Weekend Recap 6/10

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.

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: 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.