Before getting into the summer box office I have to give a shout out to our buddy Justin Klein and his wife Seagan for hosting JK’s very cool 50th birthday party this past Saturday. Chapman and I made the trek out to LA for a long weekend of fun that included hanging with another long-time SMP buddy, George Mandella, at said party. We got fantastic weather. We got a Weezer cover band. We got Glen Danzig (I think). We got a likely new SMP player in 2026. We got it all that day… except for an appearance from JP. Hopefully next time.
So it was another weekend where a movie with an ‘A-‘ CinemaScore and an excellent RT Verified Audience Score (93%) couldn’t even crack $25M. Ballerina broke hearts all over falling well short of its surprisingly low projection with only $24M earned. Perhaps that fresh RT Critics Score (75%) and no legitimate competition until June 20 will give it legs to finish in the Top 13. Of course I said the same thing last week for our other major clunker, Karate Kid: Legends, and after a -57% hold in its second weekend it’s looking more Hall of Boneheads-worthy. 11 players just got a double whammy by picking both Ballerina and Legends to pretty much see their summers now ruined.
Top 10 IN
- #6 Ballerina
Top 10 OUT
- Hurry Up Tomorrow
Next Weekend: 42 of 43 players selected what early tracking is showing to be a total $230M lock for the Top 10 in the live-action How To Train Your Dragon. The one who DIDN’T select it? Our birthday boy!! 😀
Bonus:Â Speaking of the weekend in LA, Chapman and I checked out the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures prior to the party, and that day also just happened to be the HTTYD Movie Premiere. Security detail was in full force as cast members showed up to the blocked off area we couldn’t access (rude!), and while we didn’t see him we could certainly hear one fan repeatedly screaming for a picture with Gerard Butler. If you are in LA and have the time to go, I strongly recommend visiting the Academy Museum. The place was so cool it actually caused us to be late to the party. No joke, the Barbie exhibit of props and sets was incredibly impressive.
On one hand I’m thrilled for the shout out!! On the other, I can’t believe you called me out like that!!! You spent TOO much time with Seagan and Justin this week-end, you sound just like them! I’m very sorry I missed you as I would have loved to talk shop and shame Seagan for not participating this year. I appreciate the suggestion about the museum, I’m a member (of course) but didn’t know about the Barbie exhibit, which sounds cool! Thank you for putting so much work into this contest and making it so fun! One side note, I’d like to personally thank Justin for not placing HTTYD on his list (and for placing Lilo at #9), one less person I now have to compete against!