Weekend Box Office Report: Pixar’s Onward travels to #1!

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Onward zaps into first place!

The new animated fantasy from Pixar generated enough magic to land on top at the box office this weekend as ONWARD opened with an estimated $40 million!

Undoubtedly due (in part) to crowds generally avoiding theaters over COVID-19 fears, the PG-rated adventure had the second-lowest domestic opening for a Pixar movie, coming out just a notch ahead of the $39.1 million start for THE GOOD DINOSAUR in 2015.

Compared to Pixar's other recent original features, ONWARD's opening trailed the $50.8 million start for COCO in 2017 and the $90.4 million opening of INSIDE OUT in 2015.

The journey of two elf brothers (voiced by MCU colleagues Tom Holland and Chris Pratt) was also a stark contrast to the openings for Pixar's last  sequels TOY STORY 4 ($120.9 million), FINDING DORY ($135 million) and INCREDIBLES 2 ($182.6 million).

Directed by Dan Scanlon (MONSTERS UNIVERSITY) and featuring the voices of Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Octavia Spencer, Disney's mystical family feature cost a reported $200 million, and conjured up $28 million from international audiences for a $68 million worldwide total.

Critics were mostly caught up in the spell, giving the movie an 86% average on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 61 on Metacritic. Point your wand at the JoBlo review HERE.

Vanishing from first place was the R-rated Blumhouse-produced horror-thriller THE INVISIBLE MAN as it shifted to second with $15.1 million, a disappearance of 46% from its opening last weekend.

Director Leigh Whannell's update of the classic Universal monster (based on the H.G. Wells story) has a ten-day domestic total of $52.6 million and $98.2 million worldwide, on a reported cost of $7 million.

Opening in third place was the new R-rated sports drama THE WAY BACK with $8.5 million.

Directed by Gavin O'Connor (THE ACCOUNTANT, WARRIOR), Warner Bros.' fact-based story of a high school basketball coach (Ben Affleck) cost a reported $21 million.

Critics cheered on the underdog tale of redemption, giving the movie an average of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 68 score on Metacritic. Dunk on the JoBlo review HERE.

In fourth place was the PG-rated comedy SONIC THE HEDGEHOG with $7.9 million. After running around cinemas for four weekends, Paramount's $85 million video game adaptation has a domestic total of $140.8 million and $295.6 million worldwide.

Harrison Ford and his CGI best friend were in fifth place with $7 million for THE CALL OF THE WILD on its third weekend. The PG-rated period adventure from the Disney-owned 20th Century Studios has a domestic total of $57.4 million and $99.5 million worldwide, on a $135 million reported cost.

The period comedy-drama EMMA. expanded to more than 1500 screens and brought its fancy wardrobe to sixth place for the weekend with $5 million.

After two weeks in limited release, the PG-rated Jane Austen adaptation with Anya Taylor-Joy in the lead role has a domestic total of $6.8 million and $20.8 million worldwide.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have been fighting crime for eight weeks now in their R-rated reunion, with BAD BOYS FOR LIFE earning $3 million in seventh place to push Sony's $90 million action sequel over $200 million domestic and up to $415 million worldwide.

Harley Quinn's energetic felonies in the R-rated BIRDS OF PREY were in eighth place with $2.1 million. On its fifth weekend, the $84.5 million Warner Bros. adaptation of DC Comics characters has a domestic total of $82.5 million and $195.7 million worldwide.

Closing out the list was the PG-13 prank comedy IMPRACTICAL JOKERS: THE MOVIE with $1.8 million (a 49% drop from its expansion last weekend), followed by the PG-13 anime movie MY HERO ACADEMIA: HEROES RISING with $1.5 million (plunging by 74% from last week).

Outside the chart, the World War I thriller 1917 called a cease fire and horror movies BRAHMS: THE BOY II and FANTASY ISLAND got frightened out of the Top 10.

In limited release, the PG-13 period comedy-drama FIRST COW grazed to a decent $24k per-screen average, and rounded up positive critical marks with a 92% average on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 89 on Metacritic.

Next weekend puts a nano-powered Vin Diesel into action in the comic adaptation BLOODSHOT, while humans take aim at other humans in the delayed Blumhouse thriller THE HUNT.

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