It was a weekend full of surprises at the box office, but an old industry standard managed to come out on top.
Securing the pole position is Cars 3 (read our review), the latest film from Pixar. It brought in $53.5 million over the course of its first three days, which is the lowest opening for the franchise, but still a solid start. The Cars brand has always been seen as "second-tier" Pixar (mainly due to the negative reaction to Cars 2), so there likely wasn't as much interest across the board for this one as there was for offerings like Inside Out and Finding Dory. Cars appeals mainly to kids, so adults without youngsters probably weren't too keen on checking this one out. Lightning McQueen doesn't possess the cross-generational appeal that Pixar has become known for over the years.
Though Cars 3 is obviously not going to challenge any all-time marks for Pixar, it should be in a decent position for the next couple of weeks. It won't receive any competition for its target demographic until Despicable Me 3 opens at the end of the month. And unlike its predecessor, Cars 3 has received generally positive word-of-mouth, so that may encourage some who were on the fence to go see it. This summer hasn't provided much for the juice box crowd, but the always-reliable Pixar will have a monopoly on that corner for the next while, even if their reign up top is short-lived.
Falling to second in its third weekend is Wonder Woman, which made $40.7 million. After winning the past two weekend, the arrival of a new Pixar film proved to be too much for Diana Prince to handle, but the fourth movie in the DC Extended Universe keeps performing very well. It's now up to $274.6 million domestically and is outpacing Man of Steel at the same point in their respective runs. Time will tell how much Wonder Woman will make, but it's well on its way to $300 million in the U.S. and could challenge the grosses posted by Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad.
Surpassing expectations and coming into third is All Eyez On Me, the Tupac Shakur biopic. Due to the popularity of its subject, the film was able to shake off the widely negative reviews and earn $27 million in its first three days. That is nowhere near the debut figures of Straight Outta Compton from a couple years ago (word-of-mouth probably had something to do with that), but it's still an impressive feat for a movie that was hit with some of the worst reviews of the weekend. Its production budget was $40 million, so All Eyez On Me still has a long way to go before it turns a profit. It'll be interesting to see how it holds up. It hasn't generated positive buzz, but it could be a counter-programming option for older moviegoers looking for a break from summer tentpoles.
In fourth is The Mummy with $13.9 million. Universal's kickoff to their Dark Universe is now up to $56.5 million in the States. Internationally, it's fared much better, with a global total of $295.6 million. With Transformers: The Last Knight right around the corner, business may start to decline soon, but the studio may be encouraged to forge ahead with the franchise since there seems to be a demand in foreign countries.
Rounding out the top five is 47 Meters Down (read our review), the latest "humans vs. sharks" movie. It made $11.5 million in its opening weekend, faring much better than originally anticipated. The film was made on the cheap for just $12 million and was initially pegged as a straight to VOD release. However, the distributor opted for a theatrical premiere, and that decision seemed to have paid off. Obviously, 47 Meters Down is a niche project without much mainstream appeal, but Entertainment Studios stands to make their money back with the way it held up against high-profile competition.
The #6 film is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales with $8.4 million. Jack Sparrow's latest adventure is now up to $150 million domestically.
In a surprising development, new comedy Rough Night (read our review) opened in seventh with $8 million. The film, which earned mixed reviews, boasted a star-studded cast lead by MCU veteran Scarlett Johansson and looked to be a fun "girls' night out" movie in the vein of something like Bridesmaids. Apparently, something about it didn't connect with casual audiences and it struggled to gain much traction at the box office - despite its amusing premise. Fortunately for Sony, Rough Night cost only $20 million to make, but they were definitely hoping for more right out of the gate. With interest this low at the outset, it'll be hard for the film to turn things around.
In eighth is Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie with $7.3 million. DreamWorks' latest is now up to $57.9 million in the U.S.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is in ninth. The blockbuster earned $4.9 million in its seventh weekend, raising its domestic total to $374.8 million.
Capping off the top 10 is It Comes At Night with $2.6 million. The horror movie has now made $11.1 million in the States.
[NOTE: These are only weekend box office estimates -- based on Friday and Saturday ticket sales coupled with adjusted expectations for Sunday. Official weekend box office results will be released on Monday, June 19 -- at which time we'll update this post with any changes.]
Source: Box Office Mojo