The wild robot rules the weekend box office and dethrones Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

It’s been an impressive year at the box office for animated features so far. Between Mike Mitchells Kung Fu Panda 4Mark Dindals The Garfield movieKelsey Manns Inside Out 2and Chris Renauds Despicable Me 4Hollywood’s biggest animation studios have a significant presence in the global top 20 for 2024 (and Josh Cooley’s). Transformers One still climbing). Now Chris Sanders wants to join this special club. The wild robotwhich got off to a good start in recent days, becoming the biggest new film in the US and Canada.

The latest weekend results are in and The wild robot is the first September 2024 title to win a box office crown without the title “”.Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” Check out the full top 10 below and then join me for analysis.

(Image credit: Universal Pictures)

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TITLE	WEEKEND GROSS	Domestic gross	LW	THTRS
1. The wild robot*	$35,000,000	$35,000,000	N/A	3,962
2. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice	$16,040,000	$250,133,000	1	3,804
3. Transformers One	$9,300,000	$39,164,000	2	3,970
4. Devara Part 1*	$5,600,000	$5,600,000	N/A	1,040
5. Don’t say anything bad	$4,300,000	$28,140,000	3	2,661
6. Megalopolis*	$4,000,000	$4,000,000	N/A	1,854
7. Deadpool and Wolverine	$2,657,000	$631,257,109	5	1,975
8. My old ass	$2,224,159	$2,851,474	20	1,390
9. Never let go	$2,200,000	$8,252,523	4	2,667
10. The substance	$1,806,160	$6,865,275	6	1,712

The wild robot is the latest animated wonder of 2024 and is off to a good start at the box office

Some of the reactions to this year’s biggest animated films have been divisive, whether or not Kung Fu Panda And Despicable Me The franchises are running out of steam or the critics are weakening Inside Out 2 compared to its phenomenal predecessor, but The wild robot was largely free of this kind of division. The first reactions to the film came earlier this month after its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, and enthusiasm for the film has continued ever since (I gave it 4.5 stars in my CinemaBlend review).

The wild robot was declared by many to be the best animated film of 2024, and this buzz helped the film win the box office after its theatrical debut.

According to the numbers The wild robot has grossed $35 million in the last three days, good enough to be considered the 15th best opening weekend of the year so far (the new release sits between Fede Álvarez’s). Alien: Romuluswhich grossed $42 million in its first three days, and John Krasinski’s IFwhich grossed $33.7 million). Worth noting: The start is better than The Garfield moviewhich grossed just $24 million upon its release over Memorial Day weekend and grossed $255.3 million worldwide after completing its theatrical run.

As you may have noticed in the paragraph at the beginning of this box office column, The wild robot stands out from the crowd in this year’s slate of high-profile animated films because it’s not a sequel and/or isn’t based on decades-old intellectual property, but it’s receiving exceptionally positive word of mouth that could end up giving it long legs as we delve deeper advance into autumn. Signs show that the film is as popular with audiences as it is with critics, with Rotten Tomatoes boasting a 98 percent score and polls distributed to audiences by CinemaScore giving it an “A” grade. That’s a recipe for repeat viewings that will hopefully keep the film in the top 10 even when the calendar flips to October.

Rink and Roz in The Wild Robot

(Image credit: Universal Pictures)

The film is just beginning to cook abroad. In addition to the $35 million the film grossed domestically over the weekend, it also grossed $18.1 million overseas. This brings the global total to date to $53.1 million.

As for the entire history of DreamWorks Animation’s opening weekends, The wild robot is in the middle of the pack (twenty-fourth out of 49 releases), but what’s notable is that it’s off to a better start than a number of the studio’s other recent releases, including those by Walt Dohrn Trolls band together from 2023 and Pierre Perifels The bad guys.

Looking forward, there isn’t much direct competition for the release, with a number of horror films and comic titles like Todd Philips’ Joker: Folie à Deux and Kelly Marcels Venom: The Last Dance aren’t exactly aimed at little kids, so this weekend’s No. 1 should have a nice runway ahead of it.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice moves up to second place at the conclusion of September

If it weren’t for that The wild robotTim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice would have had a chance to win four for four at the box office in September… but c’est la vie. The $16 million it grossed in the last three days was only enough for second place in the top 10, but the film continues to do like gangsters and establish itself as one of the biggest box office hits of 2024.

With the new film’s recent earnings, it has now grossed over $250 million domestically. It remains in sixth place on the 2024 chart, but only needs to earn about $18 million more to surpass Lee Isaac Chung’s Twister. Whether it will make enough money to surpass Denis Villeneuves Dune: Part Two (which ended its time on the big screen in the United States and Canada with grosses of $282.1 million) is an open question.

Worldwide, the long-awaited sequel to Beetlejuice earned $373.3 million. It’s getting closer and closer to breaking into the top 10 of the year, but to do that, the company needs to finish its theatrical run with a profit of more than $400 million.

Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” has a soft start, debuting in sixth place

This week’s box office successes also include the disappointing performance of Francis Ford Coppola’s self-financed blockbuster Megalopolis. The film was decades in development and features a talented ensemble cast including Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza and Laurence Fishburne. However, it failed to fully capitalize on the extremely controversial reaction it generated after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.

This is what Variety reported Megalopolis had a budget of $120 million, but only managed to earn $4 million while playing on 1,854 screens domestically that weekend. The film may end up getting a second life on home video, as it’s a fascinating work with a unique vision from one of the most acclaimed filmmakers of all time (as reflected in CinemaBlend’s 2.5-star rating), but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a runaway success on the big screen.

The coming weekend should be interesting as audiences finally get to see the theatrical release of Joker: Folie à Deux. It will be remembered as a sequel to an Oscar-winning hit that grossed over $1 billion worldwide at the end of 2019, but the reaction at the Venice Film Festival was decidedly mixed. It’s set to shake up the box office top 10 significantly, so be sure to check back with CinemaBlend next Sunday for my latest column – and in the meantime, you can discover all the big titles coming out between now and the end of the year with our 2024 film release calendar.

The wild robot is the latest animated wonder of 2024 and is off to a good start at the box office

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