WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard Opens at No. 1 w/ $11.68M Ahead of A Quiet Place Part II ($9.4M); Godzilla vs. Kong Crosses $100M

Following the disappointing debuts of both In the Heights and Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway last weekend, the North American box office remained rather subdued this frame with the release of The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, which narrowly secured the No. 1 spot at the box office with an estimated $11.68M over the three-day period from 3,331 locations and $17.02M since opening on Tuesday night (an amount that also includes grosses from sneak previews that took place last Friday and Saturday). While encouraging relative to the box office lows of the pandemic, it’s nonetheless a modest launch that falls short of previous bursts of energy in the domestic market from films like Godzilla vs. Kong, A Quiet Place Part II and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard — a sequel to the sleeper hit 2017 action film The Hitman’s Bodyguard starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson – had something of an advantage in that it’s the only major studio film currently in release that caters specifically to older males, though it still fell short of its predecessor’s $21.4M bow. The caveat, of course, is that capacity restrictions remain in place at theaters around the country, and some cinemas in North America – albeit a small percentage – are still shuttered due to the ongoing pandemic. Fifty-five percent of the opening weekend audience for the film was male, while 66% was over the age of 25.

The Lionsgate release, which was originally slated for release in 2020, may have been dinged by its low Rotten Tomatoes score. Indeed, with a critical average of just 25%, it’s one of the worst-rated studio releases of the year to date – and that may have turned off audiences who were already on the fence about seeing it. Not helping matters is the release next weekend of the highly-anticipated F9, another male-targeted action sequel could steal away much of The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard’s audience and considerably cut into its earning potential.

Coming behind Bodyguard in second place is two-weekend champ A Quiet Place Part II, which dipped to the runner-up spot after unexpectedly recapturing the No. 1 position last weekend. The Paramount release held well once again, bringing in an estimated $9.4M — just a 22% drop from last weekend’s gross. Its total now stands at an impressive $125.26M, making it by far the highest-grossing film of the pandemic era to date – though it will likely lose that title once F9 enters the picture next weekend.

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway rose one spot to third place with an estimated $6.1M in its second weekend, marking a 40% from its debut frame. The total for the Sony follow-up stands at $20.33M to date.

In fourth place, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It grossed an estimated $5.15M in its third weekend for a total of $53.6M so far.  

Coming in at No. 5 in its fourth frame is Disney’s Cruella, which grossed an estimated $5.1M for a total of $64.74M to date — just a 24% drop from last weekend. That’s a great hold for the 101 Dalmatians prequel, particularly given its simultaneous availability (for a premium $30 surcharge) on Disney+.

Warner Bros.’ In the Heights suffered a disappointing 63% drop in its sophomore frame with an estimated $4.21M after debuting to $11.5M last weekend, good for sixth place. Given its stellar critical reception, there was a sense that the musical adaptation could potentially have solid legs in subsequent weekends despite its lower-than-expected opening, but the theatrical appetite for the film (which is also available on HBO Max) seems to be waning. The film’s total stands at $19.66m after 10 days of release.

Spirit Untamed came in seventh place in its third weekend of release, bringing in $1.6M for a total of $13.8M to date.

Notably, this weekend Warner Bros.’ Godzilla vs. Kong become the second film of the pandemic to cross the $100M milestone. The Monsterverse entry took in an estimated $250k in its 12^th weekend of release for a total of $100.11M to date.

LIMITED RELEASE:

Focus Features released Edgar Wright’s well-reviewed documentary debut, The Sparks Brothers, in 534 theaters and grossed an estimated $265k for a mild per-screen average of $489. The film did best on the coasts, with its top three markets being Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.

OVERSEAS UPDATE:

F9 opened in an additional 13 territories this weekend and brought in an estimated $19.08M, bringing its international total to $292.07M. The film posted the best opening of the pandemic in multiple territories, including Australia ($6.6M) and Indonesia ($3.6M). Concurrent with its U.S. debut next weekend, the action sequel opens in Brazil, Mexico and the UK/Ireland.

A Quiet Place Part II took in an estimated $15.7M from 45 markets in its fourth weekend of international release, including a $3.4M opening in Korea. The overseas tally for the horror sequel is now $96.7M. In addition to several smaller markets next weekend, the film opens in Germany on July 1 and Brazil on July 22.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It took in an estimated $12.4M from 56 markets, bringing the total for the Warner Bros. horror threequel to $89.2M internationally and $142.8M global.

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway took in an estimated $6M from 27 markets, bringing its international total to $70.5M. This weekend’s total included an estimated $3.8M in China in its second weekend there and $1.3M in its fifth frame in the U.K. The family sequel is slated to open in several more international markets over the next several weeks, including Japan (June 25), France (June 30), Germany and Italy (July 1) and Spain (July 16).