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‘Secret Life of Pets 2’ Tops Poorly Received ‘Dark Phoenix’

‘The Secret Life of Pets 2’ Tops Poorly Received ‘Dark Phoenix’

(Bloomberg) -- Universal Pictures’ “The Secret Life of Pets 2” opened as the top film in U.S. and Canadian theaters over the weekend, beating a poorly reviewed finale to the X-Men series.

‘Secret Life of Pets 2’ Tops Poorly Received ‘Dark Phoenix’
  • The sequel brought in $46.7 million, research firm Comscore Inc. said Monday. That compared with estimates that ranged from $51 million to $62 million. “Dark Phoenix,” which was acquired by Walt Disney Co. in its takeover of Fox’s entertainment business earlier this year, opened in second place with $32.8 million.
‘Secret Life of Pets 2’ Tops Poorly Received ‘Dark Phoenix’

Key Insights

  • Even with its No. 1 showing, “Secret Life of Pets 2” trailed the $104 million opening of its 2016 predecessor, which had the best debut ever for an original animated film. Some families may have opted instead to scoop up presale tickets for the June 20 release of Pixar’s “Toy Story 4,” which has already broken Fandango records.
  • “Dark Phoenix” -- the last of the 19-year-long X-Men series made by Fox and the first to be distributed by Disney -- had originally been set for a November 2018 release. The later debut didn’t seem to help the movie, which was panned by critics. Only 23% of reviews were positive, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
  • Sales for the top 10 films rose 44% from a year ago, well short of the 70%-plus that Box Office Pro had predicted.
‘Secret Life of Pets 2’ Tops Poorly Received ‘Dark Phoenix’
‘Secret Life of Pets 2’ Tops Poorly Received ‘Dark Phoenix’

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  • Movie chains are trying to bounce back from a sluggish start to the year. Revenue was down 7.4% this year compared with 2018 heading into the weekend.
  • See the weekend release schedule here.
  • See Boxoffice Pro’s long-range forecast

To contact the reporter on this story: Hailey Waller in New York at hwaller@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Nick Turner, Kevin Miller

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