‘Bad Guys’ bests ‘The Northman,’ Nick Cage at the box office

NEW YORK — On an unusually crowded weekend at movie theaters that featured a pricey Viking epic and Nicolas Cage playing himself, DreamWorks Animation’s “The Bad Guys” bested the field, signaling a continued resurgence for family moviegoing after a downturn during the pandemic.

“The Bad Guys,” released by Universal Pictures, debuted with $24 million in U.S. and Canada ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. That came despite steep competition for families from Paramount Pictures’ “Sonic The Hedgehog 2,” which stayed in second place with $15.2 million its third week of release. It’s grossed $145.8 million domestically thus far.

“The Bad Guys,” based on Aaron Blabey’s children’s graphic novel series about a gang of crooked animals with a Quentin Tarantino-for-kids tone, fared well with critics (85 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (an “A” CinemaScore). With little family competition until the release of “Lightyear” in mid-June, “The Bad Guys” should play well for weeks. Having first debuted overseas, the animated film has already grossed $63.1 million internationally.

The weekend’s other new releases — Robert Eggers’ “The Northman” and the Cage-starring “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” — didn’t do as well but still fared reasonably solidly in their first weekend.

The risks were greatest for Focus Features’ “The Northman,” which saw its budget balloon beyond $70 million, a major increase in scale for Eggers, the director of previous indie historical horrors “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse.” The film’s path to profitability was unlikely even before launching in theaters, but it opened on the higher side of expectations with $12 million in ticket sales. It added $6.3 million internationally

in 26 territories.

“The Northman” stars Alexander Skarsgard, Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicole Kidman star in a brutal and bloody revenge saga.

Meanwhile, a new installment in a once all-powerful brand, the Harry Potter spinoff “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” fell off a cliff in its second weekend in theaters. The Warner Bros. release, the third “Fantastic Beasts” movie, dropped 67 percent in it second week with $14 million.

Lionsgate’s “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” a gonzo meta comedy starring Cage as an exaggerated version of himself, opened with an estimated $7.2 million. The film, which first launched to warm reviews out of South by Southwest, will depend on good word of mouth to approach netting its $30 million budget.

But the biggest breakthrough in theaters this April has been for family moviegoing. It’s good timing for the film industry, which will this week convene in Las Vegas for CinemaCon, the annual convention and trade show for trumpeting theatrical exhibition. Expect plenty of proclamations that movie theaters are back.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “The Bad Guys,“$24 million.

2. “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” $15.2 million.

3. “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” $14 million.

4. “The Northman,” $12 million.

5. “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” $7.2 million.

6. “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” $5.4 million.

7. “The Lost City,” $4.4 million.

8. “Father Stu,” $3.4 million.

9. “Morbius,” $2.3 million.

10. “Ambulance,” $1.8 million.

DreamWorks Animation / TNS The friendship of Mr. Snake (voiced by Marc Maron) and Wolf (Sam Rockwell) is at the heart of the story told in “The Bad Guys.”