In the battle of the sequels at the box office, ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ had a slight edge over ‘Mortal Kombat II’ in North American theaters this weekend. According to studio estimates on Sunday, ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ took in $43 million in its second weekend, while ‘Mortal Kombat II’ took in $40 million in its first weekend.
Tough competition at the box office
This weekend saw plenty of new releases in wide release, including family companion ‘The Sheep Detectives’ and the Billie Eilish concert film co-directed by James Cameron.But it was the sand that was victorious. ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’, which grossed $433.2 million worldwide in its first 12 days of release, helped propel Walt Disney Studios past $2 billion for the year. It has also surpassed the total gross of the first film, which earned $327 million worldwide in 2006, not accounting for inflation.Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s head of marketplace trends, said Mother’s Day could have helped ‘Prada’ gain the newcomer’s edge and saw a modest 44% drop over the two-weekend.
‘Mortal Kombat II’ box office collection
‘Mortal Kombat II’ offered some gender-bending programming during the second weekend of Hollywood’s summer movie season. Warner Bros. released the film in 3,503 locations, where it attracted a male audience. According to PostTrak, 75% of ticket buyers were male. ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ had an almost completely opposite sex distribution in its opening weekend.The first film in the series, ‘Mortal Kombat,’ opened simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max in April 2021 as part of Warner Bros.” day-and-date strategy during the pandemic. Reviews for the sequel have been mixed, as well as its B CinemaScore. It also earned $23 million internationally from 78 markets, and earned $63 million worldwide.
“Michael” achieved the third highest collection
‘Michael’ finished third in its third weekend with another $36.5 million weekend, down 33% from last weekend. The Michael Jackson biopic has earned $240.5 million in North America, surpassing the domestic grosses of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, and $577.4 million worldwide.
‘The Sheep Detective’ earns USD 15.9 million
Fourth place went to Amazon MGM Studios’ ‘The Sheep Detectives,’ which grossed $15.9 million in its first weekend in 3,457 theaters. The quirky all-ages murder mystery features an all-star cast including Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson and Nicholas Braun, as well as the voices of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Regina Hall and Patrick Stewart as sheep trying to figure out who killed the shepherd. Audiences gave it an A- CinemaScore. The film cost $75 million to produce.
Billie Eilish’s tour film debuts to $12.6 million
Among the top five was ‘Billie Eilish-Hit Me Hard & Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D)’, an immersive concert experience that Cameron co-directed with Eilish. Paramount released the film in 2,613 theaters, where it grossed $7.5 million in North America and $12.6 million internationally. The film was highly rated by critics (93% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences, giving it an A CinemaScore.‘Project Hail Mary’, in its eighth weekend, and ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’, in its sixth weekend, are still going strong – adding up to a weekend that is up significantly from the same weekend last year. According to Dergarabedian, films that attract new and repeat viewers week after week are the ones that provide “pure, fleeting entertainment.”“It’s playing really well in theaters now,” he said.
Top 10 movies at the domestic box office
As final domestic figures are released on Monday, this list takes into account estimated Friday-Sunday ticket sales at theaters in the US and Canada, according to Comscore:1. The Devil Wears Prada 2 – $43 million USD.2. Mortal Kombat II – 40 million USD.3. Michael – USD 36.5 million.4. The Sheep Detectives – US$15.9 million.5. Billie Eilish-Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour – 7.5 million USD.6. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie – $6.6 million USD.7. Hail Mary project – USD 6.1 million.8. Hokum – USD 3.3 million.9. Deep Water – 780,274 USD.10. Animal Farm – USD 663,624.
