The Emeryville folks have officially produced another hit that’s going to hang onto the Top 10 for a good while. Monsters University has kept the #1 spot for the weekend after a very strong opening last weekend ($82 million). Competition didn’t affect it, this weekend’s explosion-laden blockbuster (White House Down) underwhelmed whereas R-rated comedy The Heat attracted different audiences, taking in a solid amount.
The film pulled in a very good $45 million, dipping 44 percent from the last weekend. The film has now collected $170 million in North America and $299 million worldwide. That’s not too shabby, considering that Toy Story 3 dropped 46 percent on its second weekend and Brave dipped 49 percent. While not an excellent drop, it shows that word of mouth for this one is very strong and the film has a chance at hitting $300 million at the domestic box office… The first Pixar film to do so since Toy Story 3 and their third one to ever reach that mark.
It’ll also be the first animated film since Despicable Me to cross $250 million domestically. It’s kind of surreal that we had to wait nearly three years for an animated film to clear that bar. Coincidentally, Despicable Me‘s forthcoming sequel stands in its way. Illumination’s highly anticipated follow-up to their debut smash hit is poised to open with a bang, and it’ll certainly take a bit away from Monsters University… But the bigger question is, will that film hold on? Or will it only do well with younger audiences, whereas Monsters will still be a hit with teens and adults?
Do you think Monsters University can gross $300 million domestically at this rate? Or not? Do you think its box office performance is impressive so far? Or do you think it had the potential to do better?