Universal’s THE WILD ROBOT won the weekend with $35.0M in box office sales over its first three days. All films together grossed $90.0M, which is similar to the $85.7M from the same weekend last year which was led by $22.8M for the opening of Paramount’s PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE, followed closely by Lionsgate’s SAW X with $18.3M and Disney’s THE CREATOR with $14.1M.
Since the September 6th opening of BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE, the current month has enjoyed a 59% advantage over September 2023. The fall 2024 box office momentum will return next weekend when Warner Bros. regains the top spot with the much-anticipated opening of JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX.
THE WILD ROBOT is DreamWorks’ 43rd feature film, which includes some of the most successful all-time animated film franchises such as SHREK, KUNG FU PANDA, and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. DreamWorks movies have generated a total box office of over $6.1B domestic. The company was founded in 1994 by the high-profile trio of Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen. In 2016, Comcast’s NBCUniversal division stepped in to acquire DreamWorks for $3.6B, and since that time Universal has distributed its new releases.
THE WILD ROBOT is based on a children’s book series written by Peter Brown that was first published in 2016. The screenplay was written by Chris Sanders (LILO & STITCH, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON), who also directed the movie. Lupita Nyong’o voices the title character, with supporting performances from Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, Mark Hamill, and Ving Rhames. The story begins in the aftermath of a shipwreck that has left an intelligent robot named Roz stranded on an uninhabited island.
To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island’s animal residents and cares for an orphaned baby goose. The movie has met with an enthusiastic response from critics and audiences, with both giving it a near-perfect 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It cost $78M to produce, which multiplies out to a break-even at approximately $200M in worldwide box office. With its $35.0M opening weekend, this achievement is by no means guaranteed. However, a look back at the last five DreamWorks releases shows some positive indicators.
Most Recent Dreamworks Movie Releases
- THE BAD GUYS (4/22/22) – Opening Domestic $24.0M, Total Domestic $97.5M, Total Worldwide $250.4M, Budget $69M-$80M, RT Critics/Audience 88%/93%
- PUSS & BOOTS: THE LAST WISH (12/21/22) – Opening Domestic $12.5M, Total Domestic $186.1M, Total Worldwide $481.8M, Budget $90-$110M, RT Critics/Audience 95%/94%
- RUBY GILLMAN: TEENAGE KRAKEN (6/30/23) – Opening Domestic $5.5M, Total Domestic $15.8M, Total Worldwide $45.7M, Budget $70M, RT Critics/Audience 66%/81%
- TROLLS BAND TOGETHER (11/17/23) – Opening Domestic $30.0M, Total Domestic $103.0M, Total Worldwide $209.4M, Budget $95M, RT Critics/Audience 63%/92%
- KUNG FU PANDA 4 (3/8/24) – Opening Domestic $58.0M, Total Domestic $193.5M, Total Worldwide $549.1M, Budget $85M, RT Critics/Audience 71%/86%
- THE WILD ROBOT (9/27/24) – Opening Domestic $35.0M, Budget $78M, RT Critics/Audience 98%/98%
THE WILD ROBOT’s $35.0M opening places it second among this group. All five of the most recent DreamWorks titles have done well in international markets by comparison with their North American totals. We expect this pattern to continue for THE WILD ROBOT, especially considering its Rotten Tomatoes ratings being the highest of the group. Moreover, there is little competition for the family audience over the next two months until MOANA 2 opens on November 27th. This gives THE WILD ROBOT a clear field to have a long, productive theatrical run.
After three weekends in first, BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE fell to second place with $16.0M, a drop of 38%. After 24 days, the horror comedy sequel has taken in $250.1M domestic and $359.9M worldwide, making it the sixth-highest domestic-grossing movie of the year and the second-highest ever for a movie in September, behind IT which earned $286.6M in 2017. BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE has been the prime contributor to the 2024 September surge in the box office, and it should still have some life left in the weeks leading up to Halloween.
TRANSFORMERS ONE finished in third place with $9.3M, a steep drop of 62% from last weekend’s opening. Over 10 days, it has earned $39.2M domestically and $56.3 worldwide. Compared to the previous TRANSFORMERS movies, the current chapter has been a disappointment, with all previous movies in the series except for the 2007 original animated movie TRANSFORMERS earning at least $439M worldwide.
TRANSFORMERS ONE has no chance to reach that level and could wind up as the lowest-grossing movie of the last eight, lower than BUMBLEBEE’s domestic total of $127.2M. After 10 days, BUMBLEBEE had earned $67.2M compared to TRANSFORMERS ONE’s $39.2M. With a production budget of $75M, TRANSFORMERS ONE may not even reach profitability. If there are to be any future films in this franchise, they will most likely return to the more costly CGI-generated live-action format that has proven successful in previous outings.
The Indian Telugu-language action drama DEVARA: PART 1 distributed in the U.S. by Prathyangira Cinemas and Hamsini Entertainment finished in fourth place with $5.1M in its opening weekend. The movie was directed by Koratala Siva and stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr, one of the most prolific and popular actors in Telegu films. While DEVARA: PART 1 is his 30th feature film, he is best known to American audiences in his role as the freedom fighter Komaram Bheem in the highly acclaimed RRR from 2022.
The storyline of DEVARA: PART 1 begins in 1996, with a high-level security meeting in Mumbai chaired by the country’s home minister and high-level police officials to discuss an alarming security threat at the upcoming Cricket World Cup taking place in India. The movie was produced for 3B INR, the equivalent of $36M in U.S. Dollars. Based on how well the top Indian films do worldwide, this one should be quite profitable and further support the distribution of Indian films in North America.
Universal and Blumhouse’s SPEAK NO EVIL finished in fifth place in its third weekend by earning $4.3M, a decline of only 26%. After 17 days, the horror film has made $28.1M domestically and $51.8M worldwide. The modest drop from its second weekend is encouraging, especially because the last several weekends have been overloaded with horror titles. With a tight production budget of $15M, its studio backers have already assured themselves of a profit.
Lionsgate’s highly anticipated sci-fi drama MEGALOPOLIS finished in a disappointing sixth place with a gross of only $4.0M in its opening weekend. The film was written, directed, and produced by the famous director Francis Ford Coppola, who has five Academy Awards to his credit. Coppola is said to have invested $120M of his own money to produce this film, requiring him to sell off part of his very successful winery to come up with the funds.
In development for decades, MEGALOPOLIS realizes Coppola’s desire to create this film which draws parallels between the fall of Rome and the future of the United States. The story takes place in New Rome, a fictional city that is loosely based on New York. It depicts the epic conflict between Cesar Catalina, a brilliant artist in favor of a utopian future, and Franklyn Cicero, the greedy mayor of the city. In a life-imitates-art coincidence, the current mayor of New York Eric Adams was indicted in a bribery scandal only days before the opening of the film.
Coppola enlisted an A-list cast that includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Jason Schwartzman, Laurence Fishburn and Dustin Hoffman. While the famous filmmaker says that he is happy with the result, his movie has landed with a thud, after receiving unflattering reviews and producing a dismal opening weekend. Its sizeable production budget and low earnings will make it one of the biggest financial disappointments of the year.
Where Are We as of 9/26
After 38 weeks, the 2024 year-to-date box office has climbed to 87% of 2023 totals and 74% of 2019 totals at this same point in the year. 2024 VS. 2023 2024 VS. 2019.