The box office has been one hard nut to crack this year, and this late August weekend serves as hard evidence to that statement. While some movies saw success or a steady run since last weekend, others stumbled out of the gate. COVID-19 has made theatergoing a difficult subject for all, and these releases and box office debuts underscore that.
On a brighter note, Free Guy was able to maintain the number one spot at the box office leaderboard, earning $18.8 million on its second weekend. The Ryan Reynolds action comedy only fell 34% from its first weekend to its second, an impressive drop for any film, pandemic or not. Other major summer releases, from Black Widow to F9, saw about a 70% drop from their debut weekend to their second. Word of mouth has certainly helped Free Guy, and it's hard to imagine it facing any stiff competition until Labor Day weekend with the release of Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The only newcomer to crack the top five at this weekend's box office was PAW Patrol: The Movie with $13 million. Given the film's target demographic, this is a very solid earning. It was also made available through Paramount+ at no charge to subscribers, though this number would suggest that most audiences made the trip to theaters. This could also speak to the significant lack of animated content at this year's summer box office, with major titles like Luca and Vivo only available through streaming.
The only other major animated title this summer, The Boss Baby: Family Business, earned $16 million in its first weekend, though the pandemic has only gotten more severe since early July. Complicating matters even further, PAW Patrol: The Movie didn't even play in Regal Cinemas, a major theater chain across the United States.
Jungle Cruise remained aflot in the top five, earning the third spot with $6.2 million in its fourth weekend. The Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt-led family film has made $92.5 million domestically, closing in on the $100 million mark. The only other films of 2021 to have achieved that milestone thus far includes Black Widow, F9, and A Quiet Place Part II.
The number four spot was granted to Don't Breathe 2, staying strong in its second weekend. The Stephen Lang horror film landed at $5 million, with a total thus far of $19.67 million. Respect, another film that debuted last weekend, also remained in the top five, collecting $3.8 million and the number five slot.
There are a lot of crazy takeaways from this weekend's box office, namely the low-earning performances of several new titles. Hugh Jackman's Reminiscence barely made the top ten, gathering $2 million against a production budget of around $68 million. This number is tough to consider when positioning it against PAW Patrol: The Movie. While both films are for vastly different demographics, they were also both made available to subscribers through their respective streaming services.
While the older audience of Reminiscence could be hesitant to return to theaters, one would also imagine that the parents of young kids (who remain unvaccinated) would also not be too eager to get back to the movies. A case like this truly shows how the box office this year remains a difficult puzzle.
The Night House and The Protege also were shut out of the top five in their first weekends, with both earning just under $3 million. It's a tight race between the two titles at the moment, and either could come out on top in the end. As it stands now, The Protege has a slight edge with the seventh spot. James Gunn's The Suicide Squad also found itself on the outskirts of the top five, coming in sixth place with around $3.4 million in its third weekend.