Disney/20th Century’s “The Devil Wears Prada 2” is pulling away from Warner Bros./New Line’s “Mortal Kombat II” and is now set to stay No. 1 at the box office for a second weekend.
Buoyed by strong word-of-mouth among women, the legacyquel starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway added $43 million domestically to drop just 44% from its opening weekend. Strong holds in the U.K., Italy, Brazil and Mexico among other overseas markets have also added $75.8 million this weekend internationally, bringing the film’s total to $144.8 million domestic and $433.2 million overseas.
“Mortal Kombat II” isn’t getting as strong day-to-day holds as “Prada 2” but is still off to a good start with a $40 million domestic/$63 million global opening. It’s the best opening for Warner since “Wuthering Heights” back in February and is a rebound for the studio after films like “The Bride!” and “They Will Kill You” faltered in recent months.
The question now is whether moviegoers beyond hardcore “Kombat” fans will show up, as the film opens with a B on CinemaScore and Rotten Tomatoes scores of 65% critics and 90% audience.
Close behind “MK II” is Lionsgate/Universal’s “Michael,” which remains on pace to pass “Oppenheimer” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” for the all-time biopic record with a $36.5 million third weekend, bringing its total to $240 million domestic and $577 million worldwide. Domestically, the film has already passed “Bohemian Rhapsody” to become the highest domestic grossing music biopic ever.
The music biopic should pass $650 million by next weekend to become the second-highest grossing film of the year behind “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which is reaching the end of its box office run and is trying to inch its way to the $1 billion mark with a $6.6 million sixth weekend and a $941 million global total.
In fourth is Amazon MGM’s “The Sheep Detectives,” a family film starring Hugh Jackman and Emma Thompson along with an ensemble voice cast playing a herd of sheep who take it upon themselves to solve their shepherd’s murder. The film has a very uphill battle to theatrical profitability with a $15.9 million domestic/$28 million global opening weekend with a reported budget of around $75 million.
The one good bit of news for the film is that it is enjoying excellent critical and audience reception including an A- on CinemaScore, 91% positive score on PostTrak and Rotten Tomatoes scores of 93% critics and 96% audience. With two weeks until the release of Disney/Lucasfilm’s “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” “Sheep Detectives” will need to build quickly off its post-release buzz if it is going to break even theatrically.
Paramount’s “Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard & Soft” completes the top 5 with $7.5 million from 2,637 locations, consistent with pre-release tracking. The 3D concert film directed by Eilish and James Cameron is opening slightly above the K-Pop concert film “Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience,” which opened to $5.7 million earlier this year.
Thanks to the combined contributions of “Prada,” “Kombat” and “Michael,” overall totals for the weekend reached $164.8 million, nearly double the $85 million for the same weekend last year.
But the second half of May is likely to be slower than last year, as only two upcoming films are projected to open to more than $10 million for the remainder of the month: “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” which is looking at an $85 million-plus Memorial Day weekend, and A24’s “The Backrooms,” which is projected for a $20 million launch.
More to come…