Spider-Man tightens his web over all competition

Kaya Scodelario is among the cast of Paramount’s Crawl, the story of a father and daughter forced to ward off an alligator attack in Florida after a hurricane. The film debuted in third place at last weekend’s box office and made about $12 million, outperforming analyst projections.
Kaya Scodelario is among the cast of Paramount’s Crawl, the story of a father and daughter forced to ward off an alligator attack in Florida after a hurricane. The film debuted in third place at last weekend’s box office and made about $12 million, outperforming analyst projections.

LOS ANGELES -- Columbia's Spider-Man: Far From Home continued to dominate the box office in its second weekend of release, adding $45.3 million for a cumulative $274.5 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.

Internationally, the film has earned $572.5 million for a global cumulative of $847 million.

Far From Home is the 23rd entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though the film and fellow MCU properties Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame helped to boost this year's overall box office, it remains down 8.7% compared with this time last year.

In second place, Disney's Toy Story 4 added $20.7 million in its fourth weekend for a cumulative $346.4 million. Globally, the film currently stands at $771.1 million.

Paramount's horror film Crawl debuted in third place with $12 million, outperforming analyst projections of $10 million.

The $13 million film follows a father and daughter who are forced to ward off a relentless alligator attack after a Category 5 hurricane hits their Florida town. It was well-received by audiences and critics with a B CinemaScore and an 88% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Fox's buddy comedy Stuber opened at No. 4 with $8 million, within range of analyst projections of $7 million to $10 million.

Following Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox in March, Stuber is the studio's first R-rated title since 2013's The Fifth Estate.

The film stars Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista as an Uber driver and Los Angeles police officer, respectively, who become entangled in a police sting. It earned a B CinemaScore and a 47% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

"People always complain about the lack of original offerings from the studios especially during the summer but this summer in particular it seems like audiences are turning their backs on these films," observed Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "It's a real head-scratcher in a way as to why some of these films aren't doing well."

Universal's Beatles-theme rom-com Yesterday rounded out the top five in weekend three with $6.8 million.

Dergarabedian said that it's never a good thing for the box office when week after week the top movies are holdovers.

"That means newcomers are not making inroads," he said. "You want audiences every weekend to be excited about a new film."

That lack of enthusiasm is showing in the overall industry numbers. The weekend is down nearly 26% from last year.

At No. 6, Disney's Aladdin added $5.9 million in its eighth weekend for a cumulative $331.5 million.

In seventh place, Warner Bros.' Annabelle Comes Home earned $5.6 million in its third weekend for a cumulative $60.8 million.

At No. 8, A24's Midsommar added $3.5 million in its second weekend (a small 46% drop) for a cumulative $18.4 million.

In ninth place, Universal's The Secret Life of Pets 2 added $3.1 million in its sixth weekend for a cumulative $147.1 million.

Rounding out the top 10, Columbia's Men in Black: International added $2.2 million in its fifth weekend for a cumulative $76.5 million.

Although the big new releases failed to light the box office on fire, the independent film scene was thriving with myriad of options.

In limited release, A24's The Farewell beat Endgame for the year's best per-screen average. The Awkwafina-led comedy drama opened in four locations to $351,330 for a huge per-screen average of $87,833, compared with the Marvel movie's $76,601 opening average in April. The Farewell currently stands at 100% fresh on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

"If you're an independent movie fan, this is your weekend," Dergarabedian said. "The diversity of films is just staggering."

In other limited releases, Bleecker Street opened the Jesse Eisenberg-fronted comedy The Art of Self-Defense in seven locations to $121,080 for a per-screen average of $17,297.

IFC Films' comedy Sword of Trust, starring Marc Maron, opened with $22,512 across two locations for a per-screen average of $11,256.

Entertainment Studios' documentary Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable opened with $250,000 across 205 locations for a per-screen average of $1,220.

Ahead of its North American debut this weekend, The Lion King opened with $54.7 million in China, surpassing the openings of Disney's previous live-action reimaginings The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin.

MovieStyle on 07/19/2019

Upcoming Events