Box Office: John Krasinski’s ‘IF’ Aims to Impress With $40 Million Debut

EXCLUSIVE: BritBox International has named Diana Pessin as its Chief Marketing Officer, while striking U.S. and Canada deals for UK drama The Inheritance.

Refresh for latest…: It may be a stretch, but we could coin a new phrase and call this the cat days of spring. To wit: Sony/Alcon’s The Garfield Movie, which began early overseas release last month, took the No. 1 spot for Hollywood on the domestic, international, and global charts this frame.

It’s not all doom and gloom at the global box office as a handful of films reached milestones this week. 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has topped $300M worldwide, while Paramount’s IF and Sony/Alcon’s The Garfield Movie crossed the $100M mark.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is stalling at the international box office with $33.3 million from 75 territories. The fifth entry in director George Miller’s post-apocalyptic series has generated $58.9 million globally in its first weekend of release, a rough start given its $168 million production budget. Domestically, the Warner Bros.

Refresh for latest…: Warner Bros’ Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was greeted with a very warm reception during its Cannes Film Festival world premiere in an early showcase last week, and amid much love for franchise architect George Miller. It has followed up with strong critical and social scores. Nevertheless, in this currently wonky theatrical landscape, the prequel underperformed in its global opening this launch weekend, grossing $58.9M from 76 total markets through Sunday.

EXCLUSIVE: Following his massive victory against Tyson Fury to become the newly crowned Undisputed World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Oleksandr Usyk has found his next opponent on the big screen as he is set to join the cast of A24’s The Smashing Machine as MMA legend Igor Vovchanchyn. The film stars Dwayne Johnson and Academy Award-nominated Emily Blunt.

Maryam Touzani, whose latest movie “The Blue Caftan” won a flurry of awards and was shortlisted in the Oscar’s international feature race, is set to make her Spanish-language debut with “Calle Malaga.” Jean-Christophe Simon‘s Films Boutique will handle International sales on the project. “Calle Malaga” reteams Touzani and Films Boutique for the third time, having previously collaborated on arthouse hits “Adam” and “The Blue Caftan.” A character-driven film written by Touzani, “Calle Malaga” revolves around Maria Angeles, a 74-year old woman who belongs to the Spanish community of Tangier and enjoys the quietness of her life in the colorful Moroccan costal town.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Disney and 20th Century’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” conquered the international box office again with $40.6 million in its second weekend of release. So far, the fourth chapter in the “Apes” reboot franchise has generated $136 million overseas and $237 million globally. It currently stands as the fourth-highest grossing movie of the year, behind “Kung Fu Panda 4” ($533 million), “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” ($561 million) and “Dune: Part Two” ($710 million).

imaginary friends movie “IF” claimed the top spot at the box office this weekend according to studio estimates Sunday. Its $35 million North American debut was also a bit lower than some projections.Is that a disappointment? An ominous sign of the box office times? Or is the final story on “ IF ” yet to be written? It’s not just your imagination: In these bumpy early weeks of the 2024 summer box office season, in which nothing has been a runaway hit and every new movie has more and more pressure to succeed, “IF” hit a nerve.Starring Ryan Reynolds, Cailey Fleming, and an army of A-list voices including Steve Carell, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Louis Gossett Jr., Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Maya Rudolph, “IF” was an original idea from Krasinski, who wrote, directed and co-stars.Paramount debuted the film, which cost a reported $110 million to produce, in 4,041 locations in North America.

Refresh for latest…:  After starting early offshore release on John Krasinski’s IF last weekend, Paramount expanded the imaginary friends film to another 56 international box office markets this session. The overseas frame was worth $20M, bringing the international running cume to $24M. With domestic’s $35M debut, the worldwide total is now $59M.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Johnny Depp-directed film “Modì,” about Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, has secured a distribution deal in Italy, where it will be released by emerging production/distribution player Be Water. Above is a first-look image from the set of the film, which is now in post.

Emily Blunt has been revealed to be behind the ‘documentary’ about Jim and Pam in the US version of The Office.On the Office Ladies podcast, where John Krasinski (who plays Jim) was a guest on May 15, Pam actress Jenna Fischer unveiled Blunt as the mastermind behind Jim surprising Pam with footage of their relationship from The Office‘s fictional documentary team.Fischer said that Krasinski suggested the idea that would “bring [Jim and Pam] back together” as the show ended, all thanks to his wife Emily Blunt. “I remember saying, ‘Greg [Daniels], we have to reveal what is in the teapot note before we end this show.

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar nominee Bill Nighy (Living), Indie Spirit nominee Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place I & II), BAFTA nominee George MacKay (1917) and BAFTA nominee Matt Smith (The Crown) are set to star in acclaimed Argentinian filmmaker Pablo Trapero’s (El Clan) English-language movie debut & Sons, which is being scripted by Oscar winner Sarah Polley (Women Talking).

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent On Sept. 12, 2022, the day before Jean-Luc Godard died by assisted suicide at 91 in his home in Rolle, Switzerland, the Godfather of French New Wave completed his final 18-minute film, “Scénarios,” which premieres on today in Cannes. “Scénarios” — which comprises two components called “DNA, Fundamental Elements” and “MRI, Odyssey” — is followed by “Exposé du Film Annonce du Film ‘Scènario,’” a 34-minute, behind-the-scenes doc about the making of Godard’s last short.

The most awaited film this year at the Cannes Film Festival, Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, had its world premiere Thursday night, with the dystopian epic decades in the making landing a seven-minute standing ovation.

Paramount will keep its chin up high amid the whole Sony and Skydance takeover headlines and keep the summer box office churnin’ with the John Krasinski directed Ryan Reynolds family movie, If, which is hoping to hit $40M; this is after Disney’s overperformance with 20th Century Studios’ Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes which posted a $58.4M opening.

Jamie Lang Catalan films routinely punch above their weight at high-profile international festivals: Think 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs.” That trend looks primed to continue in 2024. Catalan auteur Albert Serra will debut “Afternoons of Solitude,” co-produced by Catalan companies Andergraun Films and LaCima, with Ideale Audience and Tardes de Soledad.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Disney and 20th Century’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” climbed to $72.5 million at the international box office in its first weekend of release. The newest film in the long-running “Apes” series also notched No. 1 in North America with $56.5 million, bringing its initial global tally to a promising $129 million.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Primates ruled over the North American box office as “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” collected $56.5 million in its first weekend of release. Those ticket sales were a hair above early projections of $50 million to $55 million and were easily enough to tower over the nonexistent competition.

EXCLUSIVE: 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is beating its chest towards a $125M global bow this weekend. At the international box office, we understand the Wes Ball-directed installment is at around $31M through Friday. As Anthony has reported, domestic is looking at a $52M-$55M start for the full frame.