Weekend Box Office: The Wild Robot has a smash debut but Megalopolis is D.O.A

Dreamworks Animation’s The Wild Robot performed way ahead of our expectations at the box office this weekend. Even the most optimistic industry estimates had this only making about $25 million (we pegged it at significantly less). Still, it looks like the excellent reviews (and the fact that it’s based on a universally beloved book) played in its favor. Its $35 million opening weekend is a pretty big coup for a non-sequel these days, with it all earning a terrific A CinemaScore rating, promising that it should have good legs in the week to come.

However, another animated movie about robots with solid word-of-mouth wasn’t so lucky. Transformers One, which also earned an A CinemaScore and boasts an all-star voice cast, collapsed in week two at the box office. It plummeted a massive 62% to a $9.3 million total and a $39 million domestic tally. It will be lucky to break $55 million in North America and will rank as the lowest-grossing Transformers movie since the original animated film way back in 1986. Perhaps this franchise needs to be retired for a while (do we really need a G.I. Joe/ Transformers crossover?).

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice also sported another strong showing at the box office, earning a rock-solid $16 million and crossing the $250 million mark domestically. Not bad for a movie WB almost consigned to a streaming debut on Max. 

Of course, the opening everyone will be talking about this weekend is Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, which turned out to be the disaster everyone thought it would be with a $4 million opening. Sporting a putrid D CinemaScore rating, the movie also proved to be the latest box office dud from Lionsgate, a studio which, sadly, cannot seem to catch a break these days. 

Megalopolis was soundly trounced by a few movies this weekend, including the Indian blockbuster Devara Part 1, which stars RRR’s N. T. Rama Rao Jr, and made a hefty $5.6 million for fourth place. Blumhouse’s Speak No Evil also continued to show some serious legs, making  $4.3 million (only a 26% week-to-week decline), with it likely to end its theatrical run in the $40 million range. 

Deadpool & Wolverine, despite its imminent home media bow, made another $2.65 million, which landed it in seventh place, with a $631 million total. Amazon/MGM’s My Old Ass, which has been doing well in limited release, expanded to over 1000 screens and made $2.24 million. Lionsgate’s Never Let Go lost 50% of its audience and sank to ninth place with $2.2 million (and a sub $10 million domestic tally – horrible for a horror flick). Finally, The Substance, despite great reviews, hasn’t been able to attract much of a theatrical audience, with it making only $1.8 million in tenth place and a $6.8 million total. Ouch.

Next weekend should give the box office a much-needed shot of adrenaline, with Joker Folie A Deux primed for a $60 million-plus opening. Did you see anything this weekend? Let us know in the comments!