‘Wonder Park’ Is No Box Office Wonder

Paramount Animation’s Wonder Park had a lackluster opening weekend bringing in an estimated $16 million domestically across 3,838 screens, and $4.3 million from international markets for a worldwide total of $20.3 million.

Analysts had actually predicted the animated feature released without a credited director would fare worse at the box office, with grosses ranging between $10-14 million. Its $16 million opening is better than that, but still one of the weakest-openings ever for a film on 3,800+ screens. Nevertheless, Wonder Park landed on the no.2 spot at the U.S. box office behind Captain Marvel.

Paramount’s last animated film, Sherlock Gnomes,, released on March 23, 2018, only made $10.6 million opening weekend in the U.S on 3,662 screens. It did poorly no doubt, however, the difference is that Gnomes had an estimated budget of $59 million, while Wonder Park cost a reported $100 million. At the end of its run, Gnomes made $43.2 million at home and $47.1 abroad for a total of $90.3 million.

Wonder Park remains far from those numbers, but it still hasn’t opened in some key international markets like the U.K. and Mexico, where it will roll out in coming weeks. Unfortunately, the widely negative reviews the film received will not help its cause in building an audience. Wonder Park currently holds a 30% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 56 reviews.

The production had been tarnished since 2018 when its director Dylan Brown was fired following an investigation over complaints of “inappropriate and unwanted conduct.”

Expectedly, Disney/Marvel’s Captain Marvel continued to dominate in week two with an estimated $69.3 million in the U.S., which represents the second-best second weekend hold ever for a March release just after 2017’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, which made $90.4 million in week two.

To date, Captain Marvel has amassed $266.2 million domestically and $495.8 internationally for a global sum of $762 million. The vfx-heavy picture starring Brie Larson is on its way to become another title from the studio to cross the $1 billion mark. This could very feasibly happen in the weeks leading up to the debut of Avengers: End Game on April 26.

Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden Kingdom collected an estimated $9.3 million domestic this weekend taking the no. 4 position. In the U.S. it has now made $135.6 million, while overseas grosses amount to $330.9 million for a $466.5 worldwide total. In comparison, the original film released in March 2010 had a lifetime worldwide total of $494.8M, and the sequel scored $621.5M.

Near the bottom of the top ten are The Lego Movie: The Second Part with $2.1M and Robert Rodriguez’s Alita: Battle Angel with $1.9M. Both titles are certainly on their way out with unsatisfying results for their respective studios.

Sony Pictures Classics’ Ruben Brandt, Collector is doing slightly better than last week adding 19 screens in its staggered rollout and bringing in $19,223 from 36 total screens, for a total of $75,722 since its debut on February 15.