Men in Black stumbles into first place
Hollywood is learning a lesson the hard way this summer with a slew of underperforming sequels and reboots. That socalled 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 an X-Men movie ( Dark Phoenix) nor a Godzilla movie ( Godzilla: King of the Monsters) could get moviegoers enthusiastic enough to turn out. But this weekend, down over 50 per cent from last year, is the worst yet.
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 on Sunday estimates the F. Gary Gray- directed film earned only $28.5 million (U.S.) over the weekend against a reported $110-million production budget. The three previous Men in Black films all opened to over $50 million not accounting for inflation.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore.
1. Men in Black: International, $28.5 million
2. The Secret Life of Pets 2, $23.8 million
3. Aladdin, $16.7 million
4. Dark Phoenix, $9 million
5. Rocketman, $8.8 million
6. Shaft, $8.3 million
7. Godzilla: King of the Monsters, $8.1 million
8. John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, $6.1 million
9. Late Night, $5.1 million
10. Ma, $3.6 million