Weekend Report: 'Pets' and 'Ghostbusters' Slime the Box Office

     It was a fairly busy weekend at the box office this weekend, with last weekend's record-breaker 'The Secret Life of Pets' repeating on top while Sony's much talked-about 'Ghostbusters' reboot also brought up some solid figures.
     Leading the weekend for the second time in a row, Universal / Illumination's $75-million animated blockbuster 'The Secret Life of Pets' dipped 51.3% to gross $50.8 million. While that drop is a bit worse than 'Finding Dory''s (-46%), 'Despicable Me' (-41.8%), and 'Despicable Me 2' (-47.4%), it is an improvement over the studio's last outing, 'Minions' (-57.4%), which already had a built-in brand working in its favor. So far, 'Pets' has grossed a stellar $203.4 million in just two weeks of plays and can possibly exceed March's 'Zootopia' ($341.1m) to become the highest-grossing original film of the year and second biggest animated film behind only 'Finding Dory' (which also had a lot more going for it).
     Though it had to settle for second place, Sony's $144-million female ensemble led 'Ghostbusters' reboot was no slouch. Opening to $46.0 million for a respectable $11.6k per-theater average, the film debuted right alongside expectations, which tended to range anywhere from $40 million to $55 million. Obviously, it posted the biggest opening weekend launch for director Paul Fieg and stars Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig. It did a lot better than past big-budget sci-fi reboots from Sony such as 'Total Recall' ($25.6m) and 'RoboCop' ($21.7m) and nearly doubled the opening of last year's 'Pixels' ($24m). It also beat both the original and adjusted opening weekend of the first 'Ghostbusters', which was released over 30 years ago.

     Among Fieg / McCarthy collaborations, it debuted well above 'Bridesmaids' ($26.2m), 'The Heat' ($39.1m), and 'Spy' ($29.1m), though all of them played in fewer theaters. Compared to some other of McCarthy's films, it bested this year's 'The Boss' ($23.6m), 'Tammy' ($21.6m), and 'Identity Thief' ($34.6m). It is the second best opening for a live-action film starring Kristen Wiig, behind 'The Martian' ($54.3m). Just for the sake of comparisons, it outgrossed 'Red Dawn''s entire theatrical run ($44.8m), bested 'The A-Team' ($25.7m), 'The Dukes of Hazzard' ($30.7m), and 'Mad Max: Fury Road' ($45.4m) and came in below 'Pitch Perfect 2' ($69.2m), '22 Jump Street' ($57.1m), 'The Karate Kid' ($55.7m), and 'Clash of the Titans' ($61.2m).

     The CGI-fueled comedy started out with $17.1 million on Friday (including Thursday's $3.4m), dipped a miniscule 4.3% on Saturday for $16.4 million, and fell a further 23.8% on Sunday to gross $12.5 million. The weekend-to-Friday ratio is a so-so 2.69-to-1. Now it's time for figuring out how well it will hold up. If it plays like 'Bridesmaids' (6.45x), 'The Heat' (4.08x), or 'Spy' (3.81x), 'Ghostbusters' will reach nearly $300m, nearly $190 million, and over $175 million. Though its reviews are nothing to laugh at (73% "Certified Fresh" score on RT), word-of-mouth is much more mixed with a 57% Flixter score and a modest 'B+' CinemaScore, so those outcomes aren't that likely. Compared to other big-budget films with similar word-of-mouth such as 'Clash of the Titans', 'RoboCop', 'The A-Team', and 'Pixels' a total in the realm of $120 million to $150 million. Expect 'Ghostbusters' to wind up right in between those two numbers, but it there is an outside chance it will finish on the higher end.
     Occupying third place, Warner Bros.' surprise action-packed hit of the summer 'The Legend of Tarzan', which cost a whopping $180 million to produce, continued to benefit from positive word-of-mouth, dipping just 45.5% in its third weekend. In the process, it surpassed the $100-million milestone and has now swung its way to $103.4 million. While it still depends heavily on international returns to justify such a lofty cost, it should still wind up with a better-than-expected $120 million finish by the end of its run.

     Closely following in fourth was Disney's smash hit 'Finding Dory', dropping 45.8% for $11.3 million. The $200-million sequel to the 2003 classic has now amassed a colossal $445.7 million, just now dethroning 'Shrek 2' ($441.2m) to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time. With overwhelmingly positive reviews (94% RT rating) and word-of-mouth (88% Flixter score), 'Finding Dory' now has its sights set on a $475 million total, and can still make it to $500 million if it has enough gas before then.
     'Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates' fell 53.9% for $7.7 million, which is a bit worse than 'The Wedding Ringer''s hold last year. The $33-million R-rated comedy has now grossed $31.5 million and will likely end its run with around $40 million.
     In sixth and seventh were holdovers 'The Purge: Election Year' and 'Central Intelligence. The former dropped 50.1% for $6.2 million. Having banked $71.1 million so far on a $10-million budget, the horror three-quel is on the verge of becoming the highest-grossing film in the series and might pass $90 million if its lucky enough. The latter film starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart along with a $50-million price tag experienced the best hold in the Top 12 this weekend, dipping a light 33.1% and earning $5.4 million for a $117.6 million cume. Assuming it continues its spectacular holds, $130 million might be in reach for the action comedy.
     All the way down in seventh place was the Bryan Cranston led drug thriller 'The Infiltrator', which cost around $50 million to make but grossed just $5.3 million for its troubles. Since its Wednesday debut, 'Infiltrator' has earned a paltry $6.8 million. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem like the film that will do great business overseas, and with mixed critical and audience reception it's likely this won't hold on to theaters for too long.
     Disney's $140-million fantasy adaptation 'The BFG' continued its miserable run in theaters, falling 51.5% to add $3.8 million to its $47.4 million total. With unenthusiastic incomes from foreign countries, this will likely be one of Disney's and Spielberg's biggest flops, which is very disappointing as both have seen outstanding tallies for their films recently. A grand total of around $55 million is likely.
     On a much happier note, Sony's $17-million shark attack thriller 'The Shallows' continued holding up solidly, easing 37.4% and making $3 million. Its holds have been spectacular considering its genre, and with $51.4 million already $60 million may be in reach.
     Rounding out the Top 12, the Indian drama 'Sultan' plummeted 58.9% from its solid opening and made $974.8k. Though its $5.2 million domestic cume may seem small, it's doing extremely well in its home country where it has garnered $37.7 million.
     Woody Allen's 'Cafe Society' grossed $359.3k from just 5 theaters for a $71.9k per-theater average, easily becoming 2016's PTA winner. It's not on par with recent Allen films like 'Midnight in Paris' ($599k O.W. / $99.8k PTA) and 'Blue Jasmine' ($612.1k O.W. / $102k PTA), but it's still a solid debut in its own right. Expect this to expend strongly in the coming weeks.
     In 3 theaters, 'Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party' grossed $74.8k for a strong $24.9k PTA. Though this is a great opening, it was a very front-loaded weekend for the documentary (1.82x). It is expected to expand into 1,200 theaters next weekend.
     The Top 12 this weekend amassed $155.4 million, off 25.7% from last weekend and down 15.3% from last year when 'Ant-Man' ruled the competition.
     Next weekend will be a lot more active, as we are not only looking at the second weekend of 'Ghostbusters' but also the much-anticipated debut of 'Star Trek Beyond' (which is getting strong reviews so far), 'Ice Age: Collision Course (not-very-good reviews), and 'Lights Out' (which is getting stellar reviews for a horror film with 100% from 12 reviews in on RT so far).