NOPE should be removed from the top spot. DC'S Family-friendly Animated offering didn't blow the Doors off the box office but performed well enough to dethrone Jordan Peele's Latest thriller, while Minions continues to perform for illumination.
It really is quite amazing that studios have still not gotten the memo, or even looked at the numbers, which quite clearly show that late-season animated films are not prone to hitting the headline-grabbing figures they seek, specifically from the last week of July to the weekend past Labor Day. Maybe it would surprise even you that the only animated film to gross $100 million in that period was The Simpsons Movie, and that was rated PG-13.
The second-highest grossing animated film in that realm was the R-rated Sausage Party. So the number of family-oriented animations to reach nine digits is actually zero. Nevertheless, Warner Bros. gave it another shot this weekend and, well, the result may speak for itself.
King of the crop: nope is removed from the top spot by DC League of Super-Pets.
The DC League of Super-Pets got an assist from Nope, dropping 57%, so it could take the top spot this weekend, but its $23 million start is going to need some serious legs to break new ticket ground for animation.
The Emoji Movie opened in this same slot five years ago to $24.5 million. "The Emoji Movie! Even that film, with a solid 3.5 multiple over its start, could not get much further than $86 million. Plus, that film was only budgeted at $50 million, while Super-Pets is listed at $90 million. That is how much Disney’s Planes made back in 2013, opening in the second week of August, and it still holds the title of the highest-grossing animated film between openers at the end of July and the second week of September. Write that down, studios.
Especially Warner Bros., who has watched countless disappointments like Teen Titans Go To The Movies, The Ant Bully, and The Iron Giant flail in this section of the year. The League of Super-Pets is going to outgross all of those by next weekend, but right now, the family market is all about Minions, hedgehogs, and singing animals.
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