Walt Disney/Pixar's "cars 3" nabbed the number one spot at the box office, beating Gal Gadot's "Wonder Woman" with a $53.5 million opening weekend, while the superhero film earned $40.7 million in its third week. Both movies beat their competition considerably, with "All Eyez On Me" netting $27 million in its opening weekend, and "The Mummy" earning $14 million in its second week.
Depressive rather than impressive
Unlike the first two installments of the "Cars" film franchise -- which debuted at $60.1 million and $66.1 million in 2006 and 2011, respectively -- the opening weekend for "Cars 3" was one of the lowest for a Pixar movie.
In fact, the Kevin Reher-produced film barely earned half of "Finding Dory's" opening weekend haul of $135.1 million last year. A senior media analyst from comScore told Fox News that this performance is a clear indication of how the animation industry has been performing in the market. Paul Derarabedian revealed that things have been tough for the movie industry this summer. The comScore analyst told the publication that grabbing people has always been a tough challenge.
While viewers appreciate the fact that Pixar is aiming to produce awe-inspiring films such as "Cars 3," showing the value of mentorship and motivation, others think that the studio has made its direction predictable, with Lighting McQueen finding his drive and realizing that his trainer needs him more than he needs her.
The importance of exceeding expectations
Lionsgate's David Spitz told Fox News that it is important to go beyond what audiences anticipate. A good example of this is Tupac's biopic film, "All Eyez On Me," which received poor reviews ahead of its release on June 16. Surprisingly, the lower-profile movie was able to bring in over $27 million for its debut weekend, which coincided with the rapper's 46th birthday.
Similarly, Mandy Moore's "47 Meters Down" unexpectedly opened at the fifth spot with $11.5 million in sales. The shark thriller, however, earned a "C" CinemaScore, which could mean a dead end for the Brit movie. Meanwhile, things are not looking good for Scarlet Johansson's "Rough Night," which earned $8 million in its opening weekend and received a "C+" from CinemaScore.
The dark comedy placed seventh at the weekend box office, trailing Johnny Depp's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" which earned $8.4 million in its fourth week.
