‘Men in Black’ reboot makes best of ‘rough weekend’
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 so-called franchise fatigue surfaced this past 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 past weekend, down more than 50 percent from last year, is the worst yet.
“This was a rough weekend,” Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian said. “We’ve had some big franchises that are not resonating with audiences or critics.”
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 that Sony Pictures had hoped it would be. The F. Gary Graydirected film earned $30 million in its debut 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).
However, international audiences are helping the bottom line, with the film earning $73.7 million from 36 markets, bringing its global total to $103.7 million.
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 $24.4 million. Disney’s “Aladdin,” now in weekend four, took third with $17.3 million. “Rocketman” and “Dark Phoenix” rounded out the top five with $9.4 million apiece.
“Shaft,” a Warner Bros. release, placed sixth, with a disappointing $8.9 million.