Last weekend, Pixar’s Inside Out 2 ended the box office woes that have plagued movie theaters since mid-spring. With a $155 million domestic opening, which is the second-highest animated film opening ever, Disney’s Pixar is now back at the top of the box office heap. With very little in the way of competition this weekend, its continued run at number one is all but assured. But how much will it make on its second weekend, and how steep will the week 2 drop be? If you look back at The Incredibles 2, which is the highest-grossing animated opening ever, it fell off about 56% in week two, although I think Inside Out 2 may have a better hold.
Despite its blockbuster opening, I remember the audience’s reaction to The Incredibles 2 being relatively cool. Audiences seem to be absolutely loving Inside Out 2, with many finding the introduction of Maya Hawke’s Anxiety a rather universal theme that’s bringing out the adult audience that might not otherwise go for an animated film. That’s why I think Inside Out 2 will only fall off about 45%, meaning it should have a strong $85 million second weekend.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die is also likely hold onto second place. It’s proven to be enough of a summer blockbuster that it’s effectively catapulted Will Smith back to the top of the box office heap, with him just signing on to another big-budget action movie with Sony. It seems set for a $16 million weekend; although word of mouth has been good, and it could go as high as $18 million.
New releases this weekend aren’t expected to make too much of a dent, with Focus Features’ The Bikeriders the only major release. With its star-studded cast, including Tom Hardy, Austin Butler and Jodie Comer, the studio is giving the movie a wide release, and it should post decent numbers. I’d expect around $8 million, although it could go a little higher and break eight figures, which would be a great result for this well-reviewed Jeff Nichols film.
Meanwhile, the Russell Crowe horror film, The Exorcism, doesn’t seem to have much of a prayer this weekend, with early reviews (such as our own) saying that it’s far from the crowd-pleasing horror flick Crowe’s last demonic outing, The Pope’s Exorcist was. It seems highly unlikely to crack the top 5.
Here are my predictions:
Are you taking a chance on The Bikeriders this weekend? Let us know in the comments!