Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation was able to hold off Fantastic Four last weekend (Aug. 7-9) to remain in first place at the box office. Paramount Pictures’ Rogue Nation led the way with $28.50 million, which represented a 49 percent decline from its previous weekend’s debut. In the process, the fifth installment of the Tom Cruise led action franchise surpassed the $100 million domestic mark last weekend. Rogue Nation has grossed $107.76 million in 10 days as the film continues to perform in line with pre-release expectations. The film is currently running 27 percent ahead of the $85.10 million 10-day take of 2006’s Mission: Impossible III, which fell 48 percent in its second weekend to gross $25.01 million. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is likely to hold up well throughout the rest of August, thanks in part to strong word of mouth and in part to the limited amount of new competition it will be facing throughout the second half of the month.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation finished on top at the weekend box office for the second week, beating out Fantastic Four.
(Photo: Bo Bridges/Paramount Pictures)

Fantastic Four was off to a very weak second place start with $25.69 million. Twentieth Century Fox’s relaunch attempt of the Marvel superhero franchise didn’t come close to expectations, which had tended to range from $40 million-$50 million heading into the weekend. Poor critical reviews and bad early word of mouth that spread over the weekend clearly took a major toll on the film. In addition to its poor reception, the decision to aim Fantastic Four heavily towards the young adult audience appears to have backfired as well. Fantastic Four opened a disappointing 56 percent below the $58.05 million debut of 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Given the poor reaction to the film, a short theatrical life span for Fantastic Four appears to be set in stone.

The news was far more promising for STX Entertainment’s The Gift, as the new distributor’s first release was off to a respectable third place start of $11.85 million. The Joel Edgerton directed thriller starring Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall and Edgerton outpaced modest expectations. The Gift was helped by strong critical reviews and likely received a bit of a bump from serving as an alternative choice for moviegoers who ultimately passed on Fantastic Four. Making last weekend’s start even more impressive is that the reported production budget for The Gift was only $5 million.

Warner Bros. Pictures’ Vacation took fourth place with $8.96 million. The comedy franchise re-launch starring Ed Helms and Christina Applegate was down 39 percent from the previous weekend. Despite this weekend’s hold, Vacation is still running significantly below expectations with a 12-day start of $37.14 million.

Ant-Man rounded out the weekend’s top five with $7.91 million. The Paul Rudd led 3D superhero film from Disney and Marvel was down 38 percent, as it also benefited from serving as an alternative choice to Fantastic Four.Thanks in part to solid holding power thus far, Ant-Man has grossed $147.52 million in 24 days. Ant-Man is now running just 6 percent behind the $156.97 million 24-day gross of 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger.

In other box office news, Universal Pictures’ Minions surpassed the $300 million domestic milestone last weekend after finishing in sixth place with $7.45 million. The blockbuster 3D computer animated prequel from Illumination Entertainment stabilized a bit, as it was down 40 percent from the previous weekend. Minions has grossed an impressive $302.80 million in 31 days.

Sony Pictures’ Ricki and the Flash debuted in seventh with $6.61 million. The comedy drama starring Meryl Streep opened slightly below already modest expectations and was off to a lackluster start by Streep’s box office standards. However, the film’s opening weekend performance was deflated a bit by the decision to launch the film in only 1,603 locations. In an attempt to help the film’s holding power going forward, Ricki and the Flash will receive a significant expansion this coming weekend. Streep’s films also have a history of displaying strong holding power.

The weekend’s other new wide release, Shaun the Sheep Movie, opened softly with an 11th place take of $4.04 million. Despite strong reviews, the stop-motion animated film from Lionsgate and Aardman Animations was unable to draw in family audiences last weekend. Since its debut on Wednesday Shaun the Sheep Movie has grossed $5.61 million in five days. Shaun the Sheep Movie will hope to receive a boost going forward from its strong reviews and from the lack of new family fare entering the marketplace in the near future.

Paramount Pictures’ Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation delivered last weekend (July 31-Aug. 2) with a first place debut of $55.52 million. The fifth installment of the Tom Cruise led action franchise opened toward the higher end of expectations. Without adjusting for inflation, Rogue Nation claimed the second largest opening weekend take of the Mission: Impossible franchise; behind only the $57.85 million opening weekend of 2000’s Mission: Impossible II. Rogue Nation opened 16 percent ahead of the $47.74 million debut of 2006’s Mission: Impossible III, though it should be noted that the opening weekend of Mission: Impossible III adjusts to $61.15 million when taking into account inflation. Pre-release tracking had been soft for Rogue Nation, but the film was ultimately able to get off to a good start thanks in part to its very strong reviews and to the rest of the marketplace being fairly empty for this time of year. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is likely to hold up relatively well going forward, although the film will face significant competition over the next two weeks from 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four, Universal Pictures’ Straight Outta Compton and Warner Bros. Studios’ The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Rebecca Ferguson and Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. (Photo: Chiabella James/Paramount Pictures)

