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 The North American box office sizzled as Disney and Pixar's
"Inside Out" and Universal's "Jurassic World" duked it out at
the multiplexes. After shattering records for domestic and
international debuts, "Jurassic World" became only the second
film in history to top $100 million in two separate weekends.
The dinosaur sequel nabbed first place with a massive $102
million, pushing its domestic total to $398.2 million. "Jurassic
World" has now passed "Jurassic Park" ($357.1 million) as the
highest-grossing domestic release in the franchise's history
when not adjusted for inflation.
Its dominance ended one of the most remarkable winning streaks
in cinema history, putting a period to Pixar's run of first
place finishes. Every previous film released by the studio bowed
in the top spot on domestic charts.
Not that Disney is complaining. Buoyed by rapturous critical
notices, "Inside Out" scored the second best debut ever for
Pixar, behind only "Toy Story 3's" $110.3 million opening, and
the highest opening weekend ever for an original, non-sequel
property, passing "Avatar's" $77 million start. The brainy
family film picked up $91 million from 3,946 playdates. That was
a significant jump on the $60 million-plus opening that Disney
had projected for "Inside Out."
"Inside Out," which unfolds largely inside the mind of a young
girl struggling to come to terms with her family's move to San
Francisco, represented a big gamble for Pixar. Produced for $175
million, it had a concept that defied an easy sales pitch and
could have gone soaring over the heads of younger moviegoers.
Instead, critics praised the film as ranking alongside such
previous Pixar greats as "Up" and "Wall-E" in pairing cinematic
daring with emotional uplift.
Disney's distribution chief Dave Hollis praised the studio's
marketing team for conveying the twisty concept in a series of
upbeat ads and for getting the word out early that the picture
was not to be missed. "Inside Out" first screened for movie
theater owners and press at CinemaCon in April and followed that
up with a high-profile premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
"There was a critical mass building of people saying 'wow it's
so original, it's Pixar doing what Pixar does best,'" said
Hollis. "That critical mass tipped over into the consumer
mindset."
Analysts argue that the positive response was one of the major
reasons "Inside Out," like "Jurassic World" before it, soared
past projections.
"This is another example of word of mouth spreading fast for a
movie and people getting behind in a big way," said Phil
Contrino, vice president and chief analyst at BoxOffice.com.
It wasn't just reviews. Production delays on Pixar's "The Good
Dinosaur" forced that movie to abandon its original 2014 release
date, putting a two-year gap between the animation studio's
films and driving interest in its latest title.
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"It speaks to the power of Pixar," said Jeff Bock, an analyst with
Exhibitor Relations. "Audiences see that name and they know it
stands for quality. You can't say that about any other company that
does animation. They're more hit and miss."
Opening weekend crowds for "Inside Out" were 56% female and 38%
under the age of 12. Families comprised 71% of the audience.
There was one casualty at the box office. Open Road's "Dope" did not
perform as well as the studio had hoped. The Sundance Film Festival
favorite sparked a bidding war when it debuted in Park City, but the
picture's off-beat sensibility (it's a comedy about nerds living in
South Central), was difficult to convey to audiences. "Dope" pulled
in a disappointing $6 million from 2,002 locations, good enough for
a fifth place finish.
Open Road Chief Marketing Officer Jason Cassidy noted that the film
played well with critics and audiences, which could help it "leg it
out" in coming weeks.
"When you have two movies doing almost $200 million in the
marketplace, it's tough for much else to cut through," said Cassidy.
"The great news is we have a great movie that plays great."
In third place, Fox's "Spy" showed some staying power, slipping 29%
in its third weekend to $10.5 million and bringing its stateside
total to $74.4 million. Disaster film "San Andreas" nabbed the
fourth position on charts after snagging $8.2 million and pushing
its domestic haul to $132.2 million.
Among art house releases, new indie distributor The Orchard kicked
off the sex comedy "The Overnight" to an estimated $61,523 this
weekend on three screens in New York and Los Angeles, for a
per-screen average of $20,507. The company plans to expand the film
next weekend and will have it playing on more than 300 screens by
the July 4th holiday.
In its second weekend, "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" expanded
from 15 locations to 68 theaters, bringing in $351,678. The dramedy
about a young cinephile who befriends his critically ill high school
classmate has earned $645,090 so far.
Final numbers have yet to be calculated, but the overall box office
will annihilate the figures put up a year ago when "Think Like a Man
Too" and "Jersey Boys" opened.
"This is an example of the market expanding when it needs to
accommodate two big movies," said Contrino.
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