By Look, Toy Story 4 did not flop at all. It pulled in $118 million over the weekend, making it the most successful opening of the franchise and the third largest opening weekend of the year. It’s a hit, but… it’s nowhere near what Disney and analysts thought the movie would pull in. The projections had Toy Story 4 bringing in more than $140 million over the weekend, but like nearly every other sequel of the summer it fell well short. The movie got rave reviews and audiences loved it so it should have strong legs and, like I said, this isn’t a flop, but the pattern of sequels/remakes coming in below expectations has been a story all summer.
That story played out with the Child’s Play reboot as well. The movie was aiming for around $18 million but could only haul in around $14 million. Again, it’s a low-budget affair that can still be considered a success but the expectations were way off. Maybe studios need to level set a bit with how much they think films are going to make because if everything is coming in under expectations it’s possible the expectations are wrong, not the returns.
We should also mention that Anna opened this weekend, but it’s not really that important. The Luc Besson film finished outside of the top ten for a woeful $3.5 million. Many of Besson’s films are often sleepers, however, that find new life on streaming and rentals. In fact, one wonders why the director hasn’t been scooped up by a streaming platform to churn out low-budget, awesome action.
1. Toy Story 4 – $118,000,000
2. Child’s Play – $14,055,540
3. Aladdin – $12,200,000
4. Men in Black: International – $10,750,000
5. The Secret Life of Pets 2 – $10,290,000
6. Rocketman – $5,650,000
7. John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum – $4,075,000
8. Godzilla: King of the Monsters – $3,700,000
9. Dark Phoenix – $3,600,000
10. Shaft – $3,555,000
