The Mummy Misfires Again

It seems like unless you’ve got Brendan Fraser in your cast, Hollywood should probably stop trying to make Mummymovies. Indeed, after the 2017 reboot starring Tom Cruise, we’ve now had our second straight Mummy movie fail to break through at the box office, with Lee Cronin’s The Mummy grossing $13.5 million domestically this weekend. While that’s not a terrible number for a Blumhouse production, it’s over $10 million less than director Lee Cronin’s last movie, Evil Dead Rise, made on its opening weekend. Perhaps it was a little premature to give him a titular credit, as many filmgoers likely wondered, “Who the heck is Lee Cronin?” The CinemaScore rating is a brutal C+, which isn’t good—even for a horror title. The 140-minute running time certainly didn’t help (our critic, Tyler, found it dull).

Mario Holds Strong, Project Hail Mary Soars

As such, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie had a clear path to number one (just as we predicted earlier this week), grossing another $35 million, with its domestic total hitting $355 million. Where will this one top out? $400 million? $450 million? Also continuing to hold up nicely is Project Hail Mary, with another $20.4 million, down only 15% from last week. With its current $285 million total, it will clear at least $350 million domestically—possibly even $400 million.

A24 Scores, Rom-Coms Struggle

A24’s The Drama has also held up better than anyone expected. It made $4.8 million for a hefty $39 million total, making it one of A24’s bigger recent hits. While divisive, older audiences seem to be flocking to see it. It’s become a real water-cooler movie. Sadly, the rom-com You, Me & Tuscany didn’t hold up as well as expected, plunging 51% to $3.8 million for a weak $14.3 million domestic total. Rom-coms on the big screen seem to be dead.

Pixar’s Hoppers and Indie Disappointments

Meanwhile, Pixar’s Hoppers made another $2.9 million for a $161 million domestic total. It should end its run around $170 million, which is fair—but hardly blockbuster level for Pixar. That said, it’s closing in on a $400 million worldwide total, meaning it’s turning a decent profit.

One of the biggest bummers this weekend is the fact that Bob Odenkirk’s action flick, Normal, failed to break through, grossing only $2.6 million. That’s still the highest opening ever for its distributor, Magnolia, which gave it its widest release ever. Awareness seemed low, and the CinemaScore is a chilling C+, meaning audiences who showed up didn’t like it much (I thought it was a blast).

Indies and International Entries

Another indie release, Busboys, starring Theo Von and David Spade, also whiffed at the box office, making only $1.6 million. It was open on just 800 screens and was barely advertised. Still, many thought that popular podcaster Theo Von would be able to sell it to his audience, but it didn’t pay off—at least theatrically. Notably, it did not screen for critics.

The Bollywood title Bhoot Bangla, starring Akshay Kumar, landed in the top ten with $977K, which isn’t as high as other recent Indian film releases. Finally, the faith-based A Great Awakening wrapped up its run with $823K for a $6.6 million total.

Looking Ahead

While it was a quiet weekend, next weekend has a juggernaut coming, with Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic on the way. How much will it gross? Let us know in the comments.

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