Pixar’s Onward raked in a lackluster $40 million in its opening weekend, which was enough to nab the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office, while Ben Affleck’s The Way Back also flopped despite receiving critical praise for Affleck’s performance as a high school basketball coach recovering from addiction.
Onward’s opening-weekend haul was a major disappointment in light of the fact that most Pixar movies cost close to $200 million to make. Featuring the voices of Chris Pratt and Tom Holland, Onward tells the story a two teenage elf brothers who embark on a journey filled with magic and wonderment.
The $40 million opening weekend gross was on the low end of expectations, with industry experts expecting Onward to debut between $40 million and $45 million.
Onward appears likely to join the dubious company of Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur, which until now was the Disney-owned animation studio’s only box office flop. But Onward could still get a significant boost from overseas ticket sales, which so far stand at $28 million.
The Way Back debuted at $8.5 million, putting it in the No. 3 spot for the weekend. It’s considered a major disappointment for Affleck, who has aggressively promoted the movie and has even publicly discussed his own struggles with alcohol.
But the Warner Bros. release cost just a little more than $20 million to produce, which could limit the movie’s losses.
Universal’s The Invisible Man continued to perform strongly, slipping to No. 2 on its second week and grossing an additional $15.5 million. So far, the Blumhouse production, starring Elisabeth Moss, has brought in $98.3 million worldwide, against production costs of just $7 million.
Rounding out the top five are Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog, which grossed $8 million over the weekend, and Disney’s Call of the Wild, which added $7 million.
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