Disney/20th Century’s “The Devil Wears Prada 2” is pulling away from Warner Bros./New Line’s “Mortal Kombat II” and is now set to stay No. 1 at the box office for a second weekend.
Buoyed by strong word-of-mouth among women, the legacyquel starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway added $43 million domestically to drop just 44% from its opening weekend. Strong holds in the U.K., Italy, Brazil and Mexico among other overseas markets have also added $75.8 million this weekend internationally, bringing the film’s total to $144.8 million domestic and $433.2 million overseas.
“Mortal Kombat II” isn’t getting as strong day-to-day holds as “Prada 2” but is still off to a good start with a $40 million domestic/$63 million global opening. It’s the best opening for Warner since “Wuthering Heights” back in February and is a rebound for the studio after films like “The Bride!” and “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” faltered in recent months.
The question now is whether moviegoers beyond hardcore “Kombat” fans will show up, as the film opens with a B on CinemaScore and Rotten Tomatoes scores of 65% critics and 90% audience.
Close behind “MK II” is Lionsgate/Universal’s “Michael,” which remains on pace to pass “Oppenheimer” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” for the all-time biopic record with a $36.5 million third weekend, bringing its total to $240 million domestic and $577 million worldwide. Domestically, the film has already passed “Bohemian Rhapsody” to become the highest domestic grossing music biopic ever.
The music biopic should pass $650 million by next weekend to become the second-highest grossing film of the year behind “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which is reaching the end of its box office run and is trying to inch its way to the $1 billion mark with a $6.6 million sixth weekend and a $941 million global total.
More to come…
