Oh bother…

For this first week of August Disney came out with another attempt at their live-action adaptation of an animated classic. These releases have done very strong business in the Spring, however their comic book slate was very choked that time of this year, and there was little breathing room.

This is the time of summer where the box office ebbs somewhat, as families and young adults are turning attention to prepping for school. Yet, while not hitting the heights of previous weeks things were rather healthy still in theaters and turnout was respectable. Maybe Eeyore’s dourness is only slightly applicable…

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE-FALLOUT – $35.02 Million
Depending on a few detailed factors this stands as the best second-week performance in the “MI” franchise. An impressive sophomore drop of only -45% takes the total to $125 million domestically and indicates where the audiences were focused. The film has received some of the best reviews in the history as well, so there should be a long stretch of profit-making ahead.

2. CHRISTOPHER ROBIN – $25.0m
Disney’s live-action retooling of the Winnie The Pooh storyline (they call these “vault classics”) came in under projections, but has some life to it. While expected originally to challenge for the top position its prospects waned throughout the weekend since school shopping and other distractions pulled its audience interest away. Those who did turn out seemed to love it, as it landed a strong CinemaScore grade of an “A”, so possibly it can settle in with a strong run in the coming weeks.

3. THE SPY WHO DUMPED ME – $12.3m
Another spy spoof, this one starring Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon, has not fared well. Audiences were tepid, and critics largely dumped on the comedy-action hybrid (Brian Orndorf compared this to the dismal “Corky Romano”. Now I have to see it!). McKinnon has been lauded by many for her comedic chops, but her track record in films thus far has been dismal. Before the weekend one of the comparisons was to another female-driven comedy, “Hot Pursuit”. That this title managed to underperform that unfunny romp from three years ago should speak volumes.

4. MAMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN – $9.09m
The sequel to one of the most successful musicals is still drawing. It currently is approaching $100 million after three weeks, and still pacing ahead of the original. The caveat here is this sequel cost over $20 million more to produce.

5. THE EQUALIZER 2 – $8.83m
The performance of this sequel has been better than anticipated. Sony can actually see a profit from this gamble if it has a decent enough rollout in overseas theaters.

6. HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION – $8.2m
The more solid sequel hit for Sony has been this animated lark. They have announced a fourth installment slated to be released next summer.

7. ANT-MAN AND THE WASP – $6.19m
By next weekend it will cross over the $200 million level, and will be more successful than the original.

8. THE DARKEST MINDS – $5.8m
Fox attempted to launch a new young adult franchise, with this concerning a group of teens imbued with supernatural powers – as if no one has seen this before. The limited-budgeted affair of recycled content impressed no one. Audiences scored it low, and on Rotten Tomatoes this is sporting a dismal 13% favorability. Safe to say there will be no “part 2”.

9. INCREDIBLES 2 – $5.0m
After two months it remains in the top-10. To give perspective at $585 million the superhero family has earned $180 million more than the dinosaurs of “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”.

10. TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES – $4.86m
The hoped-for expansion of the hit TV show has not gone so well for Warners. It dipped more than -50% following a disappointing debut.