‘Hoppers’ Kicks Off March Box Office With $41 Million as ‘The Bride!’ Goes Bust With $8 Million
After Sony’s “Goat” got the ball rolling, Disney/Pixar’s “Hoppers” is continuing the steady recovery of original animated films at the box office. After earning $13.2 million on Friday, the madcap animal comedy from director Daniel Chong is set to earn the first $40 million-plus domestic opening for an original animated title since the $50.1 million start for Pixar’s “Coco” in November 2017.
On the flipside, “The Bride!” has brought Warner Bros.’ streak of nine hit No. 1 films to a screeching halt, earning an industry estimated opening weekend of just $7-8 million as the $80 million noir monster film has suffered the lowest opening for the studio since last year’s $3.1 million launch for the Robert De Niro gangster film “The Alto Knights.”
Current industry estimates have “the film”Hoppers” earning a $41 million start this weekend, and that could tick higher if matinee turnout on Saturday and Sunday beat projections thanks to the movie’s excellent critical and audience scores. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 94% critics and audience score to go with an A on CinemaScore
For Pixar, “Hoppers” is an improvement on their recent mixed record for original films. While “Soul,” “Luca” and “Turning Red” were sent straight to streaming, “Elemental” had to turn a $29 million domestic opening into a $154 million domestic/$494.5 million global cume. Last summer, “Elio” earned half the opening of “Hoppers” with $20.8 million, becoming Pixar’s lowest grossing film ever after inflation adjustment.
“Hoppers” may not have as strong of an opening weekend as original titles from a decade ago — Disney’s “Zootopia” opened to $75 million in spring 2016 — it now has a stronger launch point for its theatrical run than any original animated film that Hollywood has made since the pandemic. With kids going on spring break over the course of March, “Hoppers” will have a full month to leg out until Easter weekend, when Universal/Illumination’s “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is expected to conquer theaters.
As for “The Bride!”, its fate as a box office bomb has been immediately sealed after an anemic $3 million opening day and mixed critical and audience reception. Reviews for the movie starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale ranged from exasperated to exhilarated with a 60% Rotten Tomatoes score, while audiences gave the film a C+ on CinemaScore and 72% on RT.
For audiences looking for violent thrills, they are heading more towards Paramount/Spyglass’ “Scream 7,” which took a staggering 74% drop from its franchise record $63.6 million opening after getting middling reception last weekend but is still easily clearing “The Bride!” for the No. 2 spot with an industry estimated $16.7 million second weekend.
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