Warner Bros.’ Vacation debuted a distant second place with $14.68 million. The comedy franchise re-launch starring Ed Helms and Christina Applegate grossed $21.00 million in five days since opening on Wednesday. That is below scaled back expectations for the film. Poor reviews didn’t help and the film’s R rating appears to have limited some of its potential with younger moviegoers as 64 percent of the film’s audience was 25 years and older. Vacation may be aided by the relative lack of new comedies arriving in the marketplace throughout the rest of August.

It was a close race for third place between Ant-Man and Minions. Disney’s Ant-Man finished on top with $12.80 million. The Paul Rudd led 3D superhero film from Marvel was down 49 percent from the previous weekend, as it took a direct hit from the arrival of Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Ant-Man has grossed $132.33 million through 17 days.

Minions placed in fourth with $12.39 million. The 3D computer animated prequel from Universal and Illumination Entertainment trailed Ant-Man by just $415,269 for the weekend. Minions was down a significant 46 percent from the previous weekend, as the film continues to feel the effect of mixed word of mouth, especially among adults. Minions has grossed $287.58 million in 24 days. That places the film 3 percent behind the $295.26 million 24-day take of 2013’s Despicable Me 2.

Sony Pictures’ Pixels rounded out the weekend’s top five with $10.50 million. The Adam Sandler led 3D action comedy fell a sharp 56 percent from the previous weekend. The film’s percentage hold was lackluster, especially on the heels of it’s much softer than expected debut. Pixels has grossed $ $45.71 million in 10 days.

Trainwreck followed in sixth with $9.61 million. The critically acclaimed Amy Schumer led comedy from director Judd Apatow was down 44 percent. Trainwreck is displaying more front-loading than is usual for a film from Apatow; likely because Schumer’s fanbase rushed out to see the film. Trainwreck has grossed $79.61 million in 17 days.

The Weinstein Company’s Southpaw landed in seventh place with $7.62 million. The Jake Gyllenhaal led sports drama was down 54 percent, which does take a bit of the luster off of the previous weekend’s stronger than expected debut. Even with last weekend’s decline, Southpaw is still off to a solid 10-day start of $31.68 million.

Disney’s Ant-Man took in $24.91 million last weekend (July 24-26), which was good enough to lead the weekend box office for a second consecutive week. The Paul Rudd led superhero film from Marvel was down 56.5 percent from the previous weekend, but was able to remain in first place thanks in part to the disappointing debut of Pixels and the soft third weekend hold of Minions. Ant-Man surpassed the $100 million mark last weekend and has grossed a solid $106.22 million in 10 days. The film continues to perform in line with the lower end of pre-release expectations. Ant-Man is currently running 9 percent ahead of the $97.06 million 10-day take of 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, which fell 57 percent in its second weekend to gross $22.14 million, and 9.5 percent behind the $117.42 million 10-day gross of 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, which dropped 61 percent to gross $25.55 million.

Marvel’s Ant-Man..L to R: Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas)..Photo Credit: Zade Rosenthal..© Marvel 2014

Sony Pictures’ Pixels debuted in a very close second place with $24.01 million. The Adam Sandler led 3D action comedy was off to a disappointing start and even with scaled back expectations had been expected to lead the box office heading into the weekend. Ultimately the film’s high-profile retro video game concept and the high levels of buzz generated by its initial trailer weren’t enough to overcome poor reviews and Sandler’s declining popularity, but audiences are responding to the film better than critics have. On the brighter side of things, the production budget for Pixels was fairly modest by high-profile summer release standards and the film was off to a relatively stronger start overseas last weekend.

Minions wasn’t far behind with a third place take of $22.93 million. The blockbuster 3D computer animated spin-off from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment was down 53.5 percent from the previous weekend. After a terrific opening weekend performance, Minions has displayed lackluster holding power due in part to mixed word of mouth, especially among adults, and to the massive initial rush out of the film’s fanbase during the film’s first week of release. With that said, Minions has grossed $262.45 million in 17 days. That places the film just ahead of the $258.57 million 17-day take of 2013’s Despicable Me 2, although it should be pointed out that Minions has an advantage in the comparison as a result of Despicable Me 2 opening on a Wednesday.

