Men-In-Black-International-Trailer_1050_591_81_s_c1.jpg — “MIB” Reboot Tops, but Falls into Sequel Slump

By: Keaton Marcus

Diving into the weekend, it was another disappointing three-day at the box office, with two more sequels delivering underwhelming ticket sale performances. Sony’s anticipated, and star-studded Men in Black International disappointed, and cut off any chances for upcoming sequels—the film also surprisingly flopped with critics. Otherwise, holdovers such as The Secret Life of Pets 2 and Aladdin took second, and third place—while Dark Phoenix turned to ashes in it’s second weekend, while Rocketman rounded the top five.

As mentioned, Sony/Columbia’s clash of reboot, and sequel, Men in Black International topped the box office, but at the expense of delivering another underperforming Summer sequel. The film debuted with an estimated 28.5M, and opened to a massive 4,224 locations—averaging a disappointing $6,747 per-screen. The action/comedy failed to reach the studio’s 40M+ expectations by far, indicating that the franchise has run it’s course. Compared to other pictures, the 110M production missed even the most floppy films of the season, including Hercules (29.8M), The Mummy (31.6M), and even last weekend’s Dark Phoenix (32.8M). Otherwise, it was far, far behind the previous installments to the franchise—which all debuted over the likes of 51M, and all topped 179M domestically. Considering the franchise, the previous films delivered a combined average multiplier of 3.9x, meaning a finish topping 109M—however, because of the lackluster reviews, we may be looking at a finish from 75-85M.

Internationally, the film grossed an estimated 73.7M from 36 overseas markets, adding to an official global debut of 102.2M. Leading the way was a so-so 26.3M debut in China, followed by Russia (5.1M), South Korea (4.9M), Mexico (3.9M), Japan (3.5M), the UK (3.4M), Australia (2.6M), and France (2.5M). Upcoming releases include Belgium (Jun 19), the Netherlands (Jun 20), and Italy (Jul 25). The experts report that considering the 110M production budget, the film needs to top 300M globally, which is no walk in the park considering it’s opening performance.

Review wise, International received generally negative reviews from the critics, and pretty so-so audience reception. On RottenTomatoes, the film scored a lackluster 25% “Rotten”, and on Metacritic, the movie was handed 38/100 indicating “generally negative reviews”. From audiences, on RottenTomatoes, it delivered a favorable 66%, along with a B CinemaScore.

In second place, we looked upon Universal’s The Secret Life of Pets 2 which sold a sophomore session of 23.8M, dipping 49% from last weekend, and reaching 92M domestically after 10 days in release. Internationally, the film added another 8.5M from the overseas territories, adding to a foreign gross of 62.5M, and a global total of 154.5M.

Third place holds Disney’s Aladdin reboot, which slid just 32.3% from last weekend, selling a fourth weekend of 16.7M, tallying a massive 263.4M domestically. Internationally, the film added another 47.5M from overseas sales, adding to a foreign gross of 462.9M, and a global total of 726.4M.

Finishing in fourth place for the second weekend was Fox’s Dark Phoenix which turned to ashes in it’s sophomore, crashing 72.6% from last weekend to a three-day of just 9M, tallying a horrific 51.7M domestically after 10 days in release. The film is pacing far behind the previous installments, while still trailing The Mummy by around six million, meaning a finish of around 65M. Internationally, the film sold another 24.2M, resulting in an overseas gross of 152.3M, and a global total of 204.1M. The 200M production still needs to top 550M globally to break even.

Rounding out the top five was Paramount’s R-rated biopic, Rocketman which fell only 36.3% from last weekend, having how earned 66.1M domestically as it enters its third week in release. Internationally, the film earned another 8.5M, totaling to an overseas running gross of 67M, and a global total of 133.1M.

Outside the top five, two other new nationwide releases debuted. In ninth place, Amazon Studios’ Late Night expanded to a very wide 2,220 locations, grossing 5.1M, averaging a slightly disappointing $2,314 per-screen—especially after it’s robust limited start. Otherwise, Focus Features’ zom-com The Dead Don’t Die debuted with a mediocre 2.3M from 613 locations, averaging $3,834 per-screen.

Next weekend, we see three new nationwide releases looking to spice up the Summer movie season even more. Looking to crush the top box office is Toy Story 4 which is playing in an estimated 4,400 theaters, and experts are saying a 200M debut is possible, which would be a turnaround for the Summer sequel slump. Following, a Child’s Play reboot will open in 2,500+ locations, while a Lionsgate action feature, Anna will open to 2,150 theaters.

By: Keaton Marcus