What the heck just happened?
Our number one movie, for the second week in a row, is Despicable Me 4. But that’s not the big story right now. The real scoop is Longlegs, which is bigger than anyone would have guessed at $22.6 million. Prior to this weekend, the Nicolas Cage serial killer thriller was tracking for the high single digits. It is by far the best opening ever for Neon, shattering the $5 million premiere for Immaculate earlier this year.
For those paying attention, this is nuts! Most theaters showing Longlegs not only had it playing on only one screen, but also in one of their smaller auditoriums. It’s a different beast entirely, but this is similar to what went down with last summer’s Sound of Freedom. No one was prepared for this kind of an audience for this type of release. Longlegs has the best opening for an original horror film this year. 2024 has been quiet one for the genre (yes, I know about A Quiet Place, but that transcends into the sci-fi category and also isn’t gory), with most scary outings underperforming. So this is great news.
Will Longlegs have legs? I’m going to make a bold prediction and say yes. People are talking heavily about this one, and the decision to keep Cage hidden in the marketing was a brilliant one. You wanna see the monster? You gotta buy a ticket.
Meanwhile, Despicable Me 4 is showing a stronger hold than previous entries in the franchise have. It made $44 million and is outpacing Despicable Me 3 with a current total of $211 million. Like Inside Out 2, this is benefiting heavily from a lack of competition for the family market. Go figure that Minions 3 has already been announced!
Our other newcomer, Fly Me to the Moon, failed to take off with a take of $10 million. For my money, this looked like a good time, but people are clearly content to wait and watch this one at home. For whatever reason, Apple seems perfectly happy to spend a fortune on movies that don’t make it back, as Fly cost a reported $100 million to produce.
As for holdovers, A Quiet Place: Day One isn’t quite holding up like I thought it might, with $116 million in the kitty so far. That’s still a good take, but it’s going to be the lowest grossing in the franchise. That probably makes sense, as it’s a prequel which is more of a melancholy tearjerker than a roller coaster. Elsewhere, MaXXXine has fallen a hilariously appropriate 69% this weekend, which still isn’t going to stop it from surpassing X and Pearl.
Anyway, the top ten, via Deadline
1.) Despicable Me 4 (Uni) 4,449 (+21) theaters, Fri $13.6M (-50%) Sat $17.4M Sun $13.4M 3-day $44.6M(-40%), Total $211.1M/Wk 2
2.) Longlegs (NEON) 2,510 theatres, Fri $10M, Sat $7.2M Sun $5.4M 3-day $22.6M/Wk 1
3.) Inside Out 2 (Dis) 3,815 (+55) theaters Fri $6.1M (-42%) $8.1M Sun $6.4M 3-day $20.7M (-32%) Total $572.5M/Wk 5
4.) A Quiet Place: Day One (Par) 3,378 (-310) theaters, Fri $3.6M (-49%) Sat $4.6M Sun $3.5M 3-day $11.8M(-43%), Total $116.2M/Wk 3
5.) Fly Me to the Moon (App/Sony) 3,356 locations, Fri $4.4M, Sat $3M Sun $2.5M 3-day $10M/Wk 1
6.) Bad Boys Ride or Die (Sony) 2,200 theaters, Fri $1.2M (-43%) Sat $1.8M Sun $1.3M 3-day $4.4M(-33%), Total $184.8M/Wk 6
7.) Horizon (WB) 2,587 (-747) theaters, Fri $675K Sat $980K Sun $785K 3-day $2.44M (-54%), Total $27M/Wk 3
8.) MaXXXine (A24) 2,370 (-80) theaters, Fri $696K, Sat $786K Sun $589K 3-day $2.07M (-69%) Total $11.7M/Wk 2
9.) Indian 2 (FDN) 525 thaeters, Fri $1.3M Sat $363K Sun $225K 3-day $1.96M/Wk 1
10.) Sound of Hope (Angel) Fri $409K Sat $547K Sun $383K 3-day $1.34M (-56%), Total $9.76M/Wk 2