Your Weekend B.O.

And again two animated features roost in the Top Ten, though neither is setting turnstile whirling at a high rate of speed. ...

THREE DAY GROSSES

1.). Annabelle: Creation (NL/WB), 3,502 theaters / $15M Fri. (includes $4M previews) / 3-day cume: $36.7M /Wk 1

2.) Dunkirk (WB), 3,762 theaters (+252)/ $3.1M Fri. / 3-day cume: $10.8M (-37%)/Total: $153.1M/Wk 4

3.). The Nut Job 2 (OR), 4,003 theaters / $3M Fri. (includes $330k previews) / 3-day cume: $8.7M /Wk 1

4.). The Dark Tower (SONY/MRC), 3,451 theaters (0)/ $2.3M Fri. (-70%) / 3-day cume: $7.5M (-61%)/Total: $33.9M/Wk 2

5). Girls Trip (UNI), 2,303 theaters (-279) / $2M Fri. / 3-day cume: $6.4M (-44%)/Total: $97.1M/Wk 4

6.). The Emoji Movie (SONY), 3,219 theaters (-856) / $1.9M Fri./ 3-day cume: $6.1M (-49%) /Total: $63.1M/Wk 3

7). Spider-Man: Homecoming (SONY/MARVEL), 2,607 theaters (-509)/ $1.7M Fri. / 3-day cume: $5.8M (-34%)/Total: $306.2M/Wk 6

8/9). Kidnap (AVR), 2,418 theaters (+40) / $1.47M Fri. (-61%) / 3-day cume: $5M (-50%)/ Total: $19.2M/Wk 2

The Glass Castle (LG), 3,502 theaters / $1.65M Fri. / 3-day cume: $5M /Wk 1

10). Atomic Blonde (FOC), 2,093 theaters (-1,233)/ $1.27M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.3M (-47%) /Total $42.5M/Wk 3

Why Nut Job 2? BecauseNut Job Number One grossed a hair under $121 million at the global box office on a budget of $42 million three-plus years ago. (The animation production dollar stretches a wee bit farther in South Korea, where it was made).

This is not major money in the Pixar/Disey/DreamWorks universe, but when you consider that Disney's Meet the Robinsons made $169 million ten years ago, and that Nut Job made triple its production cost, you can understand why they made a sequel. There's a lot of indie animated features out in the wider world, and many of them go into profits.

The original NJ grossed $19 million domestically on its opening weekend. The sequel will collect less than half that. Where its worldwide totals end up is an open question, but they will be lower in the U.S./Canadian market. Can the rest of the world make up the difference? We'll find out.

Vincent

I get what they're doing here, but how many people will flock to theaters to see this come September 22?

And can we really call this an animated film, since there's lots of rotoscope (or whatever they're calling it now). You be the judge.

Hits Keep Coming

Illumination Entertainment continues to fire on all cylinders:

Illumination’s Despicable Me series of films has surpassed the Shrek movies to become the highest-grossing animated franchise of all time worldwide. A $21.2M international weekend on Despicable Me 3 has pushed the franchise to a $3.528B global total for Gru and the Minions. That tops the Shrek stable of five pics (including Puss In Boots) at $3.51B global. ...

I met Chris Meledandri (IE's daddy) exactly once. He was a Fox exec at the time, and asked me about staffing for Fox Animation Phoenix. I gave him my input, which he didn't take (no doubt a wise move).

Mr. Meledandri was then at the beginning of a storied animation career, heading up Fox's new animation division. 20th Century Fox's initial foray into theatrical animated features began with faltering steps (Anastasia, Titan A.E.) but soon hit a muscular stride with the CG animated Ice Age franchise and the plethora of Blue Sky Studios animated features that followed. Mr. Meledandri was in charge of all that.

For the last several years Chris Meledandri has created blockbusters for Universal/Comcast. He rivals John Lasseter as the most successful producer of long-form cartoons in the history of animation.

Not too shabby, especially when you consider that he began his movie career in live-action, serving as President of Dawn Steel Pictures while it was housed at Disney.

August Box Office

It's become pretty typical to have two animated features simmering in the Top Ten, and that's the case this first weekend of August. (And then there's all the semi-animated movies, posing as live-action).

THREE-DAY GROSSES

1.). The Dark Tower (SONY/MRC), 3,451 theaters / $7.7M Fri. (includes $1.8M previews) /$6.75M Sat/ $5M Sun/ 3-day cume: $19.5M /Wk 1

2.) Dunkirk (WB), 4,014 theaters (+266)/ $5M Fri. /$7.3M Sat/$5.3M Sun/ 3-day cume: $17.6M (-34%)/Total: $133.6M/Wk 3

3.). The Emoji Movie (SONY), 4,075 theaters (0) / $3.9M Fri. /$4.9M Sat/$3.6M Sun 3-day cume: $12.35M (-50%) /Total: $49.45M/Wk 2

4). Girls Trip (UNI), 2,582 theaters (-66) / $3.6M Fri. /$4.7M Sat/$3.1M Sun/ 3-day cume: $11.4M (-42%)/Total: $85.4M/Wk 3

5.). Kidnap (AVR), 2,378 theaters / $3.7M Fri. (includes $500K previews) /$3.6M Sat/ $2.9M Sun/ 3-day cume: $10.2M /Wk 1

6). Spider-Man: Homecoming (SONY/MARVEL), 3,116 theaters (-509)/ $2.6M Fri. /$3.6M Sat/$2.6M Sun/ 3-day cume: $8.8M (-34%)/Total: $294.9M/Wk 5

