Weekend Box Office Report: February 8-10, 2019

The LEGO movie 2 snaps into first!

Animated toy blocks were back in theaters for another adventure this weekend and put THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART on top at the box office with an estimated opening of $34.4 million!

The new PG-rated follow-up got barely halfway to the original THE LEGO MOVIE's $69 million opening on this same weekend in 2014, and also couldn't touch the $53 million start of spinoff THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE in 2017.

Directed by Mike Mitchell (SKY HIGH, SHREK FOREVER AFTER) and again written by duo Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, the sequel cost a reported $100 million.

The latest exploits of brickfolk (voiced by returning Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell and Will Arnett), this time battling interstellar invaders, also pieced together $18.1 million from international audiences for a $52.5 million worldwide weekend.

Critics mostly thought everything was still awesome, giving the movie an average of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. Click on over to the JoBlo review HERE.

In second place was the new R-rated comedy WHAT MEN WANT with an opening weekend of $19 million.

The gender-flipped remake of the Mel Gibson movie WHAT WOMEN WANT, with Taraji P. Henson now reading the minds of males (including Tracy Morgan), has already nearly grossed its reported $20 million cost.

The original WHAT WOMEN WANT (also starring Helen Hunt) opened with $33.6 million back in 2000, and went on to $182 million domestic and $374 million worldwide.

Critics were ambivalent about Taraji's ability to hear men's thoughts, giving the movie an average of 48% on Rotten Tomatoes. The JoBlo review can be found HERE.

Chilling in third place was the new R-rated thriller COLD PURSUIT with an opening of $10.8 million.

For star Liam Neeson, it couldn't quite match openings for his other early-year action-dramas like THE COMMUTER ($13.7 million in January 2018), RUN ALL NIGHT ($11 million in March 2015) or NON-STOP ($28 million in February 2014).

Additionally, the openings for the TAKEN series were also far out of sight with a $24.7 million start for the 2009 original, $49.5 million for TAKEN 2 in 2012, and $39.2 million for TAKEN 3 in 2015.

Director Hans Petter Moland's new remake of his own Stellan Skarsgard revenge movie IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE (with Norway now swapped out for the Rocky Mountains) cost a reported $60 million.

Critics generally warmed up to the snow-covered vigilante tale, giving the movie a 74% average on Rotten Tomatoes. Plow on over the JoBlo review HERE.

The Kevin Hart/Bryan Cranston/Nicole Kidman drama THE UPSIDE was in fourth place with $7.2 million. The $37 million remake of French film THE INTOUCHABLES has traveled to a domestic total of $85.8 million and a worldwide total of $94.7 million after five weekends.

GLASS was smashed down to fifth place with $6.4 million after staying sharp in first for three weekends. Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan's $20 million sequel to UNBREAKABLE and SPLIT is now scraping close to $100 million domestic (beating UNBREAKABLE's $95 million finish in 2000), and has $221 million worldwide.

Opening in sixth place was the new horror movie THE PRODIGY with $6 million.

The R-rated thriller, which has "Orange Is the New Black" star Taylor Schilling raising a kid with seriously sinister behavior, also only cost a reported $6 million.

Critics weren't wild about spending time with the creepy child, giving the movie a 45% average on Rotten Tomatoes. Take a stab at the JoBlo review HERE.

In seventh place was multiple Oscar nominee GREEN BOOK with $3.5 million. The $23 million road-trip drama with Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali has driven past $100 million worldwide after motoring around theaters for 13 weeks.

AQUAMAN was still swimming in eighth place with $3.3 million for a domestic total of $328.5 million. The DC Comics superhero now has a worldwide total of $1.12 billion.

In ninth place was the animated SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE with $3 million. The PG-rated meeting of multi-dimensional spider-beings has been swinging around the chart for nine weekends, taking it to $179.8 million domestic and $352.5 million worldwide (on a reported cost of $90 million).

Closing out the list was the PG-13 crime thriller MISS BALA with $2.7 million, losing 60% of business from last weekend's opening. Director Catherine Hardwicke $15 million remake with Gina Rodriguez has a ten-day domestic total of $11.8 million.

Outside the chart, horror movie ESCAPE ROOM escaped, King Arthur update THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING did not become king, canine journey A DOG'S WAY HOME roamed out of view and Peter Jackson's war documentary THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD went to the archive.

Of the weekend's limited releases, the Javier Bardem/Penelope Cruz drama EVERYBODY KNOWS had an okay $18k per-screen avearge. And Robert Rodriguez's ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL got an early start in other countries for a $32 million opening, while animated sequel HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD has flown to $138.7 million in international territories.

Next week brings manga to life in the futuristic action movie ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL and a family wrestles in FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY (both on Thursday), while horror happens again (and again) in sequel HAPPY DEATH DAY 2 U and Rebel Wilson asks ISN'T IT ROMANTIC (both on Wednesday).

What is your favorite animated sequel, prequel or spinoff? VOTE HERE!