Superheroes from Disney could have a 1-2 finish at the box office this weekend, as “Ant-Man and the Wasp” takes No. 1 while “Incredibles 2” makes box office history by becoming the first animated film to cross $500 million in North America.
“Incredibles 2,” is expected to make $31 million in its fourth weekend, and on Saturday it will break the domestic animation record set by “Finding Dory” two years ago at $486 million. It will also become only the twelfth film to gross over $500 million domestically, and will pass “Rogue One” to join the top ten all-time domestic list in the coming week.
“Incredibles 2” has exploded beyond anyone’s expectations, starting with its animation record $182 million opening. If it were a Marvel film, “Incredibles 2” would have an opening weekend and domestic total higher than every Marvel Studios film save for “Black Panther” and the three “Avengers” films. The 14-year gap between the sequel and the 2004 original had a large factor in this success, as the millennials who saw the original as kids returned as adults, boosting robust ticket sales from family audiences.
Meanwhile, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” takes the No. 1 spot on the charts this weekend, opening on 4,206 screens and estimated to earn an $83 million opening. That result would be on the upper end of tracker projections and represents a 46 percent bump from the launch of the first “Ant-Man,” which opened to $57.2 million three years ago.
“Ant-Man and the Wasp” made $33.8 million on its opening day, which includes $11.5 million from Thursday previews. Critical and audience reception have both been strong, with an 86 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- on CinemaScore.
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” sits just behind “Incredibles 2” in third place with $30 million. The “Jurassic World” sequel joined its predecessor in the $1 billion box office club yesterday, with $700 million coming from overseas. Universal now has seven $1 billion films and joins Disney as the second studio to have films from three different franchises to reach that mark, as “Despicable Me” and “Fast and Furious” also have billion-dollar installments.
Universal also takes fourth this weekend with Blumhouse’s “The First Purge,” the prequel to the studio’s successful “Purge Series.” Released on Wednesday, the film is looking at a weekend total of $18 million and a five-day weekend of $32 million, a successful result considering the film’s $13 million budget.
Sony’s “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” completes the top five with an estimated $8 million, which would be a 58 percent drop from the “Sicario” sequel’s $19 million launch. Last week’s other wide release, Lionsgate’s “Uncle Drew,” takes sixth with an estimated $6.8 million.