After generating a strong $100 million in its extended opening weekend,Captain America: Brave New Worldis expected to retain its crown at the domestic box office in its sophomore frame. The superhero movie is facing fresh competition in the form of Neon’sThe Monkey, the latest horror film fromLonglegsdirectorOsgood Perkins.The Monkeyis eyeing around $14 million in its first three days of release, after generating nearly $2 million in Thursday previews. By comparison,Longlegsmade $22 million in its domestic debut last year, before going on to become Neon’s biggest hit ever, with a lifetime domestic haul of nearly $75 million.
StarringTheo Jamesand based on a short story byStephen King,The Monkeyearned slightly inferior reviews as compared toLonglegs, although audience sentiment, according to CinemaScore, was identical. The movie currently holds a 76% rating on the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, and a C+ grade on the audience polling platform.In her review, Collider’sEmma Kielydescribed it as “definitely more glossy and crowd-pleasing than Perkins’ last movie,” which is saying something, consideringLonglegsmade $125 million worldwide.
WithThe Monkeysettling for the number two spot with around $6 million on Friday,Captain America 4topped the box office charts again with around $7 million. Themovie is eyeing a rather steep fall in its second weekend, which suggests poor word-of-mouth. IfCaptain America 4hits these projections, which currently stand at $29 million, it would mark a hefty 67% decline from weekend one. The biggest second-weekend drop in theMarvel Cinematic Universe’s history came a couple of years ago whenThe Marvelsfell by 78%.
A Trio of Children’s Films Rounded Out the Top Five
At number three,Paddington in Peruis looking at around $6 million in its sophomore weekend domestically, after generating around $13 million in its debut. The movie made around $1.5 million on Friday andwill come within touching distance of the $25 million markby Sunday.Paddington in Peruis also passing the $150 million mark worldwide this weekend. The fourth spot was claimed by another kid-friendly film, Universal’s holdover hitDog Man. The animated film made a little over $1 million on its fourth Friday and is eyeing around $5 million this weekend despite having hit digital streaming platforms already.Dog Manisprojected to touch the $78 million markby Sunday.
The top five list was rounded out by the Chinese mega-hitNe Zha 2, which is looking to gross around $3 million in its second weekend, taking its10-day domestic haul to around $15 million.Ne Zha 2is the highest-grossing film of the year so far, the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, and the eighth-biggest film in global box office history. Elsewhere, Lionsgate’s faith-based filmTheUnbreakable Boy, starringZachary Levi, is expected to generate a soft $2 million in its debut. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
The Monkey
The Monkey is based on Stephen King’s 1980 short story of the same name. The plot follows twin brothers Hal and Bill, played by Theo James and Christian Convery, who discover a cursed monkey toy in their father’s attic. The toy is linked to a series of gruesome deaths, forcing the brothers to confront its dark power years later.
