One August weekend down and no new threats to the Top 10. Neither The Bad Guys 2 ($21M) nor The Naked Gun ($16M) appear to have started hot enough to track $74M by the end of the month. The projections were dead-on for the newcomers, but the real surprise was a worse-than-expected $38M second weekend for The Fantastic Four: First Steps (projected at $46M). That -67.1% hold was nearly the worst of the summer among the ‘major’ releases, almost matching 28 Years Later’s -67.5%. Despite excellent reviews across the board, $300M no longer appears to be a lock for F4 in what has to be a disappointing summer for Disney/Marvel.
Looking at the latest Weekend Comparisons tracking document there are only 4 of 13 ‘major’ movies that hit the quinella of top reviews, where both Thunderbolts* and F4 scored well with everyone. Unfortunately that doesn’t guarantee Top-3 placement.
| Release | RT Critics (min. 80%) | RT Top Critics (min. 80%) | RT Verif Aud (min. 80%) | CinemaScore (min. A-) | |
| Thunderbolts* | 5/2 | 88% | 90% | 95% | A- |
| Elio | 6/20 | 85% | 81% | 91% | A |
| F1: The Movie | 6/27 | 83% | 81% | 97% | A |
| The Fantastic Four: First Steps | 7/25 | 88% | 83% | 91% | A- |
Top 10 IN
- none
Top 10 OUT
- none
Holdover News
- #1 Lilo & Stitch holds at #40 on the All Time list at $421M. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest at #39 ($423M) looks safe.
- #2 Jurassic World: Rebirth reached $317M after an $8.7M weekend, landing it at #99 on the All Time List.
- #3 Superman hit $316M after a $13.7M weekend, and by Monday it will become our new #2.
- #4 How To Train Your Dragon should hold its spot for a couple more weekends as it’s still earning $1M+.
- #5 The Fantastic Four: First Steps saw a 3-spot jump but has work to do to climb one more.
- #6 M:I – Final Reckoning looks to end its run at $197M.
- #7 Thunderbolts* is now on its 14th weekend and refuses to go away with another $60K.
- #8 F1 keeps making $$$ with a $4.1M weekend, but not sure if it can reach #7.
- #9 Final Dest: Bloodlines at $138M isn’t going anywhere.
- #10 Elio is doing all it can to pad its $72M total with another $343K weekend.
Next Weekend: This would seem to be the last and best chance for a movie to seize that #10 spot (and wreck Thomas’ perfect score). Freakier Friday is the only remaining selected movie of the summer (3 players), and weekend tracking looks promising with a projected $30M-$45M opening. There’s also the potential sleeper hit in Weapons that isn’t just tracking a $27M-37M opening, but also an early 100% from RT Critics through 18 reviews.