Longlegsarguably had a better shot at stealing the moon, like Steve Carell’s former super-villain character once did, than winning the top spot over its opening weekend againstDespicable Me 4.And, in the end, families did opt for Gru and his adorable yellow Minions over Nicolas Cage’s serial killer at thebox office.The latest installment in theDespicablefilm franchise made an estimated $44.7 million (perThe Numbers) en route to No. 1, whileLonglegssettled for the No.2 slot with $22.6 million.
The competition for the top spot betweenDespicable Me 4andLonglegswas most heated on Friday (July 12). Cage’s new horror film made it a fight with $10 million, while the Carell-led sequel brought in $13.7 million. But that’s as close as the race would get. Once the weekend arrived, the family-friendlyDespicable Me 4ran away with a sizable lead it would not relinquish. On Saturday, July 13, that day’s tally was $17.5 million for Illumination’s animated adventure, whileLonglegslagged way behind at only $7.2 million.
Despicable Me 4
Sunday proved to be no different.Despicable Me 4once again easily amassed a larger audience, which translated into $13.5 million, andLonglegscouldn’t keep up at $5.4 million. In fact, the horror flick lost out on the No. 2 spot temporarily on both Saturday and Sunday to this year’s biggest summer blockbuster so far:Inside Out 2.The “emotional” film made $8.2 million and $6.4 million on those two days respectively.
Fly Me to the Moon Barely Lands Top-5 Spot
WhileDespicable Me 4repeated as the No. 1 movie for the second weekend in a row, andNEON’s record-settingLonglegscertainly enjoyed an auspicious beginning to its theatrical run, another newcomer barely managed to crack the Top 5. No. 3Inside Out 2($20.7 million) and No. 4A Quiet Place: Day One($11.8 million) both fared better than Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson’s rom-com did.Fly Me to the Moonrounded out the Top 5 with $10 million.
A24’sMaXXXinesuffered the biggest drop off (69%) from last weekend as the Mia Goth-led film plummeted from No. 4 to No. 8 at the box office. Meanwhile,The Lion King(1994) actually cracked the Top 10 this week as its 30th anniversary screenings brought in just over $1 million.
Glen Powell’s Twisters Swirling Up a Storm with Strong Opening Weekend Projections
The long-awaited follow-up to 1996’s Twister, which starred Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, eyes a $50-million opening weekend domestically this July.
AfterDespicable Me 4wins the top spot at the box officefor two weekends in a row, Gru and his Minions are going to have a little more competition joining the animated adventure in cinemas quite soon. Glen Powell’sTwistersstorms into the summer movie season next on July 19, whileDeadpool & Wolverineis one week closer to beginning its highly anticipated theatrical run.
This week’s best per-theater average goes to A24’sSing Sing,with $34,280, which opened in limited release (4 cinemas).
