Paramount’s live-action animated comedy IF was the top movie at the box office this weekend with $35.0M in its opening, on the lower end of pre-release expectations. The total domestic box office for all films this weekend was $99.0M, 81% of the amount earned on this same weekend last year when FAST X opened with $67.0M to power the box office to $121.8M. The previous two weekends have helped exhibitors catch their breath for a moment, after struggling through two very disappointing weekends from April 26-28 (36% compared with 2023) and May 3-5 (54% compared with 2023).
IF was directed, produced, and written by John Krasinski, best known for his role as Jim Halpert in The Office sitcom which aired on NBC from 2005-2013. After that, he scored a major theatrical success in 2018 with the horror movie A QUIET PLACE, which he starred in, directed, and co-wrote. That movie earned a stunning $341.0M worldwide on a skinny production budget of $17.0M. Three years later, he was back with a sequel, A QUIET PLACE PART II, which was also a success in a 2021 run that wound up grossing $297.4M worldwide on a still-modest budget of $61.0M.
PART II arrived at a particularly crucial time for the industry, when theatres were still struggling to leave behind the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE is scheduled to open next month on June 28, 2024, although Krasinski has had a limited role in its development due to his focus over the last several years on bringing IF to life.
In stark contrast to A QUIET PLACE, IF heads in a completely different direction, as a PG-rated family movie with scenes populated by live-action actors and animated characters. The story revolves around a young girl named Bea, who has been going through a troubling time when she unexpectedly can see people’s imaginary friends – “IFs” – who have been abandoned by the kids that had originally imagined them. Bea then discovers that her neighbor, Cal, has the same supernatural ability, and they join forces to reunite the IFs with their original kid-creators.
The film stars an elite cast of Ryan Reynolds, Fiona Shaw, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., Steve Carell, and John Krasinski. This is an important collaboration between Krasinski and Paramount, in hopes that IF’s original story and characters will achieve the success required to spawn sequels. Alas, critics are not convinced, giving the movie a lowly 49% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences see it differently, with a much higher 87% user rating.
Made on a production budget of $110M, IF will most likely need to earn a worldwide gross of $275M from its theatrical run to be profitable. The film debuted in France on May 8th where it sold $3.9M in tickets over its opening week. Its first weekend domestic total of $35.0M puts it on track to reach profitability.
However, competition for the family audience is right around the corner, with Sony’s THE GARFIELD MOVIE opening next weekend and Disney’s highly-anticipated INSIDE OUT 2 arriving on June 14th. By contrast, Universal and DreamWorks’ KUNG FU PANDA 4 benefitted greatly by having two full months without any significant competition for the family audience after it opened on March 8th.
Most top-tier kids’ films have long productive runs as families take their time to get to theatres and there are usually not enough movies to satisfy the demand. However, IF is entering the market at a time of relatively stiff competition. The movie was originally scheduled to open on November 17, 2023, but its release was pushed back as a result of last year’s actor’s strike.
This is another example of a 2023 movie that shifted into 2024, which should have produced a box office bump in the current year. Two other prominent examples of this 2023->2024 shift are DUNE: PART TWO and GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE.
Finishing second was 20th Century’s KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, which brought in $26.0M while dropping 55% from last weekend’s opening. After 10 days, the sci-fi sequel now stands at $101.2M domestic and $190.9M worldwide, placing it well within the list of top five movies from this famous franchise.
Top-Performing PLANET OF THE APES Movies (after 10 Days in Theatres)
- DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (7/11/14) – Opening Weekend Domestic $72.6M, 10-Day Domestic $139.2M, Weekend #2 Domestic $36.3M (-50%), Total Domestic $208.6M, Total Worldwide $710.6M, Budget $170M
- PLANET OF THE APES (7/27/01) – Opening Weekend Domestic $68.5M, 10-Day Domestic $123.7M, Weekend #2 Domestic $27.5M (-60%), Total Domestic $180.1M, Total Worldwide $362.2M, Budget $100M
- RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (8/5/11) – Opening Weekend Domestic $54.8M, 10-Day Domestic $105.2M, Weekend #2 Domestic $27.8M (-49%), Total Domestic $176.8M, Total Worldwide $481.8M, Budget $93M
- WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES (7/14/17) – Opening Weekend Domestic $56.3M, 10-Day Domestic $98.2M, Weekend #2 Domestic $20.9M (-63%), Total Domestic $146.8M, Total Worldwide $490.7M, Budget $150M
- KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (5/10/24) – Opening Weekend Domestic $58.4M, 10-Day Domestic $101.2M, Weekend #2 Domestic $26.0M (-55%), Budget $160M
KINGDOM’s 55% drop positions it as the third-best weekend #2 hold of the PLANET OF THE APES movies. The next few weeks will be critical in determining whether the movie can reach profitability from the box office after a sizeable $160M was spent on its production. It still has the lucrative Memorial Day weekend to rack up new sales, with more and more schools letting students out every day to begin the summer break.