Fellow Universal release Trainwreck followed in fourth with $17.28 million. The critically acclaimed Amy Schumer led comedy from director Judd Apatow was down 43 percent from the previous weekend. The film’s hold last weekend does indicate that the rush out of Schumer’s fanbase has led to relatively more initial front-loading than usual for a film from Apatow; but the film is still likely to hold up much better going forward thanks to its strong word of mouth and reviews. Trainwreck has grossed a very promisig $61.53 million in 10 days.

The Weinstein Co. ‘s Southpaw rounded out the weekend’s top five with a $16.70 million debut. The Antoine Fuqua directed sports drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal opened slightly ahead of expectations and surprisingly ahead of Paper Towns in last weekend’s rankings. Despite mixed reviews, Southpaw was off to a nice start thanks in part to an effective marketing campaign that was aided by the film’s soundtrack and by focusing on Gyllenhaal’s buzzed about performance.

Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox’s Paper Towns was off to a disappointing sixth place start with $12.65 million. The young adult adaptation starring Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne opened well below expectations. The goodwill from the success of last year’s The Fault in Our Stars, which like Paper Towns, was also adapted from a John Green novel, helped generate high levels of online buzz for Paper Towns in the weeks leading up to its release, but that buzz ultimately failed to transfer over to the box office. On top of the soft opening, Paper Towns was extremely front-loaded.

In other box office news, Universal’s Jurassic World moved into third place on the all-time unadjusted domestic list after a $7.18 million eighth place take last weekend. Jurassic World has grossed a massive $624.08 million in 45 days, which places it just ahead of the $623.36 million final domestic gross of 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers. 1997’s Titanic, with aid from its 2012 re-issue, claims second place on the all-time domestic list with a lifetime unadjusted gross of $658.67 million.

Disney’s Ant-Man debuted in first place last weekend (July 17-19) with $57.23 million. The Paul Rudd led comic book film from Marvel opened on the low end of expectations, which ranged from $57 million-$65 million heading into the weekend. Ant-Man delivered the second smallest debut ever for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film, which had been largely expected given the lower profile status of Ant-Man compared to other Marvel superheroes. Ant-Man opened 3 percent ahead of the $55.41 million debut of 2008’s The Incredible Hulk and 12 percent behind the $65.06 million start of 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. The film will face tough competition over the next few weeks from the likes of Sony Pictures’ Pixels, Paramount Pictures’ Impossible – Rogue Nation and 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four.

Paul Rudd stars in Marvel’s Ant-Man. (Photo: Zade Rosenthal/Marvel)

Minions was down one spot from the previous weekend to claim second with $49.27 million. The blockbuster 3D computer animated spin-off from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment didn’t hold up as well as had been expected, as it was down 57 percent in its second weekend. Minions likely took a larger hit among the non-family portion of its audience, which had been fairly large in size opening weekend. While Minions is set to be significantly more front-loaded than both of the previous installments of the Despicable Me franchise, the film is still performing extremely well in the bigger picture, especially with its relatively modest cost for a computer animated films in mind. Minions zoomed past the $200 million domestic mark last weekend and has grossed $215.77 million through 10 days of release. That places the film 9 percent ahead of the $197.93 million 10-day take of Despicable Me 2, though Minions does have an advantage in the current comparison as a result of Despicable Me 2 being a Wednesday release. Whether or not Minions is able to stabilize this coming weekend will likely have a lot to do with just how much appeal Pixels ultimately has with family audiences.

Fellow Universal release Trainwreck was off to an impressive start with a third place take of $30.10 million. The Amy Schumer led comedy from director Judd Apatow opened just ahead of its expectations, which were anywhere from $20 million-$30 million heading into the weekend. Strong critical reviews, high levels of pre-release hype surrounding both the film and Schumer and the built-in fanbase of Schumer and Apatow all helped lead to the film’s successful launch. Trainwreck is likely to hold up well through the rest of the summer.

Inside Out surpassed the $300 million domestic mark after placing in fourth last weekend with $11.54 million. With the initial rush-for Minions now out of the way, Inside Out stabilized nicely by decreasing just 35 percent from the previous weekend. The 3D computer animated film from Disney and Pixar has grossed $306.25 million in 31 days and is likely to continue to hold up well going forward thanks in part to strong word of mouth and the relative lack of other high-profile animated releases throughout the rest of the summer.

Universal’s Jurassic World rounded out the weekend’s top five with $11.45 million. In the process, the 3D sci-fi adventure sequel became just the fourth film ever to surpass the $600 million domestic mark without adjusting for inflation. Jurassic World reached the $600 million mark in just 36 days; easily making it the fastest film ever to do so. The previous record holder, 2009’s Avatar, reached the mark in 47 days.Jurassic World continues to display strong holding power, especially considering the new direct competition it faced from Ant-Man, as it was down 37 percent. Jurassic World has grossed $611.23 million in 38 days and is just $12.13 million away from surpassing the $623.36 million final gross of 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers to move into third place on the all-time unadjusted domestic list.

