Toy Story 4 not playing around with $118 million opening weekend
The toys did not come to play this weekend at the box office.
Child’s playthings were the talk of the box office with Pixar’s Toy Story 4 easily taking the top slot with an estimated $118 million in ticket sales across 4,575 theaters. And they weren’t the only toys with some box office mojo — horror remake Child’s Play takes second place with an estimated $14.1 million across 3,007 theaters.
Disney is having a fantastic year at the box office with the four best openings of the year, including animated sequel Toy Story 4. Much of the beloved Toy Story gang, including Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, return to voice the beloved toys who take us on adventures both amusing and heartbreaking. Toy Story 4 follows Woody (Hanks) as he sets out to domesticate new toy Forky (Tony Hale) and teach him the ways of being a toy the refuse-made spork believes he’s ‘trash’). Along the way, Woody reconnects with lost love Bo Peep (Annie Potts), as Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and Jessie (Joan Cusack) mobilize at home to keep their kid Bonnie happy. Keanu Reeves, Christina Hendricks, Jordan Peele, and Keegan-Michael Key are among the other new voices joining the franchise.
Despite coming in slightly under expectations (projections had it at a $140 to $165 million opening), Toy Story 4 still earns some major box office credentials with its opening, becoming both only the third release of 2019 to cross $100 million in its first weekend, as well as one of the biggest animated openings of all time. Two other Pixar films top the list, 2018’s Incredibles 2 is number one with its $182.7 million opening and 2016’s Finding Dory is in second place with a $135.1 million opening. Toy Story 4 comes in just behind 2007’s Shrek the Third, which opened to $121.6 million.
It also bested its predecessor, 2010’s Toy Story 3, which opened to $110.3 million. Animated films aren’t necessarily known for boffo box office, but tend to show longevity, which means Toy Story 4 is likely to hold steady over the next few weeks. It also earned an estimated $120 million abroad this weekend, bringing its opening global total to $238 million. Generally favorable reviews and a terrific A CinemaScore suggest the film will maintain its box office success.
Another toy, murderous doll Chucky, takes second place with an estimated $14.1 million in ticket sales. Child’s Play is a remake of the 1988 sequel-spawning film. After moving to a new town, Andy (Gabriel Bateman) receives a new toy who quickly takes on a life of its own, and he must band with the neighborhood kids to stop the toy’s murderous intentions.
Mark Hamill (Star Wars) stars as the voice of Chucky, with Gabriel Bateman, Aubrey Plaza, and Brian Tyree Henry among the cast terrorized by the notorious plaything. Reviews for Child’s Play were not favorable and audiences agreed, giving it a dismal C+ CinemaScore.
This weekend’s other new release, Luc Besson’s Anna, failed to even hit the top 10 with a grim $3.5 million opening. It marks the worst opening for a Besson project; numerous women have alleged Besson’s sexual misconduct and when actress Sand Van Roy filed a complaint against Besson in May it delayed the release of this action thriller. Sasha Luss stars as Anna the assassin, while Luke Evans, Cillian Murphy, Helen Mirren and Alexander Petrov also feature.
Disney rounds out the top three with Aladdin taking third place in its fifth week in theaters. The live-action adaptation of the beloved animated film boasts a $12.2 million total across 3,435 theaters. The film now has an impressive global total of $810.1 million. Aladdin is the third highest-grossing film of 2019 thus far, with a domestic total of $287.5 million, coming in behind two Marvel titles Avengers: Endgame and Captain Marvel.
Rounding out the top five are two franchise titles. Fourth place goes to Men In Black International, taking in an estimated $10.8 million across 4,224 theaters. It’s already disappointing box office fell by 64 percent in only its second weekend in theaters. Another animated property takes fifth place with Universal’s Secret Life of Pets 2 pulling in an estimated $10.1 million in ticket sales across 3,804 theaters in its third weekend out.
Overall box office is down 8.9 percent to date, according to Comscore. Check out the June 21-23 numbers below.
1. Toy Story 4 — $118 million
2. Child’s Play — $14.1 million
3. Aladdin — $12.2 million
4. Men In Black International — $10.8 million
5. Secret Life of Pets 2 — $10.1 million
6. Rocketman — $5.7 million
7. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum — $4.1 million
8. Godzilla: King of the Monsters— $3.7 million
9. Dark Phoenix — $3.6 million
10. Shaft — $3.6 million