Weekend Box Office Report: Pets sequel beats Dark Phoenix!

The Secret Life of Pets 2 is #1!

A group of talkative household animals returned for more furry fun this weekend and put THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2 on top at the box office with an estimated opening of $48 million!

The second adventure of city dog Max (now voiced by Patton Oswalt, replacing Louis C.K.) and his hairy friends didn't get halfway to the $104.3 million opening of the original THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS, which went on to a surprising domestic total of $386 million and $875 million worldwide in 2016.

Also featuring the voices of Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Jenny Slate and Harrison Ford (!!), the latest from DESPICABLE ME makers Illumination Entertainment cost a reported $80 million.

The PG-rated animated comedy, which displaces urban hound Max to a farm (but not in the way parents often use to explain where deceased pets go), also fetched $48 million from international audiences for a $97 million total.

Critics didn't find too much of interest in the covert affairs of cats and dogs, giving the movie a 54% average on Rotten Tomatoes. Trot on over to the JoBlo review HERE.

In second place was the new X-Men movie DARK PHOENIX with an opening of $33 million.

The PG-13 sequel had the lowest domestic opening in the "X-Men proper" series behind the $54.4 million start of the first X-MEN in 2000 (solo spinoff THE WOLVERINE held the overall X-franchise low opening with $53.1 million in 2013). The previous X-Men team movie X-MEN: APOCALYPSE began with $65.7 million domestic in 2016.

The retelling of the classic comic book arc (already seen on screen in director Brett Ratner's X-MEN: THE LAST STAND in 2006), with "Game of Thrones" actress Sophie Turner going supernova in her second appearance as telekinetic mutant Jean Grey, summoned $107 million from overseas for a worldwide weekend of $140 million.

Again starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence, the saga climax (with longtime X-writer/producer Simon Kinberg making his directing debut) may have cost as much as $200 million, including reportedly extensive reshoots.

The 12th movie featuring Marvel's mutants (and the first distributed by Disney since their acquisition of Fox) was originally scheduled for release in March 2018 before getting shuffled to February of this year and ultimately bounced to June. Aside from maybe THE NEW MUTANTS (current fate unknown), DARK PHOENIX is expected to be the final theatrical time around for these uncanny characters unless/until they are somehow reintroduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Critics found the ending to be figuratively tragic, giving the movie a 22% average on Rotten Tomatoes (the lowest critical rating of the mutant series, including the scorned X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE). Scan the mind of the JoBlo review HERE.

Disney's live-action remake of ALADDIN was in third place with $24.5 million, which brings the PG-rated musical fantasy to a domestic total of $232.3 million on its third weekend.

The Will Smith-starring update from director Guy Ritchie now has a worldwide total of $604.8 million (passing the $543 global finish of Disney's 2015 live-action CINDERELLA), on a reported cost of  $183 million.

Kaiju royalty GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS was knocked down to fourth place with $15.5 million, pulverized by 67% from its opening on top last weekend.

The $170 million monster mash from director Michael Dougherty has stomped to a ten-day domestic total of $78.5 million and a worldwide total of $292.2 million.

The R-rated Elton John biopic ROCKETMAN was in fifth place with $14 million, losing 45% of business from last weekend's opening as Taron Egerton flamboyantly tickled the ivories to a ten-day domestic total of $50.4 million.

With $101.7 million worldwide so far, director Dexter Fletcher's $40 million musical fable seems destined to become a minor hit rather than a rock juggernaut like the $900 million-grossing Queen biopic BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY.

In sixth place was the R-rated Blumhouse thriller MA with $7.8 million, chopped by 57% from its opening last week. Director Tate Taylor's showcase of  Octavia Spencer's homicidal side has a ten-day domestic total of $32.7 million and $40 million worldwide (on a frugal $5 million budget).

Slaughtering in seventh place was JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM with $7.4 million, targeting a domestic total of $138.6 million after four weekends. The R-rated Keanu Reeves hitman sequel has a worldwide total of $252.2 million on a reported cost of $55 million.

Superhero extravaganza AVENGERS: ENDGAME was in eigth place with $4.8 million for a domestic total of $824.3 million. Marvel's $350 million all-star epic is now up to a colossal $2.73 billion worldwide.

In ninth place was the PG-rated videogame adaptation POKEMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU with $2.9 million. With a domestic total of $137.4 million, the Ryan Reynolds-voiced comedy has overtaken the $131.1 million finish of LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER to become the biggest videogame movie in domestic history (WARCRAFT still holds the worldwide title with $433 million, ahead of PIKACHU's current $409 million global total).

At the bottom was the R-rated comedy BOOKSMART with $1.7 million for a domestic total of $17.8 million after three weekends (the feature directing debut of Olivia Wilde cost a reported $6 million).

Outside the chart, the James Gunn-produced superpowered horror movie BRIGHTBURN flew away with the Rebel Wilson/Anne Hathaway comedy THE HUSTLE.

In limited release, the Mindy Kaling/Emma Thompson comedy LATE NIGHT had a strong start with a $62k per-screen average before it expands to 1500 locations next weekend. Critics applauded the R-rated talk-show tumult with 81% on Rotten Tomatoes (you can tune in to the JoBlo review is HERE).

Next week continues the summer movie season with THOR colleagues Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth policing aliens in MEN IN BLACK INTERNATIONAL, and Samuel L. Jackson is back as the cat that won't cop out when there's danger all about in another SHAFT. Limited releases include filmmaker Jim Jarmusch's zombie comedy THE DEAD DON'T DIE.

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