They bring the images, I bring the numbers!

As the summer grinds on the studios are still perplexed. After a string of underperforming anticipated blockbusters this weekend there was a bit of an ebb in the release schedule. After last week’s big release, and the newest “Spider-Man” coming out on Tuesday studios were wise to just get out of the way. Only a couple of genre releases debuted as no outlet wanted to risk a big-money title getting pummeled by established properties.

The monied experts are still trying to even rationalize last week’s supposed underperformance of a surefire hit. The rubbing of temples, the wringing of hands, and the updating of resumes if sure to be happening across Dream Land this summer.

1. TOY STORY 4 – $57.9 Million
Showing a respectable hold as it drops -52% in Week-2. There are still all kinds of mixed emotions over this performance. After coming in well below forecasts the reality was it came in with the best debut in the franchise, and the total so far is slightly over the second week of “TS3”. Some of the negative metrics are comparing it to last summer’s “Incredibles 2”, and noting this number is boosted with the second-largest release window in history. All told there really is little to be upset about, especially considering no other studio seems capable of breaching the $100 million plateau on a given weekend, and this second week performance has been on par with others’ debuts.

2. ANNABELLE 3 – $19.5m
This was a midweek release and has now drawn $30 million to date, but there is still softness when regarded against all the other films in the franchise. While a healthy property it is also possible that New Line/Warner Brothers may have diluted things with too many releases in a short period. While “The Conjuring” films have been fertile they are coming in quickly, with now two spinoff series, and many regarding the recent “The Curse of La Llorona” as included in the mix. Overall a respectable, if not impressive performance.

3. YESTERDAY – $16.4m
A close to impressive performance for this smaller romantic comedy surrounding the music of The Beatles. On a per screen average it bested “Annabelle” (save for the 5-day total) which was done with far less promotional support. Clearly an adult audience with 66% being over-25, which should give this title a bit of staying power. The CinemaScore of “A-” will also help it linger for a spell.

4. ALADDIN – $9.2m
The only film with real staying power this summer (“Endgame” being a quasi-summer release) is only dropping a few hundred screens per week, and still showing strong holds. It only drops -30% here, while losing 600 screens. To date it has crossed over $300 million domestically.

5. THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2 – $6.6M
Showing a little bit of resilience, but also helped by the fact that the rest of the field has been showing weakness. It has been out a month but has made just $130 million, compared to the original — that film took just 5 days to reach that same total.

6. MEN IN BLACK INTERNATIONAL – $6.3M
Truly living up to its name. Not only does it star a Brit, an Aussie, and an Irishman, it is also performing better in international markets. After 3 weeks it has not earned over $65 million here, but has doubled its total overseas.

7. AVENGERS: ENDGAME – $5.9m
In what must be seen as a bid to reach the worldwide box office record Disney/Marvel rereleases this smash into 1,000 theaters. In this bid it may end up totaling over $850 million stateside, but the global mark held by “Avatar” is still about $35 million away. It remains in the balance if it has the juice to reach that lofty mark.

8. CHILD’S PLAY – $4.2m
It’s safe to say not many were willing to take this one down off the shelf, as this total shows the returns falling off the table. After a softer than expected debut this plunges -70%, which is steep even for horror titles which are famously first-week players. It will need to be a big performer in the home market if this is expected to become a rejuvenated franchise.

9. ROCKETMAN – $3.4m
Hanging on as expected, by shedding fewer screens than expected. The title iss still showing on 2,000 screens after one month, a decent sign of strength.

10. JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3-Parabellum – $2.9m
As noted on my movie podcast this week, this film has a little too much punctuation in the title for a character known for saying very few words.