Receipts: ‘Elemental’s’ Underperformance Sets New Disappointing Record For Pixar & ‘Spider-Man’ Sequel Continues Strong
Domestic: Pixar held its breath when releasing Elemental after Lightyear’s commercial failure reportedly lost the studio $106 million last year. Elemental was released on June 16 alongside The Flash and The Blackening and debuted at second place with $29.5 million at the box office, making it the worst opening weekend for a Pixar film. As of June 19, the animated film grossed $33.3 million domestically (U.S. and Canada) and $15 million internationally, totaling $48 million worldwide. Reports state the less-than-spectacular opening weekend is speculated to do with the film’s box office competition and lack of marketing by Disney. The film also holds a positive review score on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.5 out of 10. Peter Sohn directed Eternals and stars Leah Lewish, Mamoudou Athie, and Ronnie del Carmen.
Based on the 2018 short comedy film, Tim Story’s The Blackening was released domestically on June 16. The meta-horror-comedy film stars Grace Byers, X Mayo, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, Perkins, Antoinette Robertson, Jay Pharoah, Sinqua Walls, and Yvonne Orji as a group of friends who a masked killer stalks. As of June 19, it grossed $6 million at the box office.
Released on June 2, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse by Sony Pictures continued bringing in audiences throughout its third weekend in theatres, grossing $27.2 million. For comparison, the film’s third weekend has earned $2 million less than Elemental’s debut weekend. As of June 19, the animated adventure has grossed $279.8 million domestically, $209 million in other territories, and $488.8 million worldwide and holds an 8.6 out of 10 rating average on Rotten Tomatoes. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse includes an ensemble voice cast with Shameik Moore, Issa Rae, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez, Karan Soni, Daniel Kaluuya, and Oscar Isaac.
Transformers: Rise of the Beast, the seventh film in the Transformers live-action series, was released on June 9 and grossed $60.5 million topping the weekend box office. The Paramount Pictures film had a reported budget of around $200 million. As of June 19, it has grossed $101.3 million domestically and $174.2 million internationally, totaling $275.5 million, and moved to fourth place. The film holds a 5.1 out of 10 rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The cast includes Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Luna Lauren Vélez, Tobe Nwigwe, and Michelle Yeoh.
The Little Mermaid, released on May 26, was reported to need a worldwide gross of around $560 million to be considered profitable. As of June 19, the film has grossed $467.2 million worldwide, with $254.8 million in the U.S. and Canada and $212 million internationally. A month after its release, it holds a 6.3 out of 10 rating average on Rotten Tomatoes. The film’s cast includes Halle Bailey, Noma Dumezweni, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, and Awkwafina.
International: Adipurush is an Indian action film released on June 16, written and directed by Om Raut. The film grossed $18 million on its premiere night and $38 million in India on its opening weekend. Adipurush’s cast includes Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan, Kriti Sanon, Sunny Singh, and Devdatta Nage.
The road-trip comedy released in China, Godspeed (Rén Shēng Lù Bù Shú), directed by Xiaoxing Yi, was released on April 28. As of June 19, the film has grossed $170.6 million worldwide. The film’s cast includes Chengcheng Fan, Yuan Chang, and Li Ma.
Streaming: Netflix’s The Mother continues to draw in an audience as it’s been featured on the Global Top 10 List for five consecutive weeks. According to the streaming service, the action film was watched for 237 million hours between May 8 and June 11. The Mother was directed by Niki Caro and stars Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Fiennes, Lucy Paez, Omari Hardwick, Paul Raci, and Gael García Bernal. As of June 19, the film holds an average rating of 5 out of 10 on Rotten Tomatoes.
