For the weekend of June 17-19, 2022, Jurassic World Dominion managed to stay ahead of Pixar's Lightyear. JWD didn't have as steep drop as anticipated with its negative reviews, and it still looks favored to join other sequels Doctor Strange 2 and Top Gun Maverick to hit the $400 million domestic mark. It'll at least catch The Batman's $369 million domestic.
Lightyear's stumble out of the gate could mean any number of things. Are animated movies in trouble in these economic times? Other post-pandemic animated movies have been hits (Sing 2) although with lower opening and long legs. Disney's Encanto was beloved but never made $100 million domestic. Would anyone have predicted last year that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 would be more successful than Lightyear? Maybe families know Lightyear will be on DisneyPlus in 2-3 months and have patience. Maybe replacing Tim Allen affected more conservative parents. It's a better opening for Pixar than their last theatrical release 2020's Onward ($39 million) but a far cry from 2019's Toy Story 4's $120 million opening. This makes me more intrigued how Minions: The Rise of Gru will do.
Meanwhile this is the first time since the weekend of June 21, 2013, that the top 3 films each grossed over $40 million (Monsters University, World War Z, and Man of Steel in its second week).
Opens June 24
ELVIS with Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Olivia DeJonge and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
BLACK PHONE with Ethan Hawke, Jeremy Davies and James Ransone.
MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON with the voices of Jenny Slate and Isaella Rosselini.
