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The animated comedy has collected $24 million
from 4,009 North American theaters in its debut, enough to take
the crown from "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore." In
its second weekend of release, the latest chapter in the "Harry
Potter" prequel series plummeted to third place with $14
million, a troubling sign for the Warner Bros.' Wizarding film
franchise.
"The Bad Guys" may have towered over the competition, but it was
not the only newcomer to movie theater marquees. "The Northman,"
a blood-soaked Viking epic from director Robert Eggers, and "The
Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent," a meta comedy in which
Nicolas Cage plays a fictionalized version of himself, opened in
theaters nationwide to varying results. With three original
movies in wide release, this weekend indicates that Hollywood
does, indeed, still have new ideas -- but audiences aren't
always willing to make the trek to watch them.
"The Bad Guys" carries a $70 million price tag, so although the
Dreamworks Animation film has topped the box office, it may have
to claw its way to profitability in its theatrical run. The
international box office will be critical to getting into the
black. Already, the movie has grossed $63 million overseas,
bringing its global tally to $87.1 million. It helps that in
addition to strong reviews, audiences appear to be high on the
film, which secured an "A" CinemaScore from ticket buyers. Sam
Rockwell, Marc Maron, Anthony Ramos, Craig Robinson and
Awkwafina lead the voice cast of "The Bad Guys," which follows a
crackerjack crew of animal outlaws as they attempt their most
challenging con yet -- becoming model citizens.
"The Northman" opened in fourth place, generating $12 million
from 3,865 locations. That's a great result for an arthouse
film, but alas, "The Northman" does not carry the budget of an
arthouse film. The movie reportedly cost $90 million, though
sources close to the production say the final number was closer
to $70 million after factoring in tax incentives. And Focus
Features, who split the cost with New Regency, did not skimp on
promotional efforts. "The Northman" has posters with stars
Alexander Skarsg?rd, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan
Hawke, Bj?rk and Willem Dafoe plastered in Times Square.
"Reviews are excellent, but with a budget of around $75 million,
'The Northman' will struggle to recover costs," said David A.
Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise
Entertainment Research.
"The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent," from Lionsgate, took
the No. 5 spot with $7.1 million, a wobbly start given its
reported $30 million budget. Directed by Tom Gormican, the wacky
buddy comedy of sorts follows Cage, whose star is declining as a
billionaire super fan (played by Pedro Pascal) offers him $1
million to attend a birthday party in the Maldives. When events
take a turn, Cage teams up with the CIA and channels his most
beloved movie characters to save his family from his biggest
fan, who may be a dangerous arms dealer.
Despite stacked competition, Paramount's family friendly sequel
"Sonic the Hedgehog 2" sped past "Fantastic Beasts 3" and others
to land in second place with $15.2 million from 3,809 venues.
After three weeks in theaters, the "Sonic" follow-up has
generated a mighty $145.8 million. The film is less than $3
million away from surpassing its predecessor's $148 million
pre-pandemic domestic box office total, though 2020's "Sonic the
Hedgehog" likely would have enjoyed a longer run on the big
screen without COVID-19 spoiling those plans.
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