Receipts: Big Early-Summer Releases Battle It Out For Top Spots And Review-Bombing Lands ‘The Little Mermaid’ In Rough Waters Internationally
Domestic: With summer around the corner, the box office is sizzling up with long-anticipated releases. The live-action Disney remake of The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey, released May 26, debuted at number one on its opening weekend after earning $118.8 million domestically (US and Canada) over the four-day Memorial Day weekend. After its second weekend in theatres on June 2, the film dropped to second place at the domestic box office, earning $41 million. As of June 4, the film has grossed $187 million domestically and $140 million internationally. Reports estimate the film will need to gross around $560 million in order to profit. The Little Mermaid was also projected to perform better internationally but alleged review-bombing on sites like IMDb detoured audiences away in overseas markets from screenings with fake negative reviews impacting its score. Many sites have since taken action with IMDb relying on an “alternative weighting calculation” used when unusual voting activity is detected. The film’s cast also includes Javier Bardem, Awkwafina, and Daceed Diggs in supporting roles.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse premiered on June 2 and debuted at number one with a better-than-expected opening weekend at the box office. The Sony film, second in a trilogy, scored the second-highest opening weekend total of 2023, grossing $120.7 million domestically when initially projected only to earn around $80 to $90 million. As of June 4, the animated sequel has grossed $88.1 million internationally, totaling $208.7 million worldwide. The film stars Shameik Moore as the voice of Marvel’s Afro-Latino Spider-Man Miles Morales, with Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez, Issa Rae, Oscar Isaac, and Daniel Kaluuya.
Also released on June 2, The Boogeyman has grossed $12.3 million domestically and $7.7 million internationally, debuting in third place at the weekend box office. The supernatural horror film stars Chris Messina and was released by 20th Century Studios with a $35 million budget. The Boogeyman was originally intended to be released on Hulu for streaming, but following positive test screenings, it was moved to theatrical release.
Five weeks after its theatrical release, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 still sits comfortably at the box office in fourth place for the June 2 weekend. The superhero epic has earned $323.2 million domestically and $457.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $780.6 million, as of June 4. The Marvel Studio’s film’s budget was estimated to be $250 million.
Fast X saw the biggest change at the weekend box office, going from second to fifth place in one week. Released on May 19, the tenth installment of the Fast and the Furious saga was one of the summer’s most anticipated films. The film debuted at number one on its opening weekend, grossing $67 million domestically. As of June 4, Fast X has grossed $128.8 million domestically and $476 million internationally, totaling $604 million worldwide. With a $340 million budget and to be considered profitable, the action film was estimated to need to gross around $800 million.
International: Zara Hatke Zara Bachke is a Hindi-language romantic comedy released on June 2. As of June 4, the film has grossed $3.4 million at the box office, becoming the 8th highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. The film’s cast includes Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan, and was directed by Laxman Utekar.
The Japanese animated film Doraemon: Nobita’s Sky Utopia saw a June 1 theatrical release in China. Over the reported four-day weekend, the film grossed $10.9 million at the box office. The film was directed by Takumi Doyama, with the cast including Wasabi Mizuta, Megumi Ohara, and Yumi Kakazu.
Streaming: Jennifer Lopez’s The Mother spends its third consecutive week as the most-watched film on the streaming service since May 8. In the three weeks between May 8 to May 28, the film was viewed a total of 212.7 million hours, with each week reporting 83.7 million hours, 94.4 million hours, and 34.4 million hours, respectively.
