Sony’s “The Angry Birds Movie 2” is hitting theaters nationwide today ahead of a late summer slate that includes Universal’s R-rated kid comedy “Good Boys” and a sequel to the shark-infested “47 Meters Down.”
Originally set for a Wednesday release, Sony moved “Angry Birds 2” to a Tuesday opening last week in an effort to bring in families in the last week before the majority of schools are back in session. Through six days, independent projections predict an opening of $22-25 million, while Sony is projecting a 6-day opening in the mid-teens from 3,800 screens.
Either result would be a big step down from the $38 million 3-day opening earned by the first “Angry Birds Movie” in May 2016, going on to make $107 million domestic and $357 million worldwide against a $73 million budget. The sequel has an only slightly smaller budget at $65 million and will face tough competition from family audiences with “The Lion King” and “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” in theaters. The good news is that critics have so far given “Angry Birds 2” more positive reviews with a 73% Rotten Tomatoes score compared to 44% for the original.
Of the films opening on Friday, Universal’s “Good Boys” and Entertainment Studios’ “47 Meters Down: Uncaged” are projected to have the highest openings with “Good Boys” set at $10-12 million while “Uncaged” is projected for $13-15 million. The first “47 Meters Down” remains the highest grossing film ever for Entertainment Studios with $44.7 million and an $11.2 million opening. Since then, only one other release from the studio, TIFF acquisition “Hostiles,” has grossed more than $15 million.
“Good Boys” is the second release this summer from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s production banner Point Grey Films, following the romantic comedy “Long Shot.” Released by Lionsgate in the shadow of “Avengers: Endgame,” “Long Shot” opened to $9.7 million and grossed $30 million domestically.
Early reviews for “Good Boys” have been mostly positive, with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 83%. But reviews were even stronger for “Booksmart,” and that comedy got caught in the undertow of larger blockbusters like “Aladdin” and only grossed $22 million.
Universal, which will cross $1 billion in domestic grosses this weekend, has been able to release several well-performing comedies in recent years like “Girls Trip,” “Neighbors,” and “Trainwreck.” But overall, the increasing reliance on a strong opening weekend to create word of mouth has led to a decrease of hit comedies ever since “The Hangover” legged out to a $277 million domestic run from a $44 million opening in 2009.
Two other comedies, Annapurna’s “Where Did You Go Bernadette?” and WB/New Line’s “Blinded By The Light” are projected to launch even lower with openings of $4-9 million. “Bernadette,” the latest film from “Boyhood” director Richard Linklater, will be released on 2,300 screens while “Blinded By The Light,” which comes from “Bend It Like Beckham” filmmaker Gurinder Chadha, rolls out on 2,000 screens.