Apparently, the gruff fighter Johnny Cage was no match for the unstoppable Miranda Priestly. Disney’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 continued its winning streak at the domestic box office, holding on to the No. 1 spot despite the arrival of three major new releases, including the video game adaptation Mortal Kombat II. The sequel earned another $43 million from 4,200 theaters across North America, slipping just 44% from its opening weekend and pushing its domestic total to $144.8 million. Internationally, the stylish comedy has already collected $288.4 million, taking its worldwide total to an impressive $433 million after only two weekends in theaters.
The sequel has now surpassed the entire global earnings of the 2006 original The Devil Wears Prada, which made $326 million worldwide without adjusting for inflation.
Landing in second place was Warner Bros.’ martial arts sequel Mortal Kombat II, which debuted with $40 million from 3,503 cinemas. Globally, the film opened to $63 million, including a softer-than-expected $23 million overseas. Reviews for the R-rated action film have been mixed, with the movie currently holding a 65% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and earning a “B” CinemaScore from audiences.
The sequel reportedly cost $80 million to produce, significantly higher than the first film’s $55 million budget. The original Mortal Kombat opened to $23 million during Warner Bros.’ controversial “Project Popcorn” strategy, when films were released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. At a time when audiences were still hesitant to return to cinemas, the movie managed to earn $42 million domestically and $84 million worldwide.
While those numbers would not usually guarantee a sequel, HBO Max had previously revealed that Mortal Kombat was one of its most-watched titles at the time. Warner Bros. clearly believes in the franchise’s potential, as a third installment is already in development.
“As a broad genre, video game adaptations are in the middle of a true renaissance,” says Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory. Recent success stories in the genre include The Super Mario Bros. Movie, A Minecraft Movie and Sonic the Hedgehog. He added that “Warner Bros.’ timing for Mortal Kombat II couldn’t have served as a stronger example of counter-programming this Mother’s Day weekend.”
Two other new releases — Sheep Detective from Amazon MGM and Paramount’s concert movie Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) — opened in fourth and fifth place respectively.
Both films trailed behind Lionsgate’s Michael, which secured the No. 3 position with a remarkable $36.5 million from 3,550 theaters in its third weekend. The musical biopic dropped just 33% from the previous week and has now earned $240.4 million in North America and a huge $577 million globally.
This weekend, Michael officially overtook Bohemian Rhapsody domestically, becoming the highest-grossing musical biopic ever in North America. However, the Queen biopic still leads globally with $911 million worldwide. At its current pace, though, “Michael” could soon move closer to the worldwide success achieved by Freddie Mercury’s story.
Meanwhile, Sheep Detective delivered a stronger-than-expected debut with $15.9 million from 3,574 theaters, marking a decent opening for an original family movie. The film also added $12.1 million internationally, bringing its global opening weekend total to $28 million. Produced on a hefty $75 million budget, the live-action/CGI hybrid has nevertheless received glowing reviews from both critics and audiences, earning a 93% Rotten Tomatoes score and an “A-” CinemaScore.
Starring Hugh Jackman, the PG-rated comedy follows a shepherd who mysteriously disappears, leaving his sheep to piece together clues, investigate suspects and solve the mystery themselves. Based on the children’s book Three Bags Full, the film was directed by Kyle Balda, known for Despicable Me 3, and written by Craig Mazin of The Last of Us fame.
“The start is just shy of average for the genre, but most hybrids are based on high-profile IP like ‘Minecraft,’ ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ and ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks,’” notes David A. Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe. “With no big family entertainment on the calendar until ‘Toy Story 5’ on June 19, the film has room to run. And word-of-mouth should help.”
