This weekend’s box office was once again dominated by The Odyssey, although Christopher Nolan’s latest epic finally showed some signs of slowing down in its second weekend. The film remained comfortably ahead of the competition, while the rest of the top five turned into a surprisingly close race, with less than $1 million separating third from fifth place.
Meanwhile, Hadestown: The Musical made an impressive entrance into the top five, landing just behind the summer’s biggest family films. With Spider-Man: Brand New Day arriving next weekend, however, the box office is about to change considerably.
The Odyssey Remains on Top
The Odyssey earned $87.0 million in its second weekend.
After opening with a massive $124.5 million, Christopher Nolan’s latest blockbuster experienced a sizeable drop but still had no trouble retaining first place. The film has already established itself as one of the year’s biggest theatrical events, and premium large format screenings continue to be a major part of its appeal.
More importantly, the film has now demonstrated that its opening weekend was not simply the result of Nolan’s core audience rushing out on day one. With strong reviews and plenty of enthusiasm from audiences, The Odyssey looks poised to remain a major box office force even as the summer’s biggest releases begin arriving.
Moana Holds Onto Second Place
Moana collected $10.5 million.
Disney’s animated sequel continues to benefit from the dependable summer family audience, although the film is clearly losing momentum as newer releases take up more screens. Still, second place is nothing to complain about, particularly when the movie is competing against an enormous Christopher Nolan epic for premium screens and attention.
Toy Story 5 Stays in the Race
Toy Story 5 brought in $10.0 million.
Pixar’s latest sequel continues to quietly accumulate money while newer films steal the headlines. Its $10 million weekend was enough to put it just behind Moana, but the bigger story is how tightly packed the middle of the chart has become.
At this stage, Toy Story 5 has already done what it needed to do. The film has enjoyed a substantial theatrical run and continues to demonstrate the extraordinary durability of the franchise.
Hadestown: The Musical Makes a Strong Showing
Hadestown: The Musical earned $9.7 million.
The stage adaptation made an impressive showing with $9.7 million, slipping into fourth place and finishing less than $1 million behind Toy Story 5. For a musical making the transition from the stage to the big screen, that’s a respectable result in a marketplace dominated by established franchises and massive studio productions.
The real test now will be whether it can maintain that momentum. If audiences respond positively, strong word of mouth could give the film a longer run than its opening position might suggest.
Minions & Monsters Rounds Out the Top Five
Minions & Monsters added $9.6 million.
The animated hit finished just $100,000 behind Hadestown: The Musical, making this one of the weekend’s closest races. While the film has lost the top spot it claimed earlier in its run, it continues to show the kind of staying power that studios hope for from a family release.
With the summer holidays still in full swing, Minions & Monsters should continue to find audiences, although the arrival of bigger competition will make the road ahead considerably more difficult.
How Much Will Spider-Man: Brand New Day Make?
Next weekend belongs to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is currently tracking for an enormous opening between $195 million and $250 million. Given the strength of the Spider-Man brand, the film should have no trouble drawing massive crowds, particularly with audiences hungry for another major superhero event. Unless the reviews are genuinely terrible, it’s difficult to imagine this opening below the top end of that tracking range.
My prediction is that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will open with at least $240 million. Spider-Man remains one of the most recognizable characters in popular culture, and Marvel still knows how to turn a major release into an event. The real question isn’t whether it will top the box office, but whether strong reviews and audience enthusiasm can push it toward the $250 million mark and potentially beyond.
As always, we’ll find out next week.
My prediction is that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will open with at least $240 million. Spider-Man remains one of the most recognizable characters in popular culture, and Marvel still knows how to turn a major release into an event. The real question isn’t whether it will top the box office, but whether strong reviews and audience enthusiasm can push it toward the $250 million mark and potentially beyond.
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