Box Office Results: Sequels Stumble Again With ‘Men In Black’ & ‘Shaft’

It was an old story at the box office this weekend, as once again a new round of sequels, “Men in Black: International” and “Shaft,” put up disappointing returns.

At the top of the box office this weekend was “Men in Black: International,” the sci-fi comedy soft reboot with Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth, which grossed $28.5 million nationwide. While slightly above studio projections, the film still barely managed half of the opening weekends of the rest of the franchise, which each opened in the mid-$50 million range. Worldwide numbers were slightly better news, with $73.7 million bringing the global total to $102 million. Estimates now have the film failing to break $300 million worldwide before its run concludes, which isn’t great news for a $110 million budgeted sequel that hoped to revitalize a stale franchise.

This weekend’s other new release, “Shaft” starring Samuel L. Jackson and Jessie Usher, tanked even harder, barely bringing in more than $8 million nationwide and reaching the sixth place at the box office. For comparison, when Jackson first brought back “Shaft” in 2000, the film opened with $21 million with an eventual worldwide haul of $107 million. The sting is likely mitigated for this new film as Netflix paid half the $30-$35 million budget to acquire the international release rights, but even at this lower commitment, Warner Bros. is almost certainly looking at a loss.

Elsewhere, “The Secret Life of Pets 2” fell to second place with a decent $23.8 million, a solid 49 percent drop from its opening. Still, with only $154 million worldwide in its second frame, it continues to be a bitter disappointment financially.

Disney’s “Aladdin,” coming in third, continues to overperform, dropping a mere 32 percent in its fourth weekend to $16 million. The film's worldwide gross currently sits at just under $725 million.

And the bad news kept rolling in for the fourth place film, “Dark Phoenix,” which fell a staggering 72.6 percent from its weak opening weekend, putting at $9 million. While this drop is only the 62nd biggest of all time for a wide release, it is the worst ever for a superhero film. At this rate, “Dark Phoenix” is unlikely to reach $100 million domestically. The film currently sits at just over $200 million globally.