In a Daring Box-Office Heist, The Bad Guys Makes Off with $24M and a Surprise #1 Debut
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
April 24, 2022


Farewell Fantastic Beasts, we hardly got a chance to know you. In what can only be called one of the most daring box-office heists of the spring, Universal’s new animated comedy, The Bad Guys, stole the weekend’s top spot in broad daylight, making off with a hefty $24 million haul.

The multiplex larceny came at the expense of Warner Bros.’ latest big-budget Harry Potter spin-off, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, which nosedived to third place in its sophomore frame—an ominous sign for the long-running wizarding franchise.

Meanwhile, two other new wide releases joined them at the top of the charts: the arty, mud-and-blood-soaked Viking saga The Northman and the Nicolas Cage meta-action-comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.







Following in the family-friendly footsteps of Sing 2 and the more recent Sonic the Hedgehog 2, The Bad Guys is further proof that the spring has become a very hospitable time for kid-targeted titles.

The PG-rated comedy from Universal and DreamWorks Animation about a gang of animal thieves who struggle to become model citizens defied industry predictions by bowing in first place despite stiff holdover competition.




With a fresh 85% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a straight-A grade from CinemaScore, The Bad Guys earned a hefty $5,988 per-screen average at 4,008 locations in its rookie weekend.

It also made off with plenty of loot overseas—$63.1 million worth, in fact, bringing its first-week cumulative global box office to a robust $87.1 million.







The runner-up honors went to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which took in $15.2 million in its third weekend of release. The Paramount video game sequel slipped an expected -48% in its third frame, scoring a $3,997 per-screen average in 3,809 theaters.

The PG-rated follow-up to 2020’s hit franchise launch has now collected $145.8 million in its first three domestic sessions. Outside of North America, where Sonic 2 opened a week earlier, the kid-centric film has pulled in $142 million so far, bringing its current worldwide tally to $287.8 million.







In a precipitous fall-off from its brief reign as last week’s box-office champ, the PG-13-rated fantasy Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore lost a lot of its magic and its mojo, taking in $14 million—a massive drop-off of -66.8% from the previous frame—notching a $3,300 per-screen average at 4,245 locations.

The third chapter in Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter prequel cycle starring Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, and Jude Law as Dumbledore, has racked up an underwhelming $67.1 million in North America in its first two weeks.

However, the silver lining is that the franchise’s international fanbase is still turning out: To date, Fantastic Beasts 3 has made $213.2 million at the foreign box office, bringing its worldwide cume to $280.3 million.







In fourth place was Focus Features’ The Northman with an impressive $12 million debut. The challenging R-rated Viking saga from indie auteur Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse) resonated with critics, who gave the film an 89% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

But its warm reception from audiences was a bit of a surprise.




Despite its reported $90 million price tag and starry cast that includes Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Bjork, and Willem Dafoe, The Northman was hardly going to be a down-the-middle, sure-fire hit.

Still, it managed to snag an impressive $3,710 per-screen average in 3,234 theaters. And it tacked on another $11.5 million overseas, bringing its first-week global tally to $23.5 million.

Yes, it still has a long way to go to recoup its sizable budget, but its freshman performance still feels like a victory for audiences looking for smarter, more original and adult-oriented fare at the multiplex.







Rounding out the top five was the week’s third and final rookie wide release: Lionsgate’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent with $7.2 million.

Piggybacking on the recent cult swirling around over-actor extraordinaire Nicolas Cage, the R-rated meta-action-comedy starring Cage as…himself (alongside Pedro Pascal and Tiffany Haddish) managed a $2,363 per-screen average in 3,036 theaters.




The film clicked with reviewers, who handed the self-aware title an 88% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but Cage’s fans proved to be in on the insidest of inside jokes as well.

Massive Talent found less traction overseas, however, adding just $2.4 million to its $9.6 million global box-office total.







Finally, sticking around (and still thriving) just outside of the top five was A24’s weird and wacky Everything Everywhere All at Once. Two weeks after expanding nationwide from a more bespoke limited release, the R-rated indie about a woman (Michelle Yeoh) who enters a visually daffy multiverse, added another $5.4 million.

In its fifth weekend, the ‘little-movie-that-could’’s business slipped just 12.3% from the previous frame and scored a $2,543 per-screen average at 2,133 locations. Its total domestic haul is now an eyebrow-raising $26.9 million—far more than anyone had predicted for such an idiosyncratic film.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed2691761156/?ref_=bo_hm_hp







April 22-24, 2022: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. The Bad Guys $23,950,245
2. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 $15,654,119 / $146,258,543
3. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore $14,002,190 / $67,118,940
4. The Northman $12,290,800
5. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent $7,131,703
6. Everything Everywhere All at Once $5,425,446 / $26,944,336
7. The Lost City $4,337,356 / $85,357,265
8. Father Stu $3,325,508 / $13,870,019
9. Morbius $2,307,137 / $69,235,241
10. Ambulance $1,794,210 / $19,193,255

The Bad Guys Holds on to Top Spot with $16.1M while Memory Hints at Liam Neeson Fatigue
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
May 1, 2022


Consider it the calm before the storm. With Marvel’s eagerly awaited Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness officially kicking off the summer blockbuster season next weekend, the nation’s multiplexes were sleepier than usual… unless, of course, you were a kid (or the parent of one).

