After a $71 million opening last week, Marvel Studios’ “Eternals” grossed $27.5 million in its second weekend on the charts. This is a 61.4% drop from last week, which is not great, but certainly not terrible considering the current circumstances. Ultimately, “Eternals” prospects are not looking great, with poor critical reception and accompanying average audience reception. The film will likely not have great legs; with its current gross of $118 million, I would be surprised if the film gets much higher than $175 million in its total run.
That being said, I am being a bit dour in my analysis of this picture. As a Marvel Studios movie, “Eternals” had high expectations at the box office, to say the least. The film will likely finish in the top five of the domestic charts by the end of its run, which is pretty impressive, even if this falls below financial and critical expectations.
Coming in second place this weekend is everyone’s favorite furry friend, “Clifford the Big Red Dog.” The colossal canine film grossed $16.4 million in its opening weekend. With a $64 million budget, the film likely needs to gross over $200 million worldwide to break even. With a $16.4 million domestic opening, I can’t see the film grossing over $65 million domestically. Since “Clifford the Big Red Dog” is an American property, I don’t think the film will gross well internationally. Thus, it is highly unlikely that the film will profit — though few films are the moment.
In third place this past weekend is the science fiction film “Dune,” grossing $5.5 million. This is a 29.4% drop from the previous weekend, which is pretty impressive for a film still free to watch on a streaming service. With a $93 million total, “Dune” sets its sights to reach $100 million domestically next week.
Coming in fourth and fifth place this weekend on the charts were the everlasting film “No Time to Die” and the superhero film, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” which grossed $4.62 million and $4 million, respectively. These films just can’t seem to perish at this box office, holding 23.5% and 10.4% respectively. The Bond film crossed $150 million domestically, while “Venom” was able to clear $200 million. There is little left in the tank for either of these pictures. It is still possible that “No Time to Die” clears $160 million and “Venom” clears $210 million, but we will have to wait and see.
This upcoming weekend comes the release of two films that will likely grace the top five of the charts: “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and “King Richard.”
“Ghostbusters: Afterlife” is a reboot of the 1980s comedy flick of the same name, directed by Jason Reitman, the son of original “Ghostbusters” director Ivan Reitman. Though consumers may still have reservations about a “Ghostbusters” film due to the poor reception of the 2016 reboot, I expect this film to open at No. 1, with a gross of around $35 million.
“King Richard” is being marketed as the Oscar-movie for its star Will Smith, and luckily it has positive critical reception to go along with this. I think this film can be a surprise-high gross this coming weekend, even with its dual-HBO Max release. I expect a gross around $18-20 million next weekend.
The winds of change are swirling around the box office, with newcomers bursting onto the charts this coming weekend. However, whether or not they can survive the gusts is the true question.