"Despicable Me 3" Makes #1 during 4 of July Weekend

[JamesG]

Despicable Me 3 #1; Baby Driver Outperforms and Wonder Woman Tops $700M Worldwide
by Brad Brevet
July 2, 2017


Once again sequel fatigue appears to be having an impact as estimates have Despicable Me 3 coming in about $10 million shy of the opening weekend for Despicable Me 2 after a larger than anticipated dip on Saturday. That said, the film easily secured the weekend top spot in the domestic, international and worldwide marketplaces, leading the charge over the first three days of this long, five-day Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Behind it, Sony's Baby Driver out-performed the studio's expectations while WB's R-rated comedy The House failed to generate much heat.







At the top of the box office Universal and Illumination's Despicable Me 3 brought in an estimated $75.4 million, which is $8 million shy of the three-day estimate the studio was anticipating just yesterday morning. In fact, the film, which opened in a record, 4,529 theaters, is currently pacing about $10 million behind studio's pre-weekend expectations.

That said, audiences appear to have enjoyed the film, giving it an "A-" CinemaScore, though that is lower than the "A" earned by both of its predecessors as well as 2015's Minions movie. While the next two days will push the film over $100 million in its first five days of release, the three-day opening ranks as the third best in the four film franchise and the fourth largest opening for an Illumination title.

Internationally, Despicable Me 3 started playing overseas two weeks ago, but this weekend it added 46 new territories where it brought in an estimated $95.6 million for an international cume that now stands at $116.9 million for a worldwide total of $192.3 million.







In second place is Sony's release of Edgar Wright's music-driven heist feature Baby Driver. The film opened on Wednesday and had grossed $9 million heading into the weekend. Playing in 3,226, the pic grossed an estimated $21 million over the three-day weekend and should see a five-day over $30 million.

This is by far the largest opening for one of Wright's films, nearly doubling the $10.6 million Scott Pilgrim vs. the World opened with back in 2010 and, come the end of the holiday weekend, it is likely to become Wright's highest grossing domestic release ever after just one week in release.



Heading into release the film saw significant buzz thanks to strong early reviews, which have been glowing ever since its March premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival. Opening day audiences seemed to agree with the reviews, giving Baby Driver an "A-".

Internationally, Baby Driver debuted in the UK with an estimated $4.6 million plus another $2.2 million from 15 other markets for an early $6.8 million international debut.







Third place belongs to Transformers: The Last Knight, which dropped an expected 62%, delivering an estimated $17 million in its second weekend as its domestic cume now tops $102 million.

Internationally the pic brought in an estimated $68 million this weekend, bringing its worldwide cume to $327.8 million.







Wonder Woman lassoed another solid weekend, finishing fourth with an estimated $15.57 million as the film's domestic cume now stands at $346.1 million after five weeks in release.

Internationally the film added another $13.6 million as its overseas cume grows to over $360 million for a global tally of $708 million. At this point Wonder Woman is the third largest domestic release among all DC Comics based features and becomes one of the top 100 all-time worldwide grossers.







Rounding out the top five, Disney's Cars 3 finished in third position with an estimated $9.5 million as its domestic cume now tops $120 million. Problem is, that's a 60% drop in just the film's third weekend of release as sequels continue to struggle to hold on this summer.

Internationally the film has yet to open in several major markets with no new major openings this weekend as it brought in an estimated $5 million overseas for an international cume that currently stands at $53.1 million.







Falling outside the top five is Warner Bros. release of the R-rated comedy The House starring Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler. Expected to open around $12 million this weekend, the film couldn't even muster double digits, delivering an estimated $9 million.

Should estimates hold, while Ferrell has been featured in films that opened with less, this would be the worst wide release opening for a film in which he has top-lined.



Reviews for The House were dismal, scoring a 31 on Metacritic and opening day audiences didn't appear to like it much more, giving the film a weak "B-" CinemaScore.

Internationally, The House opened in 20 markets where it brought in an estimated $2.7 million, led by a $1.2 million opening in Australia.







Elsewhere, we find Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled in eighth position as it expanded into 674 (+670) theaters and brought in an estimated $3.25 million, an increase of 1,322% after debuting in just four theaters last weekend.

Commenting on the performance, Lisa Bunnell, President, Distribution at Focus, said, "We're extremely happy with the results of the expansion this weekend. It's an impressive achievement for a limited title to land in the top ten during the summer. Audiences turned out in support of Sofia Coppola and we expect the film will continue to play strongly in the coming weeks."

The film will continue to expand next weekend.







Outside the top ten, Lionsgate finds The Big Sick climbing the charts as it brought in an estimated $1.67 million over the weekend from just 71 locations for a $23,550 per theater average and a twelfth place finish. The film's gross-to-date is $2.2 million and it won't be for another 12 days before it goes wide on July 14th.

Speaking of high theater averages, Gunpowder & Sky's release of Jeff Baena's The Little Hours delivered an estimated $61,560 from two locations this weekend, for an average of $30,780.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4302&p=.htm









June 30-July 2, 2017 Weekend Studio Estimates:


1. Despicable Me 3 $75,410,275
2. Baby Driver $21,000,000
3. Transformers: The Last Knight $17,000,000 / $102,103,351
4. Wonder Woman $16,100,000 / $346,644,475
5. Cars 3 $9,524,000 / $120,714,099
6. The House $9,000,000
7. 47 Meters Down $4,682,000 / $32,591,454
8. The Beguiled $3,259,740 / $3,579,188
9. The Mummy $2,785,260 / $74,502,100
10. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales $2,411,000 / $165,466,587