DC League of Super-Pets earned $23 million over the weekend, down from the $25-30 million the film had been tracking and the $30 million I predicted earlier in the week. Warners made a big marketing push on this film, which is why most people thought it might have surpassed its initial viewing. Throw in the vocal talents of Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, and we had a movie that seemed destined for greater box office success. It’s hard to pinpoint why the film didn’t underperform somewhat, but it should be noted that the opening is pretty solid for a piece of original animation on the market right now. There are some comparisons to Dreamworks Animation’s The Bad Guys being made here, as the film opened to $23.95 million earlier this year and went on to make $96.6 million. It’s possible that DC League of Super-Pets could have similar legs or even better due to the target audience being out of school and more willing to watch the film during weekday showings. Super-Pets also received an “A-” CinemaScore, indicating solid word of mouth. On an $89 million budget, DC League of Super-Pets also earned $18.4 million from 64 overseas markets for a worldwide opening of $41.4 million. Dropping into second place and mostly according to my predictions is Nope, with a gross of $18.5 million. That’s a 58% drop, which is pretty much the norm for the horror genre and even more so when the reaction to one of their films is a bit more mixed. To date, Nope has grossed $80.5 million at the domestic box office, and a final gross of $100 million+ is still in its sights. In third place, we find Thor: Love and Thunder with a gross of $13 million, down 42% from the previous weekend. As expected, the Thor sequel is starting to level off a bit after suffering steep drops in weekends two and three. The good news is that Thor: Love and Thunder has crossed the $300 million mark with a current domestic total of $301.5 million. Globally, the film has also grossed $662.4 million at the global box office. Minions: The Rise of Gru keeps the DC League of Super-Pets strong with a gross of $10.8 million. That’s a 40% drop, which is pretty solid considering it faced more kids competition this weekend. Minions: The Rise of Gru is truly the animated success story of the year, being the first animated film during the pandemic to cross the $300 million mark. To date, Minions: The Rise of Gru has grossed $320.4 million at the domestic box office. Top Gun: Maverick rounds out the top five, with another solid hold for $8.2 million. That’s another modest 20% drop as the Top Gun sequel continues to be The Movie of the Summer. To date, Top Gun: Maverick has grossed $650.1 million domestically and cleared $1.3 billion at the global box office. What are YOUR thoughts on this weekend’s box office results?
