NEW YORK 鈥� The R-rated comedy, left for dead by some Hollywood studios, again reached No.1 at the box office over the weekend thanks to the raunchy coming-of-age tale 鈥淕ood Boys,鈥� about a trio of 12-year-olds on a crude misadventure.
鈥淕ood Boys鈥� surpassed expectations to debut with $21 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, dethroning the 鈥淔ast & Furious鈥� spinoff 鈥淗obbs & Shaw,鈥� which slid to second with $14.1 million in its third weekend. Not since Melissa McCarthy鈥檚 鈥淭he Boss鈥� came in No. 1 all the way back in April 2016 has an R-rated comedy topped the North American box office.
鈥淭his is like a unicorn sighting,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore.
In recent years, R-rated horror has largely taken the place of R-rated comedy at the box office, as Hollywood has increasingly ceded the genre to TV and streaming services. But Universal Pictures, which released 鈥淕ood Boys,鈥� has kept the flame. The studio was behind 鈥淭he Boss鈥� as well as the intervening years鈥� highest grossing domestic comedies: 2017鈥檚 鈥淕irls Trip鈥� and 2018鈥檚 鈥淣ight School.鈥�
鈥淕ood Boys鈥� broke out of a crowded late-summer field of new releases. The weekend鈥檚 other new widely released films 鈥� the animated sequel 鈥淭he Angry Birds Movie 2,鈥� the shark attack sequel 鈥�47 Metres Down: Uncaged,鈥� the Bruce Springsteen-inspired drama 鈥淏linded by the Light鈥� and Richard Linklater鈥檚 Cate Blanchett-led 鈥淲here鈥檇 You Go Bernadette鈥� 鈥� all fizzled.
鈥淕ood Boys鈥� rode a buzzy premiere at South By Southwest, good reviews (80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and the imprimatur of producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (鈥淕ood Boys鈥� is much like a tween version of 鈥淪uperbad鈥�) to notch the best opening for an original comedy this year. Second place is Universal鈥檚 body-switch comedy 鈥淟ittle.鈥�
Directed by Gene Stupnitsky (who co-wrote the script with Lee Eisenberg), 鈥淕ood Boys鈥� stars Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams and Brady Noon as sixth graders trying to make it to their first kissing party. The movie鈥檚 much-watched red-band trailer traded on its ironies. As Rogen says, Tremblay, Williams and Noon are all too young to see their own movie alone.
Jim Orr, distribution chief for Universal, credited Rogen and Goldberg鈥檚 Point Grey Pictures and the film鈥檚 clever marketing for the film鈥檚 performance.
鈥淭his is a genre that is very difficult to do and we鈥檙e having great success as a studio with a very diverse slate,鈥� Orr said. 鈥淥ne of the common denominators there is our marketing department. They just over-deliver constantly with a broad range of films.鈥�
The challenge of 鈥淕ood Boys鈥� was to turn out moviegoers older than the movie鈥檚 pipsqueak protagonists, and it did. Only 7% of the audience was under age 18, according to Universal, though 41% was under 25. Crowds split evenly between the sexes: 52% male, 48% female.
The release strategies behind some of the weekend鈥檚 other new films were harder to discern.
Sony鈥檚 鈥淭he Angry Birds Movie 2,鈥� on a budget of $65 million, opened with a paltry $10.5 million domestically, though it added $19.4 million internationally. Hoping to snarl kids before school starts, Sony released the film on Tuesday. But it didn鈥檛 come close to the $38.2 million domestic debut of the first installment in 2016 despite notably better reviews (76% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes).
Sony鈥檚 鈥淥nce Upon a Time ... in Hollywood,鈥� however, grossed $53.7 million overseas after expanding to 46 markets 鈥� the largest foreign launch for any Quentin Tarantino film, and the best worldwide haul for any film this weekend.
鈥�47 Metres Down: Uncaged,鈥� from Entertainment Studios, also showed little bite. It debuted with $9 million, a slight downtick from the $11.2 million the first one opened with in 2017.
A pair of films that might have been platform released to build word-of-mouth instead opened wide in bids to stand out in the traditional dumping-ground of late summer. But the results were mixed.
鈥淏linded by the Light,鈥� which Warner Bros. plunked down $15 million for at the Sundance Film Festival, took in $4.5 million from 2,307 locations. The film, which has been warmly reviewed, is about a British-Pakistani teen growing up in 1980s England whose life is transformed after he discovers Springsteen.
And United Artists鈥� 鈥淲here鈥檇 You Go Bernadette鈥� grossed $3.5 million from 2,404 locations. Based on Maria Semple鈥檚 2012 comic novel, Linklater鈥檚 film earned lukewarm reviews for its tale of a missing mother (Blanchett).
The 鈥淕ood Boys鈥� debut gave Universal, also behind 鈥淗obbs & Shaw鈥� its third straight weekend at No. 1 and 10th this year 鈥� second only to Disney.
With two weeks to go, the overall summer movie season is running 1.9% behind the pace of last summer, according to Comscore.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.
1. 鈥淕ood Boys,鈥� $21 million ($2.1 million international).
2. 鈥淗obbs & Shaw,鈥� $14.1 million ($45.7 million international).
3. 鈥淭he Lion King,鈥� $11.9 million ($33.8 million international).
4. 鈥淭he Angry Birds Movie 2,鈥� $10.5 million ($19.4 million international).
5. 鈥淪cary Stories to Tell in the Dark,鈥� $10.1 million ($4.4 million international).
6. 鈥�47 Metres Down: Uncaged,鈥� $9 million.
7. 鈥淒ora and the Lost City of Gold,鈥� $8.5 million ($6.6 million international).
8. 鈥淥nce Upon a Time in Hollywood,鈥� $7.6 million ($53.7 million international).
9. 鈥淏linded by the Light,鈥� $4.5 million.
10. 鈥淎rt of Racing in the Rain,鈥� $4.4 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and sa国际传媒), according to Comscore.
1. 鈥淥nce Upon a Time ... in Hollywood,鈥� $53.7 million.
2. 鈥淗obbs & Shaw,鈥� $45.7 million.
3. 鈥淣e Zha,鈥� $39.5 million.
4. 鈥淭he Lion King,鈥� $33.8 million.
5. 鈥淭he Angry Birds Movie 2,鈥� $19.4 million.
6. 鈥淏odies at Rest,鈥� $18.9 million.
7. 鈥淭he Bravest,鈥� $15.9 million.
8. 鈥淭he Secret Life of Pets 2,鈥� $9.7 million.
9. 鈥淭he King鈥檚 Avatar: For the Glory,鈥� $9.7 million.
10. 鈥淭oy Story 4,鈥� $8.6 million.
