‘How to Train Your Dragon' tops the US box office as ‘Elio' marks a new low for Pixar
Six years after its last entry, the Dean DeBlois-directed 'How To Train Your Dragon' has proven a potent revival of the DreamWorks Animation franchise. A sequel is already in the works for the $150 million production, which remakes the 2010 animated tale about a Viking boy and his dragon.
Pixar's 'Elio' had a particularly tough weekend. The Walt Disney Co. animation studio has often launched some of its biggest titles in June, including 'Cars,' 'WALL-E' and 'Toy Story 4.' But 'Elio,' a science fiction adventure about a boy who dreams of meeting aliens, notched a modest $21 million, the lowest opening ever for Pixar.
'This is a weak opening for a new Pixar movie,' said David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm FranchiseRe. 'These would be solid numbers for another original animation film, but this is Pixar, and by Pixar's remarkable standard, the opening is well below average.'
'Elio,' originally set for release in early 2024, had a bumpy road to the screen. Adrian Molina — co-director of 'Coco' — was replaced mid-production by Domee Shi ('Turning Red') and Madeline Sharafian. Back at Disney's D23 conference in 2022, America Ferrera appeared to announce her role as Elio's mother, but the character doesn't even exist in the revamped film.
Disney and Pixar spent at least $150 million making 'Elio,' which didn't fare any better internationally than it did in North America, bringing in just $14 million from 43 territories. Pixar stumbled coming out of the pandemic before stabilizing performance with 2023's 'Elemental' ($496.4 million worldwide) and 2024's 'Inside Out 2' ($1.7 billion), which was the company's biggest box office hit.
'Elemental' was Pixar's previously lowest earning film, launching with $29.6 million. It rallied in later weeks to collect nearly half a billion dollars at the box office. The company's first movie, 'Toy Story,' opened with $29.1 million in 1995, or $60 when adjusted for inflation. It remains to be seen whether 'Elio's' decent reviews and 'A' from CinemaScore audiences can lead it to repeat 'Elemental's' trajectory.
With most schools on summer break, the competition for family audiences was stiff. Disney's own 'Lilo & Stitch,' another live-action remake, continued to pull in young moviegoers. It grossed $9.7 million in its fifth weekend, bringing its global tally to $910.3 million. .
'28 Years Later' signaled the return of another, far gorier franchise. Director Danny Boyle reunited with screenwriter Alex Garland to resume their pandemic apocalypse thriller 25 years after '28 Days Later' and 18 years after its sequel, '28 Weeks Later.'
The Sony Pictures release opened with $30 million. That was good enough to give Boyle, the filmmaker of 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Trainspotting,' the biggest opening weekend of his career. The film, which cost $60 million to make, jumps ahead nearly three decades from the outbreak of the so-called rage virus for a coming-of-age story about a 12-year-old (Alfie Williams) venturing out of his family's protected village. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes co-star.
Reviews have been good (90% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) for '28 Years Later,' though audience reaction (a 'B' CinemaScore) is mixed. Boyle has more plans for the zombie franchise, which will next see the release of '28 Years Later: The Bone Temple' next year from director Nia DaCosta.
'28 Years Later' added another $30 million in 59 overseas markets.
After its strong start last weekend with $12 million, A24's 'Materialists' held well with $5.8 million in its second weekend. The romantic drama by writer-director Celine Song and starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans has collected $24 million so far.
Next weekend should also be a competitive one in movie theaters, with both 'F1,' from Apple and Warner Bros., and Universal's 'Megan 2.0' launching in cinemas.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. 'How to Train Your Dragon,' $37 million.
2. '28 Years Later,' $30 million.
3. 'Elio,' $21 million.
4. 'Lilo & Stitch,' $9.7 million.
5. 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,' $6.6 million.
6. 'Materialists,' $5.8 million.
7. 'Ballerina,' $4.5 million.
8. 'Karate Kid: Legends,' $2.4 million.
9. 'Final Destination: Bloodlines," $1.9 million.
