Ryan Reynolds' "IF" Debuts at #1 with $35M Opening

[JamesG]

John Krasinski’s IF Debuts at No. 1 with Soft $35 Million
by Rebecca Rubin
May 19, 2024


Not exactly the opening weekend that dreams are made of. Director John Krasinski‘s IF, a fantasy-comedy that promises your imaginary friends from childhood are real, fell slightly short of box office expectations with $35 million.

Heading into the weekend, IF was expected to bring in at least $40 million in its first weekend of release. Based on Friday’s turnout, it looked like IF would open to $30 million but projections were revised up after Saturday’s strong showing.

Ticket sales were enough for first place — and decent for an original PG family film — but it’s a wobbly start for a movie that cost $110 million to make and many millions more to market. It collected an additional $20 million overseas for a global total of $55 million.






Last weekend’s champion Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes slid to second place with $26 million from 4,075 theaters, a decline of 55% from its debut.

So far, the fourth chapter in the Disney and 20th Century’s Apes reboot franchise has generated $100.9 million domestically and $237 million globally.






Newcomer, Lionsgate’s eerie horror film The Strangers: Chapter 1, opened in third place and beat expectations with $12 million from 2,856 theaters. The movie, which was targeting a start of $7 million to $9 million, cost $8.5 million so it’s well-positioned in its theatrical run.

Though not terribly surprising for the genre, The Strangers was panned by audiences and critics, who saddled the film with a “C” CinemaScore and bleak 13% on Rotten Tomatoes.






Also new to theaters is the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black, which landed at No. 5 with a dismal $2.85 million from 2,010 venues.

It’s a terrible start for any movie that’s playing nationwide, though Focus Features acquired the film in the U.S. and several international territories for less than $20 million.

Back to Black has already grossed $37 million overseas.






Universal’s The Fall Guy took the No. 4 spot with $8.4 million from 3,845 locations in its third weekend of release.

Despite positive reviews, the movie failed to pop at the start of summer and has since generated just $63 million domestically and $127 million worldwide.

The studio spent $140 million on production costs alone, so The Fall Guy needs serious staying power to stick the landing and redeem its theatrical run.






Elsewhere, Amazon MGM’s documentary The Blue Angels captured a solid $1.325 million from 268 Imax screens globally — averaging $5,774 per location.

J.J. Abrams and Top Gun: Maverick star Glen Powell produced the non-fiction film, which is only playing in Imax and chronicles a year in the cockpit with one of the world’s top aviator teams — the Navy and Marine Corps flight squadron — through their intense training and aerial touring show.






Also in limited release, Neon’s comedy Babes, from director Pamela Adlon, collected $171,321 from 12 venues — translating to $14,277 per location.

Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau lead the film as two 30-something best friends who guide each other through pregnancy and motherhood. It’ll continue to expand in the coming weeks.

https://variety.com/2024/film/box-of...ki-1236009476/






May 17-19, 2024: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. IF $35,000,000
2. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes $26,000,000 / $101,239,501
3. The Strangers: Chapter 1 $12,000,000
4. The Fall Guy $8,450,000 / $62,986,845
5. Challengers $2,941,203 / $43,510,299
6. Back to Black $2,850,000
7. Tarot $2,000,000 / $15,433,316
8. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire $1,710,000 / $194,405,013
9. The Blue Angels $1,310,767
10. Unsung Hero $1,095,000 / $19,069,317