In other family-friendly box office news, DreamWorks Animation and Universal’s The Bad Guys is handily winning the weekend with a predicted opening of $25 million, enough to get Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore knocked off the top spot.
After garnering an A CinemaScore, The Bad Guys, about a wickedly brilliant collection of dishonest animals, generated $8 million on Friday from 4,009 cinemas.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which is already in its third weekend, is even outperforming Dumbledore, with an estimated revenue of $14 million from 3,809 locations. On Friday, the Paramount film grossed $4 million.
Fantastic Beasts 3 is performing poorly in its second weekend, which is terrible news for the Wizarding World franchise’s survival. The big-budget event film from Warner Bros. is estimated to gross $13.5 million from 4,245 cinemas, a 68 percent decrease. The numbers may change based on Saturday’s business.
The Bad Guys isn’t the only new release this weekend, as Hollywood companies start to release more films as the box office recovers from the epidemic.
The Northman, a Focus Features and New Regency release, opened to a $5 million opening day from 3,234 locations for a projected $12.5 million weekend, exceeding projections. However, at a budget of at least $70 million before marketing, the film may face financial difficulties. Northman had a CinemaScore of B+.Lionsgate’s high-concept thriller The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, in which Nicolas Cage plays himself, rounds out the top five. The one-of-a-kind film is on track to gross $8 million in its first weekend after earning $2.9 million from 3,036 theaters. Massive Talent, while a small number on paper, is also coming in slightly ahead of predictions.
