Star Trek Beyond blasted off to a $60 million opening while the female-led Ghostbusters reboot fell off a cliff and The Secret Life of Pets continued to dominate in its third weekend at the box office.
It took two weekends to know for sure, but Sony/Village Roadshow’s female-led Ghostbusters reboot bombed hard in its second weekend, taking in $6.2M on Friday (-63%) for an estimated three-day of $21 million and a total drop of around 55 percent. If estimates hold, that would put Ghostbusters‘ ten-day total at around $86 million, a disastrous result given the film’s $250 million price tag (after marketing costs).
Ghostbusters could still pull down $150 million in North America by the time it ends its domestic run, but the film is going to need really strong legs overseas to make a profit. There are two problems there, though: one, the film won’t play in China, the world’s second-biggest film market; and two, no Paul Feig-Melissa McCarthy movie has ever made more than $200 million overseas (and the Ghostbusters franchise is not a known quantity in many international markets). Analysts are split on how much Ghostbusters needs to earn to break even (observers say $350 million minimum), but either way, the film has its work cut out for it.
Meanwhile, Paramount’s Star Trek Beyond led the weekend box office with an estimated $56-$60 million weekend. That’s down roughly 14% from the opening of its predecessor Star Trek Into Darkness ($70.2 million), according to Variety, but Paramount execs are probably in church this morning given how hostile summer moviegoers have been to sequels and reboots this year. With an A CinemaScore and a solid 84 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating, the film could get a boost from word-of-mouth, and will need to if it is to recoup its approximate $185 million production budget. The film also launches in 37 international territories this weekend and should play well overseas.
Universal/Illumination’s The Secret Life of Pets continued its dominance in its third frame with an estimated $28 million three-day tally and a likely second-place finish. If that estimate holds, Pets will have earned around $260 million in its first 17 days, not counting overseas receipts, which will push the film over $300 million this weekend, according to Forbes. Not too shabby for a film that cost just $75 million to make.
Elsewhere, Ice Age: Collision Course — the fifth film in Fox’s animated franchise — took in an estimated $21 million at just under 4,000 locations for a likely third-or-fourth place finish, while New Line’s horror thriller Lights Out outperformed expectations with an estimated $20.4 million three-day. The PG-13 rated horror pic cost just $5 million to produce.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum
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