Incredibles 2 smashes animation record with $180 million opening
Incredibles 2 is living up to its name at the box office.
Pixar’s spirited sequel about a family of superheroes is on track to earn an estimated $180 million from 4,410 theaters in the U.S. and Canada during its opening weekend, easily topping the box office and scoring the biggest domestic debut ever for an animated movie, not adjusted for inflation. The previous record holder was Pixar’s Finding Dory, which bowed to $135.1 million in 2016.
Incredibles 2 also marks the eighth-best domestic opening all time for any film (animated or otherwise, not adjusted for inflation), and the third-best opening of 2018, behind Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War ($257.7 million) and Black Panther ($202 million). As the parent company of both Pixar and Marvel, Disney is thus continuing its recent box office dominance.
Overseas, Incredibles 2 will add about $51.5 million this weekend from 25 territories (roughly a quarter of the international market).
Once again written and directed by Brad Bird, Incredibles 2 arrives 14 years after The Incredibles (which opened to $70.5 million in November 2004) and picks up right where the original film left off, with the Parr family (voiced by Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, and newcomer Huck Milner) fighting to save the day and restore the public’s trust in superheroes. Reviews for the sequel have been almost unanimously positive (if not always effusive), and audiences gave it an A-plus CinemaScore.
Taking second place this weekend is Warner Bros’. gender-flipped heist movie Ocean’s 8, with about $19.6 million. That represents a decline of about 53 percent from last week’s chart-topping debut and brings the film’s domestic total to about $79.2 million.
Arriving in third place, Warner Bros. and New Line’s R-rated comedy Tag will earn about $14.6 million from 3,382 locations, in line with expectations.
Based on a true story, the film stars Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Jake Johnson, and Hannibal Buress as five adult friends who have been playing the same game of tag for three decades. Tag garnered mixed reviews and a B-plus CinemaScore.
This week’s other new wide release, Superfly, Sony’s remake of the 1972 blaxploitation movie, opened Wednesday and is poised to earn about $8.4 million through Sunday, with $6.3 million coming from the weekend — below industry projections, and good for seventh place. Reviews were mixed, and moviegoers gave it a B-plus CinemaScore.
According to ComScore, overall box office is up 5.9 percent year-to-date. Check out the June 15-17 figures below.
1. Incredibles 2 — $180 million
2. Ocean’s 8 — $19.6 million
3. Tag — $14.6 million
4. Solo: A Star Wars Story — $9.1 million
5. Deadpool 2 — $8.8 million
6. Hereditary — $7 million
7. Superfly — $6.3 million
8. Avengers: Infinity War — $5.3 million
9. Adrift — $2.1 million
10. Book Club — $1.9 million