Zendaya’s ‘Challengers’ Debuts Atop U.K., Ireland Box Office

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter “IF,” a fantasy-comedy from director John Krasinski and star Ryan Reynolds, looks to collect a promising $40 million in its box office debut. Based on projections, “IF” — short for imaginary friends — is tracking to land at least $35 million and as much as $45 million from 4,000 North American theaters. At the higher end of estimates, those ticket sales would mark a solid start for a live-action PG family film that’s not based on an existing property.

Naman Ramachandran Disney’s “Kingdom of The Planet of the Apes” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.8 million ($4.7 million), according to numbers from Comscore. Universal’s “The Fall Guy” dropped down to second place with £948,970 and now has a running total of £6.7 million.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” reigned over the weekend box office with a $56.5 million North American opening, according to studio estimates Sunday, giving a needed surge to an uncertain season in theaters.The film from 20th Century Studios and Disney that built on the rebooted “Apes” trilogy of the 2010s had the third highest opening of the year, after the $81.5 million debut of “Dune: Part Two” in early March and the $58.3 million domestic opening of “Kung Fu Panda 4” a week later.The strong performance for “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” comes a week after a tepid start for Ryan Gosling’s “The Fall Guy” signaled that the summer of 2024 is likely to see a major drop-off after the “Barbenheimer” magic of 2023.“Planet of the Apes” easily made more than the rest of the top 10 combined.“The Fall Guy” fell to No. 2 with a $13.7 million weekend and a two-week total of $49.7 million for Universal Pictures.Zendaya’s “Challengers” was third with $4.7 million and has earned $38 million in three weeks for Amazon MGM studios.The opening for “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” directed by Wes Ball, was the second best in the series, after the $72 million opening weekend of 2014’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”It’s the 10th movie in the “Planet of the Apes” franchise that began in 1968.“Kingdom” came with strong reviews and positive buzz (80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and a “B” CinemaScore).

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.

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.The action comedy took home $3.6 million. The film, which is loosely based on the 1980s TV show, features Ryan Gosling working as a stuntman on the set of a film directed by his ex-girlfriend, played by Emily Blunt.Though on top of the box office, with the pair’s combined star power pulled in just $39.5 million domestically so far, with another $36.7 million in receipts overseas.

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.

The Fall Guy.”But the crowd, such as it was, looked nothing like the ticket buyers of nearly a year ago when the same A-list duo was part of the cinematic phenomenon known as #Barbenheimer.Remember those three surreal days when the masses, lemming-like, donned pink skirts and roller skates (and, for a sprinkle of nerds, brown fedoras) and packed theaters to capacity to see films about an old doll and a dead physicist?Domestically, that pair of polar opposites “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” grossed a combined $246 million on their opening weekend in July 2023. They went on to do $2.4 billion in business worldwide.

The highly anticipated clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is finally on the horizon.Originally scheduled for earlier this year, Saturday, May 18 is now the date the two giants of boxing will lock horns. It's been over two decades since the heavyweight division witnessed a unified world champion, with Lennox Lewis holding that distinction back in 1999 and boxing fans will now get to see another holder of all four belts.Now, with Fury and Usyk set to collide in a major undisputed fight, the excitement among boxing enthusiasts, both casual and die-hard, is palpable in the lead-up to the huge night which is taking place in Saudi Arabia. In an interesting turn of events, there's been an inclusion of a rematch clause which ensures that, regardless of the outcome, Fury and Usyk will cross paths once again, hinting at the potential for a compelling series between the two.

Naman Ramachandran Universal’s “The Fall Guy” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.5 million ($4.5 million), according to numbers from Comscore. But the force was strong with Disney’s 25th anniversary rerelease of “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” as it debuted in second place with £1.1 million.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Sony’s animated “The Garfield Movie” scratched up $22 million in its international box office debut. It’s currently only playing in 18 markets, roughly 35% of its eventual overseas footprint, so those ticket sales represent a promising start for the family film. “The Garfield Movie” doesn’t open in the U.S.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Locally-produced crime action thriller “The Roundup: Punishment” dominated the South Korea box office for a second weekend. In contrast, Hollywood’s “The Fall Guy” opened softly in third place. Data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), showed “The Roundup: Punishment” grossed $13.8 million between Friday and Sunday, earned from 1.92 million ticket sales. That represented a huge 83% market share over the weekend, albeit down from 92% a week earlier.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter “The Fall Guy,” an action-comedy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, kicked off the summer movie season without much sizzle. The film, backed by Universal and directed by David Leitch, fell just short of expectations with $28.5 million from 4,002 North American venues in its debut. Heading into the weekend, “The Fall Guy” was projected to earn at least $30 million to $40 million.

Luca Guadagnino believes filmgoers will endorse his Zendaya movie Challengers because it delivers “a canon of Hollywood golden age comedy – seductive fun with queerness.” The movie’s “big sell” is a shot of Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor kissing one another in various configurations.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, two essential ingredients in the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, will leave Barbieland and Los Alamos behind them as they team up for “The Fall Guy.” But will audiences turn up in force to see the “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” stars when their new action comedy debuts this weekend? Well, “The Fall Guy” isn’t going to hit those films’ box office heights, but it should have no trouble topping charts as it kicks off the summer movie season. The film is expected to earn north of $30 million, with some rival studio executives pegging the opening at between $35 million to $40 million. The catch is that movie wasn’t cheap to produce, boasting a healthy budget of $130 million, so “The Fall Guy” will need strong word-of-mouth if it’s going to leg it out on the long path to profitability.

have been on a globetrotting press tour to get the word out about Italian director Luca Guadagnino’s original film, which opened in 3,477 locations in the US and Canada.“We’re obviously very, very happy with the number,” said Kevin Wilson, who heads theatrical distribution for Amazon Studios and MGM. “Looking at the audience who showed up, it’s really encouraging.

Challengers is No. 1!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “The Roundup: Punishment,” the fourth film in the Don Lee-starring crime action franchise, earned $20.8 million between Friday and Sunday and punched out all competition at the South Korean box office. “Challengers,” which headed the box office this weekend in North America, with $15 million, opened fourth in Korea a 0.5% market share. “Punishment” accounted for a crushing 94% market share and collected its weekend haul from 2.92 million ticket sales, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). The film opened officially on Wednesday, when it scored $4.92 million, and followed that with a $3.25 million Thursday. Including the weekday takings and a smattering of previews from the previous weekend, the film finished Sunday with a cumulative of $29.3 million, earned from 4.25 million spectators. The stellar performance was the biggest opening this year, ahead of February’s “Exhuma,” a spooky drama that earned $14.5 million on its February first weekend and picked up pace in its second week. Giant screen systems provider, Imax reports that “Punishment” earned $770,000 of its Korean score from just 24 screens.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Game, set, and now what to make of this match? “Challengers,” a sexy, subversive, R-rated drama set in the world of tennis, easily took first place at a sluggish domestic box office this weekend with a so-so $15.2 million. On the one hand, it’s a respectable result for an artsy movie aimed at discerning, adult audiences, but what keeps it from being a championship performance is the fact that “Challengers” has a hefty $55 million budget (to say nothing of its marketing costs).

J. Kim Murphy “Challengers” netted a $6.2 million opening day from 3,477 North American theaters, a figure that includes $1.9 million from preview screenings. Amazon MGM Studios‘ love-triangle drama is set to match industry projections for a $15 million debut.

Amazon MGM Studios’ Challengers, starring Zendaya and directed by Luca Guadagnino, made $1.9M in previews, a figure $100K shy of what Universal’s Cocaine Bear did. The tennis sexy romcom is hoping to open to $15M for the weekend.