Yours truly is less concerned about Warner Brothers’ Mortal Kombat II not attaining the gold for the weekend, thanks to a Mother’s Day infusion assist to The Devil Wears Prada 2 or the continued flamboyant success of Michael and his records still being broken six decades later, than the sequel earning $40 million in its debut (nearly double that of its predecessor’s launch back in 2021). It would be asinine not to claim the sequel had more of a killer instinct than filler compared to its predecessor, and audiences still jumped on board with the bloody action thanks to a B from CinemaScore and mildly positive reviews. It is intriguing to see how far it can leg out, much like the COVID releases (think Godzilla vs. Kong or Dune), which mostly catered to domestic totals to ensure a positive ROI.
If we look at the numbers, it’ll probably do much better in the U.S. and Canada than overseas (think along the lines of Solo: A Star Wars Story, Twisters, and Ghostbusters). If it plays in line with its predecessor’s legs, it’ll probably end its run around $85-90 million domestic and $150 million globally. That isn’t grave news, but it doesn’t necessarily warrant a Mortal Kombat III. It is skewing toward a more hardcore demographic that welcomes an unbridled amount of bloodshed, and those who grew up playing the video game on their screens. But then again, no one in the cast is considered a box office draw (Karl Urban has been more synonymous with supporting roles or PVOD content). In any case, WB will take its popcorn releases and enjoy them too.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 retained its crown with $43 million in its second weekend; it did have a sharp 70% Friday-to-Friday drop, but it regained its footing thanks to the female-led duo and the Mother’s Day event. It has already cleared its predecessor’s entire domestic and global lifetime gross (not counting inflation) as it has soared past $433 million worldwide. Next up, $500 million will be a bar passed before we know it.
Michael earned $36.5 million in its third weekend (a 33% drop) and has passed $240 million domestically. It’s already gunning for $600 million worldwide as it awaits the imminent releases in Japan and South Korea (which may boost it in more ways than expected). If the Moonwalk continues to prove otherworldly, this may climb to $350 million domestic. Oh, and the pop culture icon has debuted atop the charts for the sixth decade in a row, and the sequel is already underway, so take that to all the slandering pundits! Nerves aside, this may continue to cause panic for Bohemian Rhapsody, as the King of Pop has already cleared its domestic run and may very well gun for its $910.8 millon global record for a biopic.
Newcomer The Sheep Detectives earned $15.9 million domestically in its debut; it has received excellent reviews but is underperforming for the $75 million-budgeted feature for the upcoming summer season. Other newcomer Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft—The Tour opened with $7.5 million in its debut; wow, that’s (co-director) James Cameron’s lowest earning weekend since The Abyss back in 1989 and his lowest wide release since The Terminator. No, it ain’t passing $1.486 billion this time for sure. Guess it’ll be time for the Russo brothers to stomp on his neck with Avengers: Doomsday if it can soar past $1 billion this coming Christmas season.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will pass $950 million worldwide sometime this week as it cruises towards $1 billion. Project Hail Mary has passed $650 million worldwide. Hokum earned $3.3 million in its second weekend, while Deep Water and Animal Farm have collapsed thanks to the higher-viewed demographic tales in town.
Next weekend sees the release of Obsession, Is God Is, In the Grey, Magic Hour, Forge, and Driver’s Ed.
