Weekend Wrap-up: 2019 Continues its Slump
February 12, 2019
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part missed expectations over the weekend, leading to yet another disappointing overall performance at the box office. Granted, the box office did climb by 55% from last weekend to $112 million. However, last weekend was the worst weekend at the box office in more than a year. Additionally, $112 million is still 20% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2019 has pulled in $1.01 billion; however, this is still 15% lower than last year’s pace and the slowest pace since 2011, in terms of raw dollars. If we go by ticket sales, we have to look all the way back to 1999 to find a slower start to the year.
Before we get to the numbers, we should point out while this is a terrible start to the year, the rest of the year does look a whole lot better. In fact, every single month, starting in March (with Captain Marvel), and with the possible exception of October, has at least one potential monster hit. We are talking about films that should earn $250 million or more at the domestic box office. Several months have multiple potential monster hits. Additionally, there are a few films, Avengers: Endgame, The Lion King, and Star Wars: Ep IX, that should earn $500 million or more, and that are opening before the end of the year. So while 2019’s start has been particularly brutal so far, I do have hope that things will turn around soon, and by the end of the year we won’t be talking about the disappointing box office as much as the monster hits the year produced.
... I just realized every single film I mentioned is being released by Disney. Other studios also have potential big hits, like Jumanji 3, It: Chapter Two, Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw, and others. But, as usual, Disney looks certain to win the year.
Moving on to this week’s box office, we find The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part in first place, but with just $34.12 million over the weekend and $34.72 million, including its paid previews. This is basically half of what the first film opened with. This is much worse than its reviews and its A minus score from CinemaScore would suggest. The best explanation is Lego franchise overload, as this is the third film in the franchise since the original hit theaters and audience might have grown tired of them as a result. Hopefully the word-of-mouth will help this film’s legs going forward.
What Men Want was well back with $18.32 million over the weekend. Its reviews were mixed, but it earned an A minus from CinemaSCore, so audiences liked it more than critics did. Valentine’s Day and the long weekend should help its legs and allow the film to earn $50 million domestically, which is a solid result for a film that cost $20 million to make. Even if it struggles to find an audience internationally, it should still break even sometime during its early home market run.
Cold Pursuit matched expectations perfectly with $11.03 million. However, this is well below the usual for Liam Neeson action / revenge movies. Its reviews are good, but it only managed a B minus from CinemaScore, so audiences are clearly tired of the genre. At least this is true of domestic audiences. It could still be a hit internationally.
The Upside was next with $7.08 million over the weekend for a running tally of $85.66 million after a month of release. It will get to $100 million domestically, likely before the end of the month.
Glass fell from first place to fifth place, but it still managed $6.28 million over the weekend for a four-week total of $98.33 million, so its decline in ranking is irrelevant. Add in its international numbers and the film has already broken even.
The Prodigy opened in sixth place with $5.85 million over the weekend, which isn’t bad for a film that cost $6 million to make. Granted, it very likely cost a lot more to advertise and its reviews and C plus from CinemaScore won’t help its legs, but it should still break even on the home market, eventually.
The sophomore class included Miss Bala in tenth place with $2.75 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $12.89 million. A 60% decline and a $1,246 theater average will result in a sharp decline in theater count over the next couple of weeks. They Shall Not Grow Old was in 12th place with $1.71 million over the weekend for a total of $13.60 million, including special engagements and limited release.
- The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part Comparisons
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- What Men Want Comparisons
- Cold Pursuit Comparisons
- The Prodigy Comparisons
Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, Glass, The Upside, What Men Want, Miss Bala, The Prodigy, They Shall Not Grow Old, Cold Pursuit, Lego, Liam Neeson