Box Office Breakdown for Weekend of 7/7/24
What’s up, Geeks + Gamers? It’s ODIN!
Despicable Me 4 Dominates, But Cannot Match Inside Out 2
Though Despicable Me 4 is the clear winner of the July 4th holiday frame with an extended 5-day opening, the film still did not reach the same heights Inside Out 2 did a few weeks ago. Making only about $122 million over five days against the $154 million that was made by IO2 domestically means that while the film is still doing well, it is nowhere close to the Disney/Pixar 2024 summer juggernaut. When compared to the other Despicable Me and Minions movies (keeping in mind the disparity in release days), it’s still tracking behind several films from the franchise in both ticket sales and inflation-adjusted domestic opening weekends.
One comparison that helps showcase this is Despicable Me 2, which also had a release date of July 3rd to take advantage of the extended weekend box office. While DM4 had an opening weekend of about $122 million over five days, which equates to about 9,384,615 tickets, DM2 made about $188.8 million and sold about 17,598,396 tickets over the same time frame when adjusted… holy cow! If these numbers hold, the newest film in the franchise would also be opening behind the ticket sales of every other entry except the 2010 original and Despicable Me 3 from 2017. Ultimately, this means that Despicable Me 4’s opening weekend is a bit of a mixed bag because although it’s a strong starting point, it’s still a far cry from the heights reached even by the 2015 spin-off Minions, which opened to an adjusted $150 million and sold an estimated 13,726,976 tickets.
The chances of Despicable Me 4 making a profit are quite high despite the higher-than-initially-expected budget for the film, which comes in at around $100 million. As it likely goes back and forth with Inside Out 2 for the rest of the summer, the chances of it being the victor are low, as IO2 has a massive starting advantage. And remember that IO2 had a traditional 3-day opening and still made more money and sold more tickets.
According to the-numbers.com, the top 5 for this weekend domestically were:
- Despicable Me 4 ($122 million over five days as a new release)
- Inside Out 2 (48% drop in 4th weekend)
- A Quiet Place: Day One (60% drop in 2nd weekend)
- MaXXXine ($6.7 million as a new release)
- Bad Boys: Ride or Die (37% drop in 5th weekend)
A Quiet Place: Day One is Tracking to Profit, While Costner’s Horizon Still a Flop
Though there have been some suggestions that the box office and Hollywood are officially back due to recent successes from films like Inside Out 2, the newest Quiet Place and Kevin Costner’s passion project are proof that the box office is still just as volatile as ever. It is also important to remember that this summer has seen massive flops from the likes of IF and Furiosa…and there will be more before the summer ends.
In the case of A Quiet Place: Day One, there is a lot of good news to share. Not only has the film made roughly $178 million worldwide after its 2nd weekend, but this number also means that unless some catastrophe happens, it will likely make roughly +$50 million in net profits by the end of its run. There is a lot to be said for the fact that, as of now, the movie is making about twice as much domestically versus internationally, as my RCC method of charting points out the higher return for the local markets.
The story is not so bright for Kevin Costner as Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1, the first part of an intended 4-part series, is expected to lose quite a bit of money by the end of its run. Based on how much money it has made after two weeks, I can now project that the film will likely lose around $50 million when all is said and done. It is important to remember that Part 2 of the series is slated to be released in August and is not likely to see any growth in the audience, as the reaction to the film has been mostly stunted or non-existent. While there are definitely several positive reviews out there from both professional critics and more trustworthy “amateur” critics, it is clear that there are not a lot of people who are dying to see a 3-hour first part of a multi-hour series of movies that, at least in my opinion, failed to establish any real purpose to the story. Let’s just say it was a huge gamble, and at this point, it has not paid off and likely never will.
Check out my channel for the latest box office breakdown video HERE.
If you want further analysis on these or any other films, check out the full charting I do over at my website. Have a wonderful rest of your day, and, as always, God bless!
(If you ever want further insight into my methodology, see my previous articles HERE and HERE, and the RCC method I use to break down movies internationally HERE.)
