1. Aladdin (review)- $86.1M
Disney’s Aladdin got the company’s live-action remakes back on track with an $86M domestic debut. That’s roughly double what Dumbo did just a couple of months ago. Worldwide the remake of the 1994 animated classic hit $207M. These aren’t astronomical numbers, especially for a $180M budget, but I think Disney really needed to prove these movies could still work heading into The Lion King. The reviews were relatively good, especially for Will Smith as the Genie, a role many had serious reservations about because everyone still loves Robin Williams. It’s not perfect, but Guy Ritchie surprisingly delivered an entertaining, big studio musical that will probably top his all-time highest earning film, 2011’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows with $545M globally.
2. John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum– $24.3M/$100.9M
3. Avengers: Endgame– $16.8M/$798.1M
Disney’s box office dominance continues with Avengers: Endgame, which fell a relatively slight 43% for $16.8M. The film nears $800M domestic and has hit $2.67B worldwide and is close to matching Avatar‘s $2.78B for the top spot all-time. We’ll see if it gets there, because believe it or not there’s still some question about that. A small question, but one nonetheless.
4. Pokemon Detective Pikachu– $13.3M/$116.1M
5. Brightburn (review)- $7.5M
The James Gunn-produced superhero horror Brightburn didn’t get the start of either a Guardians of the Galaxy movie or a Superman one. The dark twist on the Man of Steel’s origin opened with just $7.5M which, to be fair, equals the production budget. It’s probably fair to say that Gunn’s name drove the numbers even this far, which is saying something since he was neither a writer or a director on this.
6. Booksmart (review)- $6.5M
Despite some of the year’s best reviews, correctly identifying it as the female Superbad, Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart had a weak $6.5M start. The film stars Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever as brainiac high school seniors looking for a party after wasting four years studying. The good news is there probably wasn’t a high cost for this one, and the reviews are so good that it may stick around for a while either in theaters or as a cult classic. It’s just not the best time for an R-rated high school comedy when there’s a ton of all-ages entertainment out there ranging from Avengers: Endgame to Aladdin. Disappointing, yeah, but I have a feeling Booksmart will make its mark whether the box office reflects how good it is or not.
7. A Dog’s Journey– $4M/$14.9M
8. The Hustle– $3.8M/$29.8M
9. The Intruder– $2.2M/$31.9M
10. Long Shot– $1.5M/$28.6M
