It took six weeks but « Black Panther » has finally been unseated as the top film at the box office. The monsters vs. robots science-fiction sequel « Pacific Rim: Uprising » dethroned « Black Panther » with an estimated $28 million.
It took six weeks but « Black Panther » has finally been unseated as the top film at the North American box office. The monsters vs. robots science-fiction sequel « Pacific Rim: Uprising » dethroned the superhero sensation with $28 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
But the result for « Pacific Rim: Uprising, » a Universal Pictures-Legendary Entertainment release that cost $150 million to make, was soft — at least domestically. Like the recently released « Tomb Raider, » its biggest business was in China. « Pacific Rim: Uprising » debuted there with $65 million for Legendary, which the Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group acquired in 2016.
And even though « Black Panther » slid to second place with $16.7 million in its sixth weekend, Ryan Coogler’s film notched another box-office milestone. It’s now the highest-grossing superhero film ever in North America, not accounting for inflation. The film’s $631 million in domestic ticket sales has surpassed the $623 million of 2012’s « The Avengers. » »Black Panther » also becomes the fifth highest grossing film of all-time, rising above « Star Wars: The Last Jedi. »
Yet the record-breaking hit of « Black Panther » has been followed by a string of lackluster performers, including « Tomb Raider, » »A Wrinkle in Time » and « Red Sparrow. » »Pacific Rim: Uprising » may have taken down the champ, but a blockbuster heir to « Black Panther » is yet to be found. Next weekend, Steven Spielberg will try with his big-budget virtual-reality spectacle « Ready Player One. »
Hollywood has essentially already squandered the early lead « Black Panther » gave it. Despite the firepower of « Black Panther, » the year is running 2.6 percent behind 2017 at U. S and Canada theaters, according to comScore. This weekend was down 36.5 percent from last year when « Beauty and the Beast » was in its second week and the surprisingly successful « Power Rangers » debuted.
« One movie isn’t enough to support a whole marketplace, » said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. « We need a real shot in the arm here. ‘Pacific Rim,’ that’s a fine opening. But we need bigger numbers to be put up. »
« Pacific Rim: Uprising » could point to better results abroad, where it grossed $122.5 million over the weekend. The July 2013 original, directed by Guillermo del Toro, was likewise conceived as an East-West hybrid tailored after classic kaiju movies, the Japanese giant monster genre. It launched with $37.3 million domestically and $45 million in China.
The $411 million worldwide haul for del Toro’s film was enough to prompt a sequel, even if enthusiasm for a second installment was considerably higher in Asia. Steven S. DeKnight co-wrote and directed « Uprising, » which critics largely slammed. It scored a 46 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
« The domestic market was a very important part of it and we really came in above any reasonable expectations, » said Jim Orr, domestic distribution chief for Universal. « This was always engineered to be a worldwide event film. »
The strategy was similar for Warner Bros.’ « Tomb Raider » reboot, starring Alicia Vikander. Domestically, it dropped steeply in its second week, sliding 56 percent with $10.4 million. Sales have been brisker overseas, where « Tomb Raider » has grossed $170 million thus far.
MGM and Paramount Pictures’ animated family sequel « Sherlock Gnomes » disappointed with a $10.6 million debut. Forecasts had been higher for the sequel to « Gnomeo & Juliet, » which grossed $194 million worldwide in 2011.
The results were also modest for Steven Soderbergh’s « Unsane, » a psychological thriller starring Claire Foy (« The Crown ») that the director shot with iPhones. The Bleecker Street-Fingerprint Releasing film opened with $3.9 million in 2,023 theaters. Though both were inexpensively made, neither of Soderbergh’s first two films following his brief retirement from Hollywood has made much of a dent at the box office. Last year’s « Logan Lucky, » starring Channing Tatum, tapped out at $27.8 million domestically.
But there were also bright spots. The Christian drama « I Can Only Imagine » held especially strongly in its second weekend. The Lionsgate-Roadside Attractions release grossed $13.8 million, bringing its two-week total to $38.5 million. « I Can Only Imagine » has emerged as the clear faith-based film of choice ahead of Easter, likely to the detriment of « Paul: Apostle of Christ, » which took in $5 million this weekend for Sony’s Affirm Films.
And in limited release, Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animated « Isle of Dogs » got off to a healthy start with $1.6 million in 27 theaters. Fox Searchlight, coming off its best-picture win at the Academy Awards for « The Shape of Water, » carefully selected the opening-weekend theaters to cater to Anderson’s die-hard fans.
« We just wanted to be out there to give his audience an opportunity to find the film, » said Frank Rodriguez, distribution head for Searchlight.
Anderson is coming off the biggest box-office hit of his career. « The Grand Budapest Hotel » grossed $175 million worldwide in 2014. « Isle of Dogs, » about a Japanese island of misfit canines in a future dystopia, has been received with nearly equal fanfare. Critics gave it a 93 percent fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, audiences gave it an « A » CinemaScore and Searchlight noted its opening-weekend audience was more than 60 percent under the age of 30. But it has also sparked questions of cultural appropriation.
« I don’t know how that’s going to affect most of the audience, » said Rodriguez. « We know that audiences want to see it. We can hope that people make their own decisions and hopefully look at the film as an homage to a great culture and great filmmakers. It’s pretty much Wes. »
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U. S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers also are included. Final three-day domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. « Pacific Rim: Uprising, » $28 million ($122.5 million international).
2. « Black Panther, » $16.7 million ($12.9 million international).