As the top five movies in North America remained largely unchanged from the previous frame—with The Bad Guys taking top honors again—it’s worth noting that the weekend’s three biggest grossers were all family-friendly titles.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the age spectrum, Liam Neeson served up the weekend’s only major new release, Memory. But the action-thriller’s soft, eighth-place opening raised questions whether his once-loyal fanbase has finally grown tired of his “particular set of skills.”







Following its $24-million debut last weekend, Universal’s The Bad Guys managed a solid sophomore session, pulling in $16.1 million—a drop-off of just -32.8% from the prior frame.

The PG-rated animated comedy about a gang of animal thieves who struggle to become model citizens earned a $3,983 per-screen average at 4,042 locations. The Bad Guys has now collected $44.4 million domestically, boosted by an additional $74.3 million from overseas, bringing its two-week cumulative global box office to $118.7 million.







In the runner-up spot once again was Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which took in just under $11.4 million in its fourth weekend of release. The sequel slipped -27.5% from the previous session, scoring a $2,986 per-screen average in 3,801 theaters.

The PG-rated follow-up to 2020’s franchise-starter has now racked up $160.9 million in North America. That lofty sum moved it past the original Sonic’s $149 million domestic (although that film’s theatrical run was cut short by the outset of the COVID pandemic).

Internationally, where Sonic 2 bowed a week earlier, the film has pulled in $162.6 million so far, bringing its current worldwide tally to an impressive $323.5 million.







In third place was the underperforming Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore with $8.3 million.

Dropping -40.7% from the prior weekend, the PG-13-rated fantasy saw more of its box-office magic dwindle away. The third film in Warner Bros.’ proposed five-film Fantastic Beasts cycle notched a $2,095 per-screen average at 3,962 locations. The film, which stars Eddie Redmayne and Jude Law as Dumbledore, has taken in an underwhelming $79.6 million in North America in its first three weeks.

It is beginning to look increasingly unlikely that the movie will pass the $100-million mark domestically. The silver lining, though, is that Fantastic Beasts 3 is performing far better overseas, where it has accumulated $250 million to date. Its worldwide cume now stands at $329.6 million.







Unchanged in fourth place was Focus Features’ mud-and-blood-soaked The Northman with $6.3 million in its second weekend.

The R-rated Viking saga starring Alexander Skarsgard fell -48.7% from its debut frame, snagging a $1,921 per-screen average in 3,284 theaters. Its two-week domestic haul is now $22.8 million—well short of its reported $70 million budget.

The Northman didn’t get much help from overseas either, where the film has taken in just $18.8 million so far, putting its global cume at $41.6 million.







Rounding out the top five was the season’s biggest indie shocker Everything Everywhere All at Once.

A24’s R-rated title jumped from its sixth-place finish last week into the top five this week thanks to its impressive $5.5 million haul—which represents a +2.2% uptick from the previous session ($850,000 of which came from IMAX).

The weird, wacky genre-defying dark comedy about a woman (Michelle Yeoh) who enters a visually daffy multiverse, earned a $2,504 per-screen average in 2,213 theaters. A24’s “little indie that could” has raked in $35.5 million in its first six weeks of release and another $2.7 million internationally, putting its current global cume at $38.2 million and counting.







Last, and also in this case least, was Liam Neeson’s latest payback-thriller, Memory, which failed to make much of a splash as the weekend’s only major debut of note.

The R-rated action flick from Open Roads Films bowed in eighth place to just $3.1 million, eking out a $1,213 per-screen average in 2,555 theaters. The programmer, which features Neeson as an assassin with a failing memory and costars Guy Pearce and Monica Bellucci, is unfortunately right in line with the raft of other Neeson titles that have saturated the marketplace during the pandemic such as Honest Thief ($3.6 million opening), The Marksman ($3.1 million), and Blacklight ($3.6 million).

Overseas, Memory (which was tagged with a 31% fresh rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes) added a less-than-memorable $99,806, raising the question: Are we witnessing the end of Neeson’s aging-avenger period?

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed2926642180/?ref_=bo_hm_hp







April 29 - May 1, 2022: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. The Bad Guys $16,100,000 / $44,444,400
2. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 $11,350,000 / $160,925,510
3. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore $8,301,000 / $79,553,588
4. The Northman $6,310,000 / $22,806,350
5. Everything Everywhere All at Once $5,542,515 / $35,492,178
6. The Lost City $3,935,000 / $90,819,912
7. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent $3,925,000 / $13,504,358
8. Memory $3,100,000
9. Father Stu $2,210,000 / $17,553,965
10. Morbius $1,500,000 / $71,457,347