‘DC League of Super-Pets’ Takes No. 1 with $23 Million

Keanu Reeves, Jared Stern, Vanessa Bayer, Dwayne Johnson, Jameela Jamil and Kevin Hart attend a premiere screening for "DC League Of Super Pets" at The Grove, AMC 14 in Los Angeles, California, US, July 13, 2022. (Reuters)
Keanu Reeves, Jared Stern, Vanessa Bayer, Dwayne Johnson, Jameela Jamil and Kevin Hart attend a premiere screening for "DC League Of Super Pets" at The Grove, AMC 14 in Los Angeles, California, US, July 13, 2022. (Reuters)
TT
20

‘DC League of Super-Pets’ Takes No. 1 with $23 Million

Keanu Reeves, Jared Stern, Vanessa Bayer, Dwayne Johnson, Jameela Jamil and Kevin Hart attend a premiere screening for "DC League Of Super Pets" at The Grove, AMC 14 in Los Angeles, California, US, July 13, 2022. (Reuters)
Keanu Reeves, Jared Stern, Vanessa Bayer, Dwayne Johnson, Jameela Jamil and Kevin Hart attend a premiere screening for "DC League Of Super Pets" at The Grove, AMC 14 in Los Angeles, California, US, July 13, 2022. (Reuters)

The summer box office showed signs of slowing down this weekend as the animated “DC League of Super-Pets” opened in theaters across North America.

The superhero spinoff about Superman’s dog earned $23 million from 4,314 locations, according to studio estimates Sunday. Though slightly less than expected, it was still enough to capture the first-place spot and knock Jordan Peele’s “Nope” into second place in its second weekend.

Analysts had pegged “DC League of Super-Pets” for a $25 million launch, which was on the lower end for animated openings this summer. In June, the $50.6 million for “Lightyear” was considered underwhelming for the $200 million Disney/Pixar movie. Then in early July, Universal’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru” captured $107 million in its first three days.

But “Super-Pets” is more comparable to Universal’s “The Bad Guys,” which netted out with around $97 million domestic after a $23 million opening, and it’s much, much stronger than Paramount’s “Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank’s” $6.3 million debut several weeks ago.

“This opening is a huge win for DC fans, the box office, WB and our filmmakers,” said Jeff Goldstein, the studio's president of domestic distribution.

“DC League of Super-Pets” was not intended to be a midsummer release. Originally, “Super-Pets” had been slated for May, while this weekend was reserved for “Black Adam,” Warner Bros.’ other Dwayne Johnson superhero pic. But postproduction delays due to a backup at VFX houses forced “Black Adam” to move back to October.

Instead of giving up the prime date, the studio filled the open spot with a family-friendly title with an all-star voice cast, including Kevin Hart, John Krasinski, Keanu Reeves and Kate McKinnon as an evil guinea pig.

“Super-Pets” has several summer vacation weeks left with little significant competition, and the hope is that it will continue to grow steadily thanks to positive feedback from audiences this weekend. And with $18.4 million from international showings, it has already grossed $41.4 million globally.

“The interest is red hot,” Goldstein said. “Young family movies play for a long time. Given our CinemaScore of A- and word of mouth, we’re going to be around for a while."

Second place went to Universal’s “Nope,” which fell 57% from its debut last weekend and earned an additional $18.6 million. The North American grosses for “Nope” are now sitting at $80.6 million before it begins its international expansion in August.

“Thor: Love and Thunder” took third place with $13.1 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $301.5 million. Its global total is now sitting at $662 million, without a release in China.

“Minions: The Rise of Gru” stuck its heels in fourth place in its fifth weekend with $10.9 million. Worldwide, it has now earned $710.4 million.

And rounding out the top five was “Top Gun: Maverick,” which made an additional $8.2 million in its 10th weekend, bringing its domestic total to $650.1 million.

Major new theatrical releases were limited this weekend, but gave audiences a variety of options. Focus Features debuted the film “Vengeance” in 998 locations this weekend, where it earned an estimated $1.8 million. B.J. Novak’s directorial debut follows a podcaster (Novak) who travels from New York to west Texas to investigate the death of his girlfriend. The well-reviewed thriller features Issa Rae and Ashton Kutcher.

And Bleecker Street opened the Sundance charmer “A Love Song,” starring Wes Studi and Dale Dickey, in four theaters, where it earned an estimated $18,702.

Things are slowing down at the domestic box office heading into August, which is not uncommon. And there are still big films to come, like Sony's “Bullet Train” with Brad Pitt, which speeds into theaters next weekend.

“July generated over $1 billion, and that’s impressive. It's the first billion-dollar month since December 2019,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “That gives us a tailwind going into August, but don’t expect any $100 million debuts for a while."



Unreleased Beyonce Music Stolen From Car in Atlanta

FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
TT
20

Unreleased Beyonce Music Stolen From Car in Atlanta

FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Computer drives containing unreleased music by US superstar Beyonce and plans related to her concerts were stolen last week in Atlanta, police said Monday, with a suspect still at large.

The items were stolen from a rental car used by Beyonce's choreographer and a dancer on July 8, two days before the pop icon kicked off the Atlanta leg of her "Cowboy Carter" tour, a police incident report said, according to AFP.

Choreographer Christopher Grant, 37, told police that he returned to the car to find its rear-window smashed and their luggage stolen.

Inside were multiple jump drives that "contained water marked music, some un-released music, footage plans for the show, and past and future set list (sic)," the report said.

Also missing were an Apple MacBook, headphones and several items of luxury clothing.

Police investigated an area where the MacBook and headphones had pinged their location, but the report did not mention any items being recovered.

Atlanta Police said in an online statement that a warrant had been issued for an unnamed suspect's arrest, but that the suspect remained at large.

The "Cowboy Carter" tour kicked off in April after the global superstar took home her first "Album of the Year" Grammy for the 2024 album.

The sweeping country-themed work saw Beyonce stake out musical territory in a different genre from much of her previous discography.

The ambitious, historically rooted album also aimed to elevate and showcase the work of other Black artists in country music, whose rich contributions the industry has repeatedly sidelined.

As her stadium tour to promote the album winds down, Beyonce ended her four-night stint in Atlanta on Monday, with two final performances set for late July in Las Vegas.