USA TODAY International Edition
‘Men in Black’ and ‘Shaft’ sequels fall short
LOS ANGELES – Brand familiarity isn’t everything when it comes to attracting audiences to the multiplex, and Hollywood is learning that lesson the hard way this summer with a slew of underperforming sequels and reboots. That franchise fatigue came to a head this weekend with the releases of “Men in Black: International” and “Shaft.”
The writing may have been on the wall after neither X-Men (“Dark Phoenix”) nor Godzilla (“Godzilla: King of the Monsters”) could get moviegoers enthusiastic enough to turn out. But this weekend, down more than 50% from last year, is the worst yet.
“This was a rough weekend,” says Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “We’ve had some big franchises that are not resonating with audiences or critics.”
And there’s a common denominator among all the recent disappointments: poor reviews. All four have been certified “rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Men in Black: International” took the No. 1 spot in North America, but it’s a dubious distinction for the Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth-led reboot, which isn’t exactly the franchise revitalizer it hoped to be. Sony Pictures estimates the F. Gary Gray-directed film earned only $28.5 million for the weekend against a reported $110 million production budget. The three previous “Men in Black” films all opened to more than $50 million, not accounting for inflation.
The weekend’s other big new release, “Shaft,” which introduces another generation to the franchise, couldn’t even manage to carve out a place in the top five, which instead was populated mostly by holdovers.
The “Secret Life of Pets 2” got the No. 2 spot in its second weekend with $23.8 million. Disney’s “Aladdin,” now in its fourth weekend, took third with $16.7 million. The X-Men finale “Dark Phoenix” placed fourth with $9 million and Elton John biopic “Rocketman” was fifth with $8.8 million.
“Shaft” placed sixth on the charts with a disappointing $8.3 million.
Directed by Tim Story, “Shaft” features Samuel L. Jackson reprising his role from almost 20 years ago and Jessie T. Usher as his son. It was made for about $30 million.
Jim Jarmusch’s star-studded zombie comedy “The Dead Don’t Die” mostly survived its mixed reviews and opened to $2.35 million from 613 locations.
The marketplace is hurting and it’s not a problem with the weekend, which last year saw “Incredibles 2” open to $182 million-plus, but with the major movies themselves.
“‘Toy Story 4’ is going to erase the memory of this very tough weekend,” Dergarabedian said.
Final figures are expected Monday.