Well, colour me impressed. When doing the box office report last week, I was certain that Finding Dory would be making it four for four when it came to weeks on top of the US box office chart, but apparently Pixar’s forgetful fish is no match for some clandestine furred creatures. Illumination and Universal’s latest animated feature The Secret Life of Pets – which stars the voice talents of Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate and Kevin Hart – didn’t just open in the no.1 spot this weekend past, but it did so with a record breaking figure. Pulling in $103 million, Secret Life of Pets garnered the biggest debut for an original, non-sequel animated film, besting Inside Out‘s $90 million from last year.
It also entered the record books as only the sixth animated film to ever open north of $100 million. Considering that the other members of that club were all entries in some of the biggest animated franchise of all time (e.g. Shrek the Third, Toy Story 3, etc), that is an incredibly impressive achievement. And when you factor in that the film has an A+ Cinemascore, there’s a good chance that audience members are going to keep turning up, making this even bigger.
And with cats and dogs snatching up all the dollars, everybody else – mammal or not – had to settle for the table scraps. And proving his Kingship – as well as the power of its A- Cinemascore – The Legend of Tarzan did the best out of the competition as it mounted a stronger than expected second week showing, bringing $20.6 million. That number was just just enough to hold off the aforementioned Finding Dory as it had to settle for 3rd place with $20.3 million. But while their weekend domestic incomes were neck and neck, their overall worldwide totals are anything but. Globally, Finding Dory is currently sitting on $642.7 million, whereas The Legend of Tarzan is only sitting on $135.4 million. Factor in the latter’s bloated $180 million production budget and Tarzan is seriously going to have to do good business when it opens in further international markets this upcoming weekend.
The only other new releases in the US besides for The Secret Life of Pets were the R-rated comedy Mike and Dave Need a Wedding Date and Bollywood romantic mix-martial arts drama Sultan. And yes, that is a genre now. Mike and Dave are headlined by a host of popular names in Zac Efron, Adam Devine, Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza, but those friendly faces were apparently not enough to do more than a 4th place worthy $16.6 million. Not the worse opening ever, considering the film’s budget was just $33 million, but it also has a mild critical reception and that poor word of mouth won’t help at all. Sultan barely made it on to the Top 10 with $2.2 million, but bringing up the rear in the US may be enough for the film $10 million film, especially since internationally it’s already sitting on $38 million.
Let’s see what else is happening on the charts.
- 01. The Secret Life of Pets – $103.1 million (NE)
- 02. The Legend of Tarzan – $20.6 million (LW: 2)
- 03. Finding Dory – $20.3 million (LW: 1)
- 04. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates – $16.6 million (NE)
- 05. The Purge: Election Year – $11.7 million (LW: 3)
- 06. Central Intelligence – $8.1 million (LW: 6)
- 07. Independence Day: Resurgence – $7.4 million (LW: 5)
- 08. The BFG – $7.6 million (LW: 4)
- 09. The Shallows – $4.8 million (LW: 7)
- 10. Sultan – $2.2 million (NE)
If the fact that I put it right in the headline last week wasn’t clear enough, Steven Spielberg’s The BFG is undoubtedly a dud as it dropped four places this week and will probably fall right off the charts by next week. Globally, the Roald Dahl adaptation has just barely cracked the $50 million mark, still a huge way off from its $140 million production budget. Unless something miraculous happens, I think it’s safe to call it one of the biggest bombs of the year.
(LW = Last Week, NE = New Entry)
Last Updated: July 11, 2016
Ottokie
July 11, 2016 at 12:43
Had to do a double take at that header image…the internet has ruined me xD
Admiral Chief Maximum Effort
July 11, 2016 at 12:44
CreamyOtto strikes again
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
July 11, 2016 at 12:54
I saw the same XD
Kervyn Cloete
July 11, 2016 at 14:04
Don’t worry, I also saw it…. and that’s why I chose that pic.
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
July 11, 2016 at 14:15
LOL!
Admiral Chief Maximum Effort
July 11, 2016 at 12:45
Secret life of pets’ movie trailers were just too damn funny.
My wife and daughter recently watched Finding Dory, and she said it was cute, but not amazeballs.
They actually talked MORE about The Secret Life of Pets’ trailer tbh
HvR
July 11, 2016 at 13:44
Any animation featuring a bit of System of the Down is worth a watch in my book
https://media.giphy.com/media/85IjZ4CUC5W1y/giphy.gif
HairyEwok
July 11, 2016 at 14:24
I like how the dogs jump out from behind the couch yet, no paws touch the floor before or after.
DragonSpirit009
July 11, 2016 at 14:19
I can’t wait to see the Secret life of pets movie! I’ve been waiting for it since last year!