DreamWorks Animation's 'The Wild Robot' triumphs over Tim Burton's 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice', while Francis Ford Coppola's ambitious 'Megalopolis' faces a disastrous debut.
- September 30, 2024
AceShowbiz - In a weekend of box office surprises, Universal and DreamWorks Animation's "The Wild Robot" has flown high to the top spot, dethroning the three-week champion "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice". Domestically, "The Wild Robot" grossed an impressive $35 million in its opening weekend, exceeding expectations and potentially enjoying the staying power of other post-pandemic animated hits.
Based on Peter Brown's beloved children's book, "The Wild Robot" follows the story of ROZZUM unit 7134, or "Roz" (voiced by Lupita Nyong'o), a robot who becomes the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling on an uninhabited island. The film has received rave reviews from critics and audiences, earning an "A" CinemaScore and 98% "fresh" status on Rotten Tomatoes.
In contrast, Francis Ford Coppola's long-awaited epic "Megalopolis" has bombed at the box office. The $120 million-budgeted film, which Coppola financed entirely himself, opened with a disastrous $4 million in ticket sales, falling short even of initial projections. "Megalopolis", a retelling of Roman history through a satirical sci-fi lens, has been met with divisive reviews, with some praising its scope and others calling it a "jumbled mess."
Lionsgate, which distributed "Megalopolis" for a fee, has faced criticism for a promotional trailer that included fabricated quotes from real critics, purporting to dismiss Coppola's past classics. Lionsgate later apologized and pulled the trailer.
Meanwhile, "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" has slipped to second place in its fourth weekend of release, earning $16 million domestically. The spooky sequel has now amassed $250 million at the domestic box office and $373.3 million globally. Paramount's "Transformers One" has dropped to third spot, taking in $9.3 million.
Rounding out the top five are the Indian Telugu-language action film "Devara: Part 1" (fourth place, $6.7 million) and Universal and Blumhouse's "Speak No Evil" (fifth place, $4.3 million).
Top 10 of North American Box Office (Sept. 27-29, 2024):
- "The Wild Robot" - $35 million
- "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" - $16 million
- "Transformers One" - $9.3 million
- "Devara Part 1" - $5.6 million
- "Speak No Evil" - $4.3 million
- "Megalopolis" - $4 million
- "Deadpool & Wolverine" - $2.6 million
- "My Old Ass" - $2.22 million
- "Never Let Go" - $2.2 million
- "The Substance" - $1.8 million