7). Atomic Blonde (FOC), 3,326 theaters (+22)/ $2.4M Fri. /$3.4M Sat/ $2.4M Sun/ 3-day cume: $8.2M (-55%) /Total $34.1M/Wk 2

8). Detroit (ANPA), 3007 theaters (+2987) / $2.6M Fri./$2.6M Sat/$2M Sun/n 3-day cume: $7.25M (+1971%)/Total: $7.8M/Wk 2

9.) War for the Planet of the Apes (FOX), 2,704 theaters (-670) / $1.7M Fri. /$2.5M Sat/$1.8M Sun/ 3-day cume: $6M (-43%) /Total: $130.3M/Wk 4

10). Despicable Me 3 (UNI/ILL), 2,445 theaters (-585) / $1.7M Fri. /$2.2M Sat/ Sun/ 3-day cume: $5.3M (-30%) /Total: $240.8M/ Wk 6

Chris Meledandri's Illumination Entertainment has clearly found the master key to galactic success, since (once again), the Despicable Me franchise rakes in large amounts of bucks on it climbs to a $900+ million plateau. (It's always beneficial to bottom lines when cartoon producers insert lots of sight gags. Audiences like them).

Gaposis

What's this??

A lot of time has gone by with no action taking place here, but there's a reason for that. I was in Florida, then in Switzerland, the land of lakes, chocolates, tall mountains and brown cows. And I didn't take a computer with me.

And thus ... blank space. For a month.

When I was pounding away on The Animation Guild Blog (now under different management), I never let a day go by without posting. Rain or shine, in illness and health, I broke out the laptop and did my stint on the blog. I typed when I was wide awake, and when I was semi-comatose, but I typed. In the decade I put TAG blog together I seldom if ever missed a day. (Hooray for me).

But I'm older now, and freaking retired. And I'm not going to be a slave to the keyboard anymore. I know it's slothful, but it's the way it will now be. (I'm sorry about it, though not a lot).

Trouble With The Strip Mining

Oh dearie me ...

The studio and Aladdin director Guy Ritchie launched a global casting call in March to find the stars for the musical based on the hit 1992 animated film [Aladdin], about a street kid who teams with a genie to woo the princess Jasmine. ... But finding a male lead in his 20s who can act and sing has proven difficult — especially since the studio wants someone of Middle-Eastern or Indian descent (the animated film is set in the fictional Middle Eastern city of Agrabah). The original casting call specified that production was slated to begin by July, but the search has dragged on, with Disney and Ritchie having to go back to the drawing board multiple times. Sources say there have been several rounds of tests in London, with the actors coming in for up to two weeks at a time. “The test process was a mess,” says one agent with a client who tested. ...

The long-term sorrow, of course, is that ... at some point ... the studio will run out of old animated features to replicate in live-action, and then they'll have to resort to doing live-action versions of the CG features. Difficult to tell how that ploy will turn out.

I'm certain we can all agree that going with the tried-and-true is safe, sane and profitable. Which is why Diz Co. does it. Being fresh and original is so over-rated.

Animated Box Office

Despicable Me 3 slips to second place as Spidey occupies the top position on the box office list:

JULY 7-9 GROSSES

1). Spider-Man: Homecoming (SONY/MARVEL), 4,348 theaters / $51.2M-$51.5M Fri. (includes $15.4M previews) / 3-day cume: $125-127M /Wk 2

2). Despicable Me 3 (UNI/ILL), 4,535 theaters (+6) / $11.4M Fri. (-61%) / 3-day cume: $37.3M (-48%) /Total: $152.4M Wk 2

3). Baby Driver (SONY), 3,226 theaters (0) / $3.9M Fri. (-35%)/ 3-day cume: $13M (-37%)/ Total cume: $57.1M / Wk 2

4.) Wonder Woman (WB), 3,091 theaters (-313) / $2.9M Fri. (-33%)/ 3-day cume: $9.9M (-37%)/ Total: $368.6M / Wk 6

5). Transformers: The Last Knight (PAR), 3,241 theaters (-891) / $1.8M Fri. (-63%)/ 3-day cume: $6M (-65%)/ Total cume: $118.6M / Wk 3

6). Cars 3 (DIS), 2,702 theaters (-874) / $1.7M Fri. (-43%) / 3-day cume: $5.6M (-42%) / Total: $133.7M / Wk 4

7). The House (WB), 3,134 theaters (0)/ $1.5M Fri. (-55%) / 3-day cume: $4.7M (-46%)/Total: $18.5M/ Wk 2

8.) The Big Sick (AMAZ/LGF), 326 theaters (+255) / $1.1M (+105%) / 3-day cume: $3.3M (+106%) / Per screen: $10K /Total: $6.6M/Wk 3

9.). 47 Meters Down (ENT), 1,740 theaters (-510) / $862K Fri. (-38%) / 3-day cume: $2.7M (-40%) / Total: $38.4M / Wk 4

10.) The Beguiled (FOC), 941 theaters (+267) / $661K Fri. (-37%) / 3-day cume: $2.1M (-32%)/Total: $7.4M/ Wk 3

Despicable Me 3 is breaking records overseas, and now owns a global box office total of $350 million. Captain Underpants is currently DreamWorks Animation/Universal's low budget, Canadian-created under-performer, with approximately $80 million at the worldwide box office.

And Car 3 will be the weakest entry in the Cars series, having grossed about $190 million at the world box office. (But don't think ticket sales here, think kiddie merchandise!)