Expectations weren’t that high for either of this frame’s blockbuster sequels, but Men in Black: International and Shaft both fell short of studio estimates at the domestic box-office this weekend.
Men in Black: International managed to recoup $28.5 million, which was the lowest of the franchise by over $20 million. The poorly received film (read our ★★ review here) was never expected to reach the heights of its blockbuster predecessors, but the studio had earmarked it for a $30 million opening.
Adding to a diminishing desire for audiences to turn out for lacklustre sequels, following the underperforming Godzilla: King of the Monsters ($8.1m, $93m), and The Secret Life of Pets 2 ($23m, $92m), was the Shaft reboot. Not only did it receive a generous ★★ review from us, but it only managed to scrape $8.3 million off the back of $15 million estimates from Warner Bros.
You might think that X-Men: Dark Phoenix should be bracketed in with those, but its sophomore performance is worthy of a standalone mention, having bled a whopping 73% of business. This is the second largest drop for a film playing in over 3,500 theatres during its second weekend, after Fifty Shades of Grey. The maligned X-Men send-off did just $9 million worth of business, bringing its total to a hugely disappointing $51 million. Ooof.
The studio who’ve rubbed their magic lamp the hardest has to be Disney, because not only did Avengers: Endgame add another $3.5 million to its whopping tally, but Aladdin managed to delve into the cave of wonder and retrieve $16.7 million in its fourth weekend of release. The Guy Richie directed remake has now amassed $263 million domestic, and $724 million at the global box-office.
Elsewhere, the much ballyhooed Late Night, a record $13 million Sundance purchase by Amazon Studios, went the way of Booksmart with an underwhelming wide expansion and $5.1 million total.
The full rundown is available over at Box Office Mojo, and as always, let us know what you think by heading over to the Flickering Myth Twitter page.