By Chris Kavan - 06/08/22 at 11:27 AM CT
With no new wide releases, it was a given that Top Gun: Maverick would once again set atop the box office. But that's not the story - no, the story is just how good the film held up and sets a bright future ahead for the long-awaited sequel. Meanwhile, the MPAA has once again provided lemons with no promise of lemonade.
Going into the post-Memorial Day Weekend many predicted Maverick would follow similar suit to many other big post-Memorial Day films and wind up with a weekend in the $50 million range. That didn't happen. Maverick soared and soared and soared to the tune of $90 million - easily the best post-Memorial Day Weekend on record (Indiana Jones 4 was the next best with $44.7 million) and the best hold at a dip of a mere 28.9% (Bruce Almighty is the closest here with a 45% dip way back in 2003). That gives Maverick a domestic total of nearly $300 million in just two weeks ($295.6 million to be exact). That is also enough to push it past War of the Worlds $234.2 million to become the biggest film of Tom Cruise's career. The film is well on its way to a domestic total topping $500 million - and could easily approach $600-$650 million depending on how it handles the upcoming competition in the form of Jurassic World Dominion, Lightyear and Elvis. And it is not slouching on the international front, either, with $257 million and a worldwide total topping $550 million with $552.6 million total. Cruise likes to push things to the limit in Top Gun but forget Mach 10 - Maverick is moving at warp speed and shows little signs of slowing down.
That left the rest of the top five to pick up the scraps and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness came out on top with a $9.1 million weekend (down 42.9%) and a new domestic total of $388.6 million. The latest MCU film featuring twisted worlds and even better cameos looks to claw its way past the $400 million mark before exiting theaters - but Maverick should have its number in just a week or two to become the highest-grossing film of 2022.
In third place, the animated adventures of the Belcher family dipped 62.6% as The Bob's Burgers Movie took in $4.63 million for a new total of $22.37 million. For what I would consider a more niche title with a built-in audience, that total looks pretty good. I figure a total around the $30 million range is likely.
In fourth place, another animated film, The Bad Guys had a great hold with just a 23.8% dip and actually rose from fifth place last weekend with a $3.34 million weekend and new $87.3 million total. It continues to play well with families even seven weeks out proving once and for all that its good to be bad.
Rounding out the top five, Downton Abbey: A New Era fell 44.8% and came in just behind The Bad Guys with a $3.19 million weekend. The adult-driven drama following the Crawley family and Downton staff has now earned $35.9 million.
In the specialty box office, David Cronenberg's latest body horror shocker Crimes of the Future (featuring Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux and Kristen Stewart) opened in 773 theaters with $1.11 million debut - enough to place it in 10th place with a $1,446 per-theater average. Coming in just behind IFC Midnight has the best debut of its horror branch with Watcher - starring Maika Monroe - in 11th place with a $826,775 debut.
In "be careful what you wish for" news, it turns out that an army of memes and Reddit mentions doesn't lead to ticket sales. With many a cry of "It's Morbin' time!" echoing through the halls of Twitter and other social media feeds, Sony decided it was time to give the people what they want and re-released Morbius into over 1000 theaters again. Alas, when people laugh AT you not WITH you, the jokes on Sony and Morbius made a whopping... $310,665 in 14th place for a $299 per-theater average. But God help us all if this still somehow leads Sony into thinking we need a sequel to this hot mess of a film.
Next week Jurassic World Dominion arrives and we'll see how Maverick handles a true challenger.
As with last week, the MPAA Ratings Bulletin is once again beset by a dearth of nothing of major importance but is is a boon if you like documentaries.
GABBY GIFFORDS WON'T BACK DOWN
Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving gun violence and some disturbing images.
A HOLLYWOOD CHRISTMAS
Rated PG for mild language and a suggestive reference.
MOONBOUND
Rated PG for some action and rude material.
NIKAMMA
Rated PG-13 for some strong violent content and bloody images.
TAKE THE NIGHT
Rated PG-13 for some violence.
THE TERRITORY
Rated PG for thematic material, some smoking, brief nudity and language.
THREE MINUTES: A LENGHTENING
Rated PG for thematic material involving the Holocaust.
