“Hoppers” Holds Strong at Box Office, “Reminders of Him” Exceeds Expectations
Pixar’s animated adventure, “Hoppers,” continued its reign atop the domestic box office for a second consecutive weekend, raking in an estimated $28.5 million. This impressive performance demonstrates sustained audience interest in the original animated feature. Meanwhile, the latest adaptation of a Colleen Hoover novel, “Reminders of Him,” secured a respectable second place with $18.2 million, significantly outperforming industry projections.
“Hoppers” Maintains Momentum
The strong showing for “Hoppers” in its second weekend highlights its appeal to families and general audiences. Ticket sales experienced a modest decline of only 36% from its opening weekend gross of $45.3 million, a testament to its positive word-of-mouth and continued engagement. This performance solidifies its debut as Pixar’s most successful opening weekend for an original, non-sequel film since “Coco” in 2017, which debuted with $50.8 million. While “Coco” saw a steeper decline of 45.8% in its second weekend, “Hoppers” demonstrates a more robust hold on its audience.
“Reminders of Him” Surpasses Forecasts
“Reminders of Him” delivered a much-needed boost for adaptations of popular romance novels, exceeding expectations with its $18.2 million opening. This figure comfortably surpassed the $10-$12 million range predicted by Variety and slightly edged out the $15-$18 million estimate from Box Office Pro. The film’s performance marks a significant improvement over the previous Colleen Hoover adaptation, “Regretting You,” which debuted to $13.6 million last October and ultimately grossed $48.8 million domestically.
However, “Reminders of Him” still falls short of the blockbuster debut achieved by “It Ends With Us” in 2024. That film garnered an impressive $50 million during its opening weekend and went on to earn $148.5 million in North American theaters, despite facing concurrent controversy surrounding its star, Blake Lively, and director, Justin Baldoni.
“undertone” Makes a Splash in Wider Release
Claiming the third spot at the box office was “undertone,” a Canadian horror film that has now received a broader U.S. release through A24. The film achieved a solid $9.3 million in its opening weekend, playing in 2,570 North American theaters. Produced on a remarkably low budget of approximately $500,000, A24 acquired the distribution rights for an estimated $3 million to $4 million. “undertone” not only surpassed its own expectations of $7 million but also outperformed the recent performance of “Scream 7,” the latest installment in the long-running slasher franchise. Despite being in its third week of release, “Scream 7” managed to gross $8.3 million this past weekend, bringing its total domestic box office earnings past the $100 million mark.
“The Bride!” Struggles to Find an Audience
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, “The Bride!,” experienced a disappointing second weekend following a weak opening. The “Frankenstein” adaptation brought in only $2.1 million domestically this past weekend, adding to its initial $7 million opening. The film, featuring a star-studded cast including Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Penelope Cruz, and Jake Gyllenhaal, has struggled to connect with audiences. This lack of traction is particularly notable given its substantial reported production budget of $80 million to $90 million.
