A spunky, alien-obsessed preteen and undead army were no match at the box office against a loyal, fiery dragon.
Universal’s “How to Train Your Dragon” remake has remained No. 1 in North America despite the presence of two newcomers, Disney and Pixar’s intergalactic adventure “Elio” and Sony’s zombie thriller “28 Years Later.”
“Elio” has cratered in third place with $21 million from 3,750 theaters, ranking as the worst start in modern history for Pixar. Heading into the weekend, the otherworldly tale about a young boy who connects with aliens after getting mistaken for Earth’s intergalactic ambassador was aiming for $25 million to $30 million. The film, which cost $150 million to produce, added just $14 million overseas for a catastrophic global total of $35 million.
“This is a weak opening for Pixar,” says David A. Gross, who runs the FranchiseRe movie consulting firm. “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.”
Pixar’s prior low-water mark was 2023’s opposites-attract fable “Elemental,” which opened to $29.6 million domestically and $44.5 million globally. However, that film was embraced by audiences and managed to endure at the box office, ultimately ending its big screen run with $155 million domestically and $496 million globally. It was a respectable tally given the terrible opening weekend result, but nowhere near the prior heights of Pixar, the empire behind “Toy Story,” “The Incredibles” and “Finding Nemo.” The studio is hoping that “Elio” follows a similar trajectory since the animated tale was awarded an “A” grade on CinemaScore exit polls and 85% Rotten Tomatoes average.
But the bleak start for “Elio” underscores the challenges that face Pixar, which fielded last year’s record-breaking smash “Inside Out 2” ($1.69 billion) but hasn’t successfully launched a new theatrical property in ages. Original animation has struggled at the box office in post-pandemic times, and Pixar in particular has failed to live up to its own stratospheric heights — especially after several of its titles (like “Turning Red” and “Luca”) were sent directly to Disney+ while cinemas were recovering from COVID, which inadvertently trained family audiences to expect those movies at home. Though kid-friendly fare has rebounded in a big way, brand recognition has been a huge part in the triumph of recent PG winners like “Lilo & Stitch,” “A Minecraft Movie” and “How to Train Your Dragon.”
This weekend’s other new release, “28 Years Later,” opened in second place with $30 million from 3,444 venues, squarely in line with expectations. The film added an additional $30 million overseas, propelling its initial worldwide tally to $60 million. Those ticket sales mark the biggest debut in the undead series, which began with 2002’s “28 Days Later” ($10 million debut) and continued with 2007’s “28 Weeks Later” ($9.8 million). Opening weekend crowds bestowed the film a tepid “B” grade on CinemaScore exit polls.
“28 Years Later” cost $60 million and won’t require much coinage to become the highest-grossing installment in the franchise, which is presently “28 Days Later” with $75 million worldwide. But Sony has bigger commercial ambitions for the property, which revolves around a contagious rage virus that continues wreak havoc on the world. “28 Years Later” is intended to kick off a new zombie-infested trilogy, spearheaded by “28 Days Later” creators Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland. The new film was shot back-to-back with its sequel, “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” which will debut in 2026. A third film is in development but its future could be dictated by the theatrical results of “28 Years Later.”
Without “Elio” or “28 Years Later” posing much of a threat, “How to Train Your Dragon” was able to retain the box office crown with $37 million in its sophomore frame, a 56% decline from its $83 million debut. So far, the live-action remake has generated $160.4 million in North America and $358 million worldwide.
Another notable holdover, A24’s comedic romantic drama “Materialists,” stayed strong in its second weekend with $5.8 million, marking a 48% decline from its impressive $12 million start. Celine Song’s film, which has launched a million think pieces on modern dating and realistic salaries for New Yorkers, has earned a promising $24 million to date.
Above “Materialists” on box office charts and rounding out the top five, Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” collected $9.5 million while Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” added $6.55 million in their respective fifth weekends of release.
“Lilo & Stitch” has earned 386 million domestically and blockbuster $910 million globally against a $100 million budget. “The Final Reckoning,” the eighth installment in Tom Cruise’s long-running action franchise, has grossed $178 million in North America and $540 million worldwide. However, “MI8” cost a head-spinning $400 million to produce, and since movie theater owners get to keep half of ticket sales, the action adventure won’t have the strength to climb out of the red in its theatrical run.
Overall box office comparisons to the same weekend in 2024 are tough because “Inside Out 2″ began its blockbuster run with $154 million. Prior to this weekend, revenues were 23% above last year but the surplus has shrunk to 18%, according to Comscore. It’s up to upcoming films like Brad Pitt’s racing drama “F1,” Universal’s “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” the Warner Bros. and DC epic “Superman,” and Disney’s Marvel adventure “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” to deliver a boost to the summer box office.
“The last three weeks have not exactly blown the doors off at the box office,” says senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “Despite these June gloom headwinds, we have many notable summer films all the way through Labor Day weekend.”
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