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Gru and the minions celebrated a second week in first place at the North American box office this weekend, while a small horror movie called \u201cLonglegs\u201d upset the starry $100 million \u201cFly Me to the Moon.\u201d<\/p>\n
The supremacy of \u201c\u00a0Despicable Me 4<\/a>\u201d was hardly a surprise, as the Universal<\/a> and Illumination franchise added $44.7 million and pushed the film over $200 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. But the big upset came further down the charts with \u201c\u00a0Longlegs<\/a>\u00a0\u201d more than doubling the debut of the Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum romantic comedy \u201c\u00a0Fly Me to the Moon<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLonglegs,\u201d an original horror about a serial killer starring Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage, made an estimated $22.6 million from 2,510 theaters. That\u2019s the best ever start for indie outfit Neon (most famous for releasing the Oscar-winning \u201cParasite\u201d), which acquired the $10 million film for distribution. Written and directed by Osgood Perkins, \u201cLonglegs\u201d also scored the best opening for an R-rated film this year.<\/p>\n Neon deployed an innovative marketing strategy for the film, including touches like placing cipher messages in local newspapers and posting a Los Angeles billboard with a phone number that played an \u201cunnerving\u201d message. In its first 48 hours, the number received over 250,000 calls.<\/p>\n \u201cLonglegs\u201d was well-received by critics (it has an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes), but audiences gave it a less enthusiastic a C+ CinemaScore.<\/p>\n \u201cFly Me to the Moon,\u201d an Apple<\/a> Original Films production, launched with only $10 million over the weekend. It trailed holdovers \u201cInside Out 2,\u201d in third with $20.8 million; and \u201cA Quiet Place: Day One,\u201d in fourth place with $11.8 million.<\/p>\n Sony<\/a> distributed \u201cFly Me to the Moon,\u201d the Greg Berlanti-directed film about a marketing executive brought in to sell the space race to the American public, and, later, stage a fake moon landing just in case. Apple has not yet announced when it will debut on its streaming service.<\/p>\n The movie opened in 3,356 locations this weekend, attracting an audience that was mostly over 45. In this case, the audience was kinder than the critics, giving it an A- CinemaScore against a 67% on Rotten Tomatoes, suggesting that word-of-mouth may work in its favor over the long run.<\/p>\n The year-to-date gap between box office performance this year and last is getting moderately slimmer. It\u2019s now down 16.1% from 2023 thanks to a run of recent successes. But performance still pales in comparison to pre-pandemic standards. On July 14 in 2019, the annual box office take was at $6.2 billion. This year it\u2019s at $4.1 billion so far.<\/p>\n \u201cA very unpredictable summer movie season continues,\u201d said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. \u201cAnd after a slow start in May (it) has continued to surprise and impress with expected as well as unexpected hits adding bottom-line dollars to the industry\u2019s most important season.\u201d<\/p>\n In limited release, A24 opened \u201cSing Sing<\/a>,\u201d an early Oscar contender, in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles. With sellouts in both locations, it made $137,119, one of the best limited openings of the year. The film from director Greg Kwedar is about an arts program at the prison and features many real life participants, including Clarence Maclin in his film debut. \u201cSing Sing\u201d will continue playing on four screens through July and expand nationwide in August.<\/p>\n Finally, \u201cTwisters,\u201d which opens in North America on Thursday, began its international rollout this weekend, earning $11.5 million from 38 markets including in Australia, Mexico and Brazil.<\/p>\n In its wake comes \u201cDeadpool & Wolverine,\u201d the first Marvel release of the summer<\/a>.<\/p>\n Estimated ticket sales are for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.<\/p>\n 1. \u201cDespicable Me 4,\u201d $44.7 million.<\/p>\n 2. \u201cLonglegs,\u201d $22.6 million.<\/p>\n 3. \u201cInside Out 2,\u201d $20.8 million.<\/p>\n 4. \u201cA Quiet Place: Day One,\u201d $11.8 million.<\/p>\n 5. \u201cFly Me to the Moon,\u201d $10 million.<\/p>\n 6. \u201cBad Boys: Ride or Die,\u201d $4.4 million.<\/p>\n 7. \u201cHorizon: An American Saga \u2013 Chapter 1,\u201d $2.4 million.<\/p>\n 8. \u201cMaXXXine,\u201d $2.1 million.<\/p>\n 9. \u201cIndian 2,\u201d $2 million.<\/p>\n 10. \u201cSound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot,\u201d $1.3 million.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nRecommended Newsletter: <\/strong>CEO Daily provides key context for the news leaders need to know from across the world of business. Every weekday morning, more than 125,000 readers trust CEO Daily for insights about\u2013and from inside\u2013the C-suite. Subscribe Now<\/a>.<\/div>\n