conjuring universe start, namely Annabelle: Creation’s $35 million opening in August of 2017. That said, counting total gross through Wednesday it is much closer at $31.2 million.

All in all, this is an okay if not sparkling start for the Warner Bros. film. The Annabelle franchise, much like the other spinoffs, has always lagged a bit behind the main Conjuring films. However, Annabelle: Creation was much more liked than the first film and that helped goodwill toward this one. Critics ultimately liked it well enough at a 69% Rotten Tomatoes, which brought a few extra people in. Word of mouth isn’t the best, though. A B- CinemaScore is fine for horror on the whole, but this cinematic universe generally defies that trend and both previous Annabelle movies were a touch higher with a B.

Will that hurt the movie’s grosses? Not significantly. Comes Home performed well considering the fact that Child’s Play opened just last week, and it is looking to be another money maker. It addition to its $31.2 million domestic total, it has brought in $45 million overseas for a $76.2 million worldwide total thus far. The budget on this was around $30 million, and WB/New Line will make that back and then some. The domestic total should be somewhere around $80 million or more, depending on how well it holds.

Counter-programming held sway at #3 with Yesterday. The Danny Boyle-directed musical played its Beatles themes well, tallying up $17 million in its first weekend. That’s nicely above the $10 million to $14 million most expected. Chalk that up to a strong marketing campaign and good word of mouth. Critical buzz was okay at best (60% on RT), but this crowd-pleaser effectively positioned itself against the bigger budget fare and audiences spread the word with an A- CinemaScore.

Yesterday is going to hope for that word of mouth to translate into great week-to-week holds. That’s not outside the realm of possibility, as musicals often stick around for a while. This film is looking at a likely $65 million or so in the US, with international grosses being bouyed by the music and momentum from positive fan response. Against a $26 million budget, this will be a winner.

Aladdin continues to chalk up great numbers, down just 30% in its sixth weekend to $9.3 million. The live-action Disney film crossed the $300 million milestone and now sits at $305.9 million domestically and $874.2 million worldwide. It should end its run at around $340 million or so, and is a huge hit for Disney even against its $183 million budget.

The Secret Life of Pets 2 finally stabilized, down 31% in its fourth weekend with $7.1 million. The animated sequel is now sitting at $131.2 million domestically and $223 million worldwide, which is an okay tally. It should end its run around $150 million in the US, profitable but not amazing considering the $80 million budget.

Men in Black: International was down 39% in its third weekend, scoring $6.6 million. The MiB revival has now grossed $65 million domestically and $219 million worldwide. It has to keep going to have any chance at making money, which seems unlikely at this point considering the $110 million budget. Its domestic total should be around $80 million to $82 million.

Avengers: Endgame saw its theater count boosted with an extra scene in a bid to get closer to Avatar’s worldwide total. The film brought in an additional $5.5 million, up 179% from last weekend. That puts it at $841.3 milliopn domestically and $2.761 billion, just $26 million short of the record. We’ll have to see if it makes it past Avatar before completely leaving theaters or not.

Child’s Play was frightened down toward the bottom of the top 10 by Annabelle Comes Home. The reboot of the slasher franchise brought in $4.3 million, down a big 70%. That put the film at $23.4 million, not a great two week total for the film. It’ll be profitable as it only cost $10 million to make, and is still looking at $35 million to $40 million in the US. But it may have to rely on overseas money to come in, depending on how spendy the marketing campaign was.

Rocketman was down 31% in its fifth weekend with $3.9 million. The Elton John musical biopic now has $84.2 million domestically and a great $165.6 million worldwide on a $40 million budget. The film should be able to end its run in the US at around $95 million, making it a profitable film for Paramount.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum closed out the top ten with $3.2 million in its sixth frame, off 22%. The action threequel now stands at $161.3 million domestically and $303.6 million worldwide, a big hit against a $55 million budget. The final domestic gross is still on course for $170 million.

Its vacation time for Marvel next weekend as Spider-Man: Far From Home swings in for Fourth of July (actually July 2nd, but either way). The film has already made $110 million overseas and should take in $130 million or so over its first six days. Horror film Midsommar opens on Wednesday and should finish up with around $12 million to $15 million by Sunday.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Toy Story 4 – $57.9 million ($236.9 million total)
2. Annabelle Comes Home – $20.4 million ($31.2 million total)
3. Yesterday – $17 million ($17 million total)
4. Aladdin – $9.3 million ($305.9 million total)
5. Secret Life of Pets 2 – $7.1 million ($131.2 million total)
6. Men in Black: International – $6.6 million ($65 million total)
7. Avengers: Endgame – $5.5 million ($841.3 million total)
8. Child’s Play – $4.3 million ($23.4 million total)
9. Rocketman – $3.9 million ($84.2 million total)
10. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum – $3.2 million ($161.3 million total)