Box Office Results: ‘Secret Life Of Pets 2’ & ‘Dark Phoenix’ Stumble

They both might have topped the weekend, but Universal’s animated sequel “The Secret Life of Pets 2” and Disney-Fox’s X-Men finale, “Dark Phoenix,” disappointed considerably at the box office.

Illumination’s “The Secret Life of Pets 2” topped the box office this weekend with $48 million, a far cry from its predecessor’s $104 million, which holds the spot for the biggest weekend opening for a top-grossing original film, according to Box Office Mojo. Comparable figures came in from overseas markets, where the animated sequel brought $49 million, bringing the worldwide total to $97 million.

While likely a major disappointment to all parties involved, like all Illumination projects, “Pets 2” carried a relatively low budget for the realm of CG animation, a slim $80 million. So, while it's unlikely to ever touch the original's final $875 million worldwide gross, the sequel should still turn a handsome profit eventually.

What is not likely to turn a profit is Disney and Fox’s “Dark Phoenix.” Intended to be a finale of sorts for the run of X-Men films that began with Bryan Singer’s “X-Men” in 2000, the Sophie-Turner-led Marvel Comics film debuted with $33 million, the lowest opening weekend ever in the series and a resounding thud for the once-celebrated comic book franchise.

Overseas numbers were much better for the comic book sequel, pulling in $107 million for a worldwide opening weekend of $140 million. Still, with heavy reshoots rumored to have inflated the budget to $200 million, “Dark Phoenix” is still projected to lose $100-120 million by the end of its run, as reported by Deadline.

Elsewhere, “Godzilla” King of the Monsters” fell 67.5-percent for $15.5 million, falling behind the older “Aladdin,” which brought in $24.5 million. Rounding out the top five was Elton John biopic “Rocketman,” which had a stronghold with $14 million. In the limited release realm, Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson’s buzzy Sundance dramedy “Late Night” brought in $249k from four theaters, a $62k per theater average. The showbiz satire will expand to 1,500 theaters next weekend.