Earlier this week, we predicted that Lightyear would have an easy win over the weekend, with a projected start of $ 80 million. Alas, this time the numbers were far from us (although our experience is still really good), as THR reported that Lightyear’s box office on Friday was softer than expected. In fact, the Pixar tent is threatened with losing the box office race to Jurassic World: Dominion in its second week. Lightyear’s trading reports made $ 20.7 million on Friday, compared to $ 15.7 million at Dominion. However, the difference can be reduced by continuing the holiday weekend (Monday is June 10, which is now a federal holiday in the United States).
Revised forecasts put Lightyear’s debut at $ 52-55 million over the weekend, which may not be big enough to beat the Dominion. Currently, THR estimates the sequel to the dinosaur will cost $ 57 million. Even if Lightyear ranks first, the launch will undoubtedly be astounding, especially considering that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 launched earlier this year with $ 72 million. This was before moviegoers began to return to the movies en masse thanks to Tom Cruise and Dr. Strange.
Despite a soft start, Lightyear did well with the critics, winning 77% new (we gave it 7/10) and A-Cinemascore (same as Dominion). Is it possible that the audience is more accustomed to watching cartoons at home after all the Pixar movies that went directly to Disney + (Turning Red, Luca, Soul)? This is a worrying development, as the Buzz Lightyear Toy Story spin-off seemed a sure thing in the box office. There’s a chance the family audience will discover the film over the summer, but here’s the thing – it’s not necessary. They know that sooner or later (and I bet it will be sooner) the movie will appear on Disney +. Discovery like this is the danger of the audience being programmed to watch a certain type of movie at home.
Will you see Leiter in theaters?
Add Comment