10. 'Kuberaa,' $1.7 million.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The Naked Gun review: Liam Neeson is perfection and the gags come thick and fast in this hilarious reboot brimming with slapstick comedy, says BRIAN VINER
The Naked Gun (15, 85 minutes) Verdict: Hits the target For those of you who remember the year 1982 — when Britain went to war over the Falkland Islands, Prince William was born and Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off a bat on stage — it looms large, if indirectly, on our cinema screens this week. On American television back in 1982 a spoof cop show was launched: Police Squad!, created by the team behind the wildly successful movie Airplane! As it happens Police Squad! didn't last long on TV — the ABC network whipped it off air after just four episodes — but it did introduce hapless LAPD detective Frank Drebin, wonderfully played by the Airplane! star Leslie Nielsen. Six years later, the character bumbled his way through the first of The Naked Gun movies. It was outrageously silly, relentlessly crass, and a monumental hit. Two sequels swiftly followed and did excellent box-office business, but the third film was nowhere near as hilarious as the original. The Naked Gun had run out of bullets, at least until this week's 'reboot', directed and co-written by Akiva Schaffer (whose last film was 2022's unexpectedly enjoyable Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers). Not all the gags land — I reckon the ratio is half a dozen groans for every one laugh-out-loud — but they come so thick and fast that we only register the best of them Naturally, the new version of The Naked Gun arrives with some question marks. Will it be as zany as it was? Even if it is, are cinema audiences likely to be as delighted by that zaniness as they were? In other words, have comedy tastes changed since the 1980s? Moreover, can Liam Neeson, an actor much better known for splitting jaws than splitting sides, possibly be an effective replacement for Nielsen in the lead role? From where I was sitting the answers were yes, yes, no and yes. The Naked Gun is a hoot and Neeson's deadpan performance is pretty much pitch-perfect. Not all the gags land — I reckon the ratio is half a dozen groans for every one laugh-out-loud — but they come so thick and fast that we only register the best of them. Neeson plays Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jnr, the son of Nielsen's character, now deceased. Addressing a photograph on the office wall of his late father, he asks him to send a sign — 'an owl, or something' — if the old man is looking down at him with pride. Meanwhile, the other detectives in the department are also gazing up at pictures of their own dead fathers, teeing up a nicely-judged joke at the expense of O.J. Simpson (who starred in the first three films). Later, there's a gag targeting Bill Cosby, another disgraced former icon. This is not what you'd call iconoclastic humour. It might even be the comedy-writing equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. But it is funny, which is all that matters. The plot, by contrast, hardly matters at all. Just in case you're interested, Drebin is investigating a bank heist to begin with, but after breaching behavioural guidelines is demoted to the traffic accident division and sent to look into a fatal crash in Malibu. Soon it becomes clear, even to him, that the heist and the accident are connected. More interestingly still, the sister of the crash victim is the curvaceously sexy Beth (Pamela Anderson). 'Take a chair,' he says, when she arrives in his office. 'No thank you, I have plenty of chairs at home,' she replies. Be warned, some of what passes for comedy might be rejected by your average fifth-form revue, yet it all trips along with considerable elan, and in any case, gags barely worthy of a Christmas cracker have always been part of the Naked Gun brand. When the film's baddie (Danny Huston, all but twirling a cloak) asks Drebin if he suspects foul play, Drebin ponders for a moment. 'No, a chicken probably wouldn't do this.' As an audience, we either buy into it or we don't. But if you still need persuading, then be assured that there are one or two gags worth the price of admission on their own, including a corker about racist brutality in the police force — hardly the most tittersome of subjects but still ripe for satire. Moreover, some of the physical comedy has echoes of peak Inspector Clouseau, and it's a lovely surprise to find that Neeson has it in him. An even lovelier surprise is that the film passes just as quickly as the original, in under an hour and a half.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Jason Momoa on moshing at Ozzy Osbourne's final gig and stripping down for Chief of War
Jason Momoa opens up about stripping down to a traditional Hawaiian malo on the Chief of War set. He's joined by co-creator Thomas Pa'a Sibbett to discuss how the series brings to life a side of Hawaiian culture that's often overlooked and underrepresented. 'We've all seen Dances with Wolves and The Last of the Mohicans,' Momoa told The Independent. 'I wanted to do that for my people.' The Aquaman star also reflects on what it was like jumping into a mosh pit at Black Sabbath 's final performance with * Ozzy Osbourne. *Please note: This interview was recorded before the death of Ozzy Osbourne.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Jess Glynne calls White House deportation video with Jet2 ad song 'sick'
Jess Glynne has said she feels "sick" that the White House has used the viral Jet2holiday advert featuring her song as the audio to a video promoting deportations. The White House posted a clip on X on Wednesday evening showing handcuffed people being escorted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement onto a GlobalX flight. Jet2's advert featuring Glynne's 2015 single Hold my Hand, and a cheery voiceover saying "nothing beats a Jet2 holiday" - which has become a meme - is played over the video. The post was captioned: "When ICE books you a one-way Jet2 holiday to deportation. Nothing beats it!" Responding to the clip, Glynne said on Instagram that her music "is about love, unity and spreading positivity - never about division or hate".The White House post on X has been met by some with criticism by many - one user said the clip was "embarrassing and unprofessional", while another said that it "shows a real lack of humanity". Others have praised Trump for his stance on not the first time the Trump administration has posted memes on its social media this month an image with the president's face superimposed on Superman's face was shared on the account with the caption: "Truth. Justice. The American Way. Superman Trump." A few weeks ago the administration posted on X saying: "Nowhere in the constitution does it say we can't post banger memes." President Trump has recently committed $170bn for border and immigration enforcement, including $45m for detention. ICE, a federal law enforcement agency, will see its funding grow by $76.5bn over five years. 'Politicians shouldn't use this' The Jet2holiday advert went viral at the start of the summer has been used in more than two million videos on TikTok. People have used the audio to share funny and chaotic holiday videos - one of the most watched is of a woman on a rollercoaster who gets hit in the chest by a seagull. The sound has also been put over disastrous moments such as plane fights, holiday mishaps and failed travel plans. Zoe Lister is the actor behind the voiceover and has been working with Jet2holidays for a number of years. She previously told the BBC, before the White House video was released, that she loves the fact the advert has gone viral. But she doesn't approve of politicians and similar public figures using the soundtrack. "That's just not the vibe - it's meant to be funny and a way for people to share ridiculous things that happen to them."Someone serious like a politician using it to push their political agenda is not something I agree with," she said earlier this says she can't believe the advert has gone viral and often hears people listening to the sound when she's out in public. "It's hilarious that I'm now being booked for gigs and festivals, people can't get enough of it." The BBC has contacted Jet2 holidays for comment.
