Box Office Report: What IF...

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | May 20, 2024 |

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | May 20, 2024 |

In the battle of low-budget horror and high-budget family fare, what would you predict as the winner of the box office battle? There are certainly compelling arguments for both. When done well, they’re also both safe bets for a profit. This past weekend, the trophy went to the fluffy family movie, thanks to John Krasinski’s IF.

Reviews were decidedly mixed but Ryan Reynolds and cute CGI animals were a big enough draw for the kids. It earned $35 million from 4,041 theatres. That’s a good opening for a non-IP title, although this movie did cost $110 million overall, according to Variety. Its worldwide gross is currently at about $59 million, which is probably softer than Paramount was hoping for. But it could have staying power. Remember, both Migration and Elemental, two non-IP family films, opened soft but stuck around for months and had up a slow-burn commercial success. Let’s see how it fares when that Garfield movie comes out.

At number three is The Strangers: Chapter 1, a relaunch of the 2000s horror film that might be one of the scariest home invasion movies ever made. Renny Harlin directed this one — remember him? — and the two sequels were shot concurrently, so hopes are certainly high for Lionsgate. This opening weekend will ease any concerns, as they earned $12 million domestically. Its budget was around $8.5 million.

Things weren’t so good for Back to Black, the deeply misguided Amy Winehouse biopic. It did solid business in the UK where it premiered a month ago — and I hated it — but US audiences were far less interested. It only earned $2.85 million in its opening weekend. Clock it up to a general disinterest in Winehouse or those terrible reviews, but I’m so glad this one is DOA in the States. Amy deserves better.

At number nine is The Blue Angels, a documentary about the Navy and Marine Corps flight squadron, with narration by Glen Powell. It earned $1,310,767 from 227 theatres.

The only indie release of the weekend is Babes, directed by Pamela Adlon and starring Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau. It received great reviews and a strong opening, with a gross of $171,321 from only 12 theatres.

This coming week sees the release of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and The Garfield Movie, with Chris Pratt in the lead role. Huh.

You can check out the rest of the weekend box office here.