Lionsgate’s THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 finished in third place with an opening weekend total of $12.0M. This is the third film in THE STRANGERS horror series that began with THE STRANGERS in 2008. The original had a very successful debut of $21.0M domestic and went on to earn a total box office of $53.6M domestic and $82.4 worldwide on a $9M production budget.
Its first sequel came 10 years later in 2018 when THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT opened, but it only was able to achieve a $10.4M opening weekend and a total of $24.6M domestic and $31.0M worldwide. THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 is the first movie in a trilogy of prequels to the original THE STRANGERS. All three new movies will be directed by Rene Harlan, known for his work in action and horror movies including DIE HARD 2, CLIFFHANGER, EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING, and THE COVENANT.
The plot for THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 has Maya and her longtime boyfriend Ryan in search of a new life as they set out on a drive across the Pacific Northwest. When their car breaks down in rural Oregon, they are forced to spend the night in an isolated Airbnb rental. Throughout the night, they are terrorized by three masked strangers.
Maya is played by Madeline Petsch (Riverdale on the CW) and Ryan is played by Froy Gutierrez (Teen Wolf and Cruel Summer). The film has received very poor reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics giving it a lowly 13% score while audiences have weighed in with a slightly better 41% score. On the other hand, the two earlier films in the series also had sub-par reviews and wound up doing OK at the box office.
THE STRANGERS – Box Office Success and Rotten Tomatoes Scores
- THE STRANGERS (5/30/08) – Opening Weekend Domestic $21.0M, Total Domestic $52.6M, Total Worldwide $82.4M, Budget $9M, RT Critics 49%, RT Audience 48%
- THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT (3/9/18) – Opening Weekend Domestic $10.4M, Total Domestic $24.6M, Total Worldwide $31.0M, Budget $5M, RT Critics 40%, RT Audience 35%
- THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 (5/17/24) – Opening Weekend Domestic $12.0M, Budget $8.5M, RT Critics 13%, RT Audience 41%
Critics’ reviews for horror movies do not seem to correspond to success at the box office, with the opening gross for THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 (13% RT critics’ score) higher than that of THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT (40% RT critics’ score). This movie will certainly make money since it was produced on a very modest budget of $8.5M. The remaining two movies in the trilogy will come in rapid succession, with THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 2 opening later this year and THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 3 scheduled for release in 2025.
At a time when studios are struggling to create profitable IP, it’s welcome to see any franchise producing a series of new movies that are profitable. Note that the third film in this franchise was made for less money than the original. Perhaps some of the higher-profile franchises could benefit from this same approach, making sequels profitable at a time of declining theatrical attendance.
THE FALL GUY finished in fourth place with a take of $8.5M and a drop of 38%. After 17 days, the domestic box office for the film stands at $63.0M while the worldwide number is $122.6M. Unfortunately, after spending $125M to make the film, it may struggle to sell enough tickets to be profitable from its box office grosses. It will lose some of its locations next weekend to make way for the arrival of FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA, THE GARFIELD MOVIE, and SIGHT.
Finishing in fifth position is CHALLENGERS with $2.9M additional, a drop of only 33%. After 24 days, the film has brought in $43.5M domestically and $75.8M worldwide. CHALLENGERS has become the top-grossing tennis-themed movie of all time, enhancing Zendaya’s position as an A-list star who can carry a major movie to success.
Where Are We as of 5/16
After 19 weeks, the 2024 year-to-date box office stands at 76% compared to those same weeks last year and 58% of the totals at this time in 2019.