Box Office: ‘Inside Out 2’ Tops ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’

The entire month of June had been promising for the box office, and it concluded on a high note with two films surpassing the $50 million mark over the weekend. The last time such an occurrence took place was during the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon last summer.

Pixar’s animated sequel “Inside Out 2” retained its top spot, grossing another $57.4 million, despite a 43% drop from the previous weekend. Having crossed the $400 million mark last week, the movie’s total now stands at $469.3 million. This impressive performance aligns it with last year’s hits like “Barbie” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” The upcoming release of “Despicable Me 4” could challenge its dominance, but reaching $500 million seems inevitable.

Internationally, “Inside Out 2” added $108 million over the weekend, making it the first 2024 movie to cross the $1 billion global mark, with $545.5 million of that from overseas markets. Already in its third weekend, the film is on track to achieve a global success similar to “Barbie” and “Top Gun: Maverick,” the top movies over the past two years.

Paramount’s sci-thriller prequel “A Quiet Place: Day One” aimed to be one of the summer’s major hits. Starring Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, and Djimon Hounsou, the prequel debuted in 3,707 theaters last Friday, following positive late-breaking reviews. It garnered $6.8 million from Thursday previews, slightly surpassing the $6.6 million that “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” made in May previews.

With $22.5 million on Friday, including previews, Paramount estimated a $53 million opening weekend for the prequel, securing second place and averaging over $14k per location. This outperforms the original “A Quiet Place” which opened with $50 million in 2018 and its sequel’s $47 million debut, which faced the challenges of a COVID-19 release in 2021. The prequel’s global opening totaled $98.5 million, bolstered by an additional $45.5 million internationally. It received a “B+” CinemaScore, mirroring the original film’s 2018 score.

Kevin Costner’s return to the Western genre with “Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1,” an ensemble film that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, has been met with mostly negative reviews. Despite this, Warner Bros. launched the film starring Sienna Miller and Sam Worthington into 3,334 theaters, grossing $4.1 million on Friday, including $800k from previews, leading to an estimated $11 million weekend. This is less than the $14 million opening of Costner’s 2003 Western “Open Range.” With a “B-” CinemaScore, the outlook for its upcoming Chapter 2 in August doesn’t appear promising.

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, fell to fourth place with $10.3 million, marking a 45% decline from the previous weekend. Its four-week total now stands at $165.2 million domestically, closing in on “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” as the summer’s second-best release. It added $13.1 million internationally, bringing its global tally to $332 million.

Prathyangira Cinemas released “Kalki 2898 AD,” India’s most expensive film ever, into 1,049 theaters on Thursday, earning $5.56 million, including previews. Over the weekend, it made a comparable $5.6 million, opening in fifth place with a four-day total of $11.2 million.

Jeff Nichols’ “The Bikeriders” experienced a significant drop in its second weekend, falling 66% to sixth place with $3.3 million, bringing its domestic total to $16.2 million.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ absurdist anthology “Kinds of Kindness,” featuring an ensemble cast including Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, and Willem Dafoe, expanded into 490 theaters. It climbed to ninth place with $1.5 million, reaching a total of $2 million in North America. The film holds a solid 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, prompting Searchlight to widen its release over the coming Fourth of July weekend.

Crunchyroll’s latest anime release, “Blue Lock The Movie,” was launched in 857 theaters, barely making $1 million over the weekend, not enough to secure a spot in the top 10.

Sony Classics gave Christy Hall’s “Daddio,” starring Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn, a wider release into 628 theaters, though the box office numbers were not reported at the time of writing.

A24’s “Janet Planet,” directed by Annie Baker, expanded into 315 theaters during its second weekend, grossing just $187k, averaging less than $600 per location.

Box office prediction game players were divided over whether “Inside Out 2” or “A Quiet Place” would claim the weekend. Among them, eight correctly predicted “Kalki” would secure fifth place, potentially putting them at the top of this weekend’s predictions.

The Fourth of July weekend promises new releases including Universal’s animated sequel “Despicable Me 4” and A24’s horror film “MaXXXine,” starring Mia Goth. Stay tuned for the weekend preview.

Source: Gold Derby, Box Office Mojo, Variety