Meanwhile, Terminator Genisys and Magic Mike XXL didn’t hold up anywhere near as well with respective sixth place and seventh place takes of $5.40 million and $4.45 million. Paramount’s Terminator Genisys fell 61 percent from the previous weekend while Warner Bros. Pictures’ Magic Mike XXL was down 54 percent. Terminator Genisys took a direct hit from Ant-Man, while Magic Mike XXL was slowed by the arrival of Trainwreck. Both films continue to under-perform with respective 19-day totals of $80.64 million for Terminator Genisys and $58.58 million for Magic Mike XXL.

Minions Debuts at Number One

Minions delivered last weekend with a $115.72 million debut. The highly anticipated 3D computer animated spin-off from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment opened on the high end of already lofty expectations. Without adjusting for inflation, Minions scored the second largest opening weekend take ever for an animated film; behind only the $121.63 million start of 2007’s Shrek the Third. Minions opened just ahead of the $110.31 million debut of 2010’s Toy Story 3. Minions was an impressive 28.5 percent stronger than the $90.03 million three-day start of 2013’s Despicable Me 2, although it should be noted that Despicable Me 2 opened on a Wednesday. Minions was clearly helped out by goodwill from both Despicable Me films and by a very high-profile marketing campaign that was seemingly everywhere. Potential sequel fatigue for the film may have also been turned into a non-factor in this case thanks in part to the film’s nature as a spin-off.

Minions debuted at Number One in the box office over the weekend. (Photo: Universal Pictures)

Going forward the film should also be helped out by the lack of high-profile animated films on the remainder of this summer’s schedule. Minions marks yet another blockbuster level performer for Universal in 2015, as it joins the likes of Jurassic World, Furious 7, Pitch Perfect 2 and Fifty Shades of Grey.

Universal also claimed second place last weekend as Jurassic World took in $18.15 million. The 3D sci-fi adventure blockbuster sequel was down a 38 percent from its previous weekend performance, which had been deflated a bit by Independence Day falling on Saturday. Without adjusting for inflation, Jurassic World registered the seventh largest fifth weekend performance of all-time. Jurassic World has grossed $590.69 million through 31 days of release, which leaves it just $9.31 million away from becoming the fourth film ever to reach the $600 million domestic milestone.

Inside Out followed closely behind in third with $17.67 million. The 3D computer animated blockbuster from Disney and Pixar was down 41 percent from the previous weekend. That represented a solid hold, especially when considering the new direct competition it faced from Minions last weekend. Inside Out continues to outpace expectations with a 24-day take of $284.20 million. That leaves the film just $15.80 million away from reaching the $300 million domestic milestone. Inside Out is running 19.5 percent ahead of the $237.77 million 24-day gross of 2013’s Monsters University and 16 percent behind the $339.24 million 24-day take of 2010’s Toy Story 3.

Paramount Pictures’ Terminator Genisys placed in fourth with $13.83 million. The pricey Arnold Schwarzenegger led 3D sci-fi action sequel fell 49 percent from the previous weekend. Terminator Genisys has grossed $68.85 million in 12 days. The film continues to perform below scaled back expectations and is running 26 percent behind the $92.66 million 12-day gross of 2009’s Terminator Salvation. At this rate Terminator Genisys is likely to fall short of reaching the $100 million domestic mark; especially with Disney’s Ant-Man, Sony Pictures’ Pixels and fellow Paramount release Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation all entering the marketplace throughout the rest of July.

Warner Bros. Pictures’ The Gallows opened in fifth place with $9.81 million. The low-budget horror film from New Line and Blumhouse Productions opened on the lower end of modest expectations. The Gallows had generated high levels of online activity in the days leading up to its release, but that ultimately didn’t help at the box office last weekend.

Fellow Warner Bros. release Magic Mike XXL held up well with a sixth place take of $9.58 million. That was down just 25.5 percent from the previous weekend’s holiday deflated performance. The modestly budgeted Channing Tatum led sequel has displayed strong holding power over the past week, but in the bigger picture the film is still performing significantly below expectations with a 12-day take of $48.30 million. Magic Mike XXL is currently running a lackluster 38 percent behind the $77.86 million 12-day gross of 2012’s Magic Mike.

Meanwhile, Self/Less debuted in eighth place with $5.40 million. The Ryan Reynolds led sci-fi film from Focus and Gramercy opened to disappointing results and had been widely expected to do so heading into the weekend.