Warner Bros.’ “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is set to pull off an upset at the box office by snagging its third No. 1 weekend from an underperforming “Transformers One.”
The Tim Burton sequel is earning an estimated $26 million in its third weekend to bring its domestic total to $226 million, having passed the domestic run of fellow 2024 Warner release “Godzilla x Kong” back on Thursday.
“Transformers One,” meanwhile, is opening to a lower-than-projected $25 million from 3,978 theaters despite strong reviews from critics and audiences. The $75 million animated film from Paramount and Hasbro was projected for a $30 million start, with some independent projections having it matching the $33.7 million opening of Paramount’s summer family film “IF.”
“IF” legged out to a respectable $111 million domestic theatrical run, and Paramount will be hoping for similar legs for “Transformers One” given its excellent reception, including an A on CinemaScore, 5/5 on PostTrak, and Rotten Tomatoes scores of 89% critics and 98% audience.
But “Transformers One” will face major competition next weekend from Universal/DreamWorks’ “The Wild Robot,” which has also been very well received with a 97% RT score with 37 reviews logged and with some trackers projecting an opening in the $30 million range. We will find out next weekend how families and general audiences respond when offered a choice between Optimus Prime and Megatron’s origin story and Peter Brown’s tale of a robot becoming a mother to a gosling.
Farther down the charts, Universal/Blumhouse’s “Speak No Evil” is beating a pair of horror newcomers with a $5.9 million second weekend, giving the James McAvoy-starring remake a $21.4 million domestic total as it is set to turn a modest theatrical profit.
One of those newcomers is Lionsgate’s “Never Let Go,” which is opening to just $4.5 million from 2,667 locations and has received middling reception with a C+ on CinemaScore and RT scores of 64% critics and 53% audience.
Lionsgate’s recent streak of box office duds that includes “Borderlands,” “The Crow” and “The Killer’s Game” could continue next week with Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” which has polarized critics since its Cannes premiere and which the studio is releasing through a distribution-only deal with independent projections of a $5 million start.
Marvel Studios’ “Deadpool & Wolverine” completes the top 5 with $3.8 million, giving it a total of $627 million domestic and $1.31 billion worldwide. Just behind it is Mubi’s “The Substance,” which is meeting projections for a $3 million opening from 1,949 locations.
Such a low start was expected for Coralie Fargeat’s gruesome but acclaimed satire given its nature as a gory body horror film that appeals primarily to fans of cerebral, hardcore horror. Among such fans, the film is being received well with a B on CinemaScore and RT scores of 90% critics and 70% audience.
