Game Of Box Offices: “Men In Black International” wears the right color for the funeral that has become this Blockbuster Summer

It’s safe to say 2019’s summer of blockbusters has not been great. The summer started off with a bang, ushering in one of the most anticipated films of all-time in “Avengers: Endgame.” But ever since then, this summer has been impossibly rough. The live action remake of “Aladdin” hit pretty hard but “John Wick 3,” “Godzilla: King Of The Monsters,” “Dark Phoenix, “The Secret Life Of Pets 2,” and now “Men In Black International” all hit with a lackluster that could put the most hardcore cinefile to sleep. “Men In Black International” set its sights on a menial $39 million for the weekend and ended up with an even worse $30 million, making it $20 million less than the opening weekends of its three predecessors. “Shaft” was supposed to open to $23 million and could only muster $8.9 million, making that a difference of over $14 million. That’s a lot of money left off the table and one has to begin to hear the words “sequel fatigue” start to ring true. Jim Jarmusch’s “The Dead Don’t Die” was the only other new release of the weekend that landed on the charts, earning $2.5 million. The POPCORN AWARD went to last weekend’s release of “The Last Black Man In San Francisco,” which earned an average of $10,581 in 36 theaters, while last weekend’s POPCORN AWARD winner “Late Night,” the film written by and starring Mindy Kaling, was able to earn the GOLDEN PERCENTAGE AWARD this weekend with an increase of +2,033.8%.

Instead of falling off the List this weekend, as was originally predicted, the documentary “Pavarotti” jumped up five spots in its second weekend, while a film that fell off last weekend, “Dumbo,” jumped back up to #24 in its twelfth weekend. “Aladdin” was able to overcome “Dark Phoenix” to stay put at #3 while the rest of the List shifted down. Five films shifted down five or spots, including “Ma,” “Bharat,” and “Brightburn,” which all fell five spots, “The Intruder,” which fell seven, and “The Hustle,” which fell eight. Falling off the List completely were four films. Two of the five films predicted to fall off actually ended up doing so, with “Captain Marvel” falling off after fifteen weeks and a home video release last week, plus Kenneth Branagh’s “All Is True,” which, as predicted, was a one hit wonder on the List. Two lower budget films in “The Souvenir” and “The Tomorrow Man” also fell prey to falling off the List.

Three films are on the docket to do big enough business next weekend, one towering over them all. Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” is set to do big numbers at the Box Office with a projection of $151 million. If it does even that exact number, it will be the third highest grossing opening weekend so far this year, behind “Avengers: Endgame” and “Captain Marvel,” which, if you’re keeping track at home, are all three Walt Disney movies. The fourth would be “Aladdin,” which is also a Disney film, however “Us,” which is a Universal film, would then be in the #5 position. Perfect counter-programming has horror film remake “Child’s Play” releasing this weekend as well, having already drawn the comparison with serial killer doll Chucky murdering various members of the “Toy Story” crew in advertising. “Child’s Play” hopes to earn $18 million in its opening weekend. Depending how hard “Men In Black International” falls in its second weekend, that could be enough to make it #2 at the Box Office. Lastly, Luc Besson’s latest feature “Anna,” about a female hit-woman, aims to grab $4.5 million for the weekend. Again, depending how hard “Dark Phoenix” continues to fall, that could be enough to put “Anna” in the Top Five. Making room for these titles, “The Hustle” and “The Intruder” could both easily finish their descent on the List, following up their seven and eight spot drops by falling off completely. The surprise resurgence of “Dumbo” could also be shorted live, facing yet another fall off the List. And, with “Shazam!” hanging at the very bottom of the List, it faces a short fall to hits eventual home video release just around the corner.

BOX OFFICE KING: “Men In Black International”
BOX OFFICE QUEEN: “The Secret Life Of Pets 2”
POPCORN AWARD*: “The Last Black Man in San Francisco”
GOLDEN PERCENTAGE AWARD**: “Late Night”

#	Title	Weekend	Total	Budget	Week	LW	CH
1	Men In Black International (Sony)	$30,035,838	($30,035,838)	$110m	1st	N
2	The Secret Life Of Pets 2 (Uni)	$24,408,160	($92,652,550)	$80m	2nd	#1
3	Aladdin (2019) (BV)	$17,309,154	($264,043,468)	$183m	4th	#3
4	Rocketman (Par)	$9,420,441	($66,763,166)	$40m	3rd	#5
5	Dark Phoenix (Fox)	$9,354,868	($52,117,218)	$200m*	2nd	#2
6	Shaft (WB)	$8,901,419	($8,901,419)	$30m*	1st	N
7	Godzilla: King of the Monsters (WB)	$8,788,845	($94,372,017)	$170m	3rd	#4
8	John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (LG/S)	$6,401,225	($148,928,130)	$55m*	5th	#7
9	Late Night (Amazon)	$5,255,643	($5,568,462)	$4m*	2nd	#17
10	Avengers: Endgame (BV)	$3,725,855	($830,700,214)	$356m*	8th	#8
11	Ma (2019) (Uni)	$3,718,975	($40,458,970)	$5m	3rd	#6
12	The Dead Don’t Die (Uni)	$2,540,240	($2,540,240)	**	1st	N
13	Pokemon Detective Pikachu (WB)	$1,292,238	($140,800,319)	$150m	6th	#9
14	Booksmart (UAR)	$864,750	($19,752,169)	$6m*	4th	#10
15	A Dog’s Journey (Uni)	$455,695	($21,819,250)	$22m*	5th	#11
16	The Last Black Man in San Francisco (A24)	$380,921	($733,087)	**	2nd	#18
17	Bharat (VPD)	$377,616	($2,684,911)	$14.3m*	2nd	#12
18	Brightburn (SGem)	$250,952	($17,045,384)	$6m	4th	#13
19	The Biggest Little Farm (Neon)	$225,488	($2,963,330)	**	6th	#15
20	Pavarotti (CBS)	$221,207	($450,212)	**	2nd	#25
21	Echo in the Canyon (Grwh)	$206,824	($805,112)	**	4th	#20
22	The Hustle (UAR)	$165,702	($34,903,969)	$21m*	6th	#14
23	The Intruder (2019) (SGem)	$148,126	($35,244,030)	$8m	7th	#16
24	Dumbo (2019) (BV)	$143,496	($114,026,814)	$170m	12th	#26
25	Shazam! (WB)	$134,755	($139,765,148)	$100m	11th	#21

<<<ALL DOMESTIC NUMBERS FROM BOX OFFICE MOJO>>>>

OFF THE CHARTS THIS WEEK

(OFFICIALLY CLOSED)

*POPCORN AWARD goes to the highest per theater average within the Top 25 List
**GOLDEN PERCENTAGE AWARD goes to the highest increase within the Top 25 List