Weekend Wrap-Up: Turtles Open First, but Isn't Powerful with a $35.32 Million Opening
June 7, 2016
Two of the three new wide releases failed to make much of an impact at the box office over the weekend. This includes the overall number one film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. It earned $35.32 million during its opening weekend, which isn't as bad as some feared, but it is also well below its predecessor's opening. Me Before You did very well in a counter-programming role with $18.72 million. Finally, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping barely topped the Mendoza Line. Overall, the box office earned $133 million, which is 19% lower than last weekend, but that is an acceptable post-holiday decline. Compared to last year, the box office this year was lower, but by less than 0.1%. Year-to-date, 2016's lead has grown to $250 million or 5.9% at $4.56 billion to $4.30 billion.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows earned first place with $35.32 million. This is better than some were expecting, but 46% lower than its predecessor opened with. There was a time when sequels would reliably open with more than the original film did, but have shorter legs. We've seen four sequels fail to match their predecessors' opening weekends in the past three weekends. This isn't a complete disaster and Out of the Shadows still has a chance to break even, if it is a hit internationally. It is too soon to tell if that will happen.
X-Men: Apocalypse was well back in second place with $22.83 million. That's close enough to our prediction to call it a victory. Worldwide, the film has likely made enough to cover its entire production budget, so it is well on its way to breaking even.
Me Before You earned third place with $18.72 million over the weekend. This is very close to the film's $20 million production budget, so the studio should be very happy. The reviews remain mixed at 56% positive, but the audience reaction is much better at 83% positive. Add in the more mature target demographic and it could have healthy legs.
Alice Through the Looking Glass fell to fourth place with $11.31 million, which is within a rounding error of expectations. So far, the film has pulled in $51.40 million, which is obviously less than the studio had wanted. That said, it has already matched its production budget worldwide, so it is roughly halfway to profitability and it still has a number of major markets left to open in.
The Angry Birds Movie rounded out the top five with $10.21 million over the weekend for a total of $87.12 million after three weeks of release. It is on pace to crack $100 million and will likely get there either late this coming weekend or early next week.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping bombed with just $4.70 million, which is barley enough to avoid the Mendoza Line. This once again proves that it is a bad idea to rely heavily on internet advertising. I say this as someone whose job relies on internet advertising. It's great for getting a trailer to millions of people cheaply. It's fantastic to advertise e-commerce sites. But it is terrible to get people to go to the theaters. There is a silver lining. Its reviews are fantastic and the film has potential to become a cult classic. Even then, it could take years to break even. ... Or it could be forgotten by the time it reaches the home market and it will be a 100% write-off. It's been a bad year for Universal and they didn't need this.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows Comparisons
- Me Before You Comparisons
- Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping Comparisons
Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, The Angry Birds Movie, Alice Through the Looking Glass, X-Men: Apocalypse, Me Before You, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping