The Secret Life of Pets dominated the box office charts for the second week in a row, taking in an additional $50.6 million for a total of $203.2 million.
The animated blockbuster beat out Paul Feig’s highly anticipated reboot, Ghostbusters, which debuted with $46 million from 3,962 theaters for a second place finish. The film marks as the biggest debut for a live-action comedy since last year’s Pitch Perfect 2 ($69 million).
“We’re ecstatic with this opening. We have successfully restarted an important brand,” said Sony’s worldwide marketing and distribution president Josh Greenstein, adding that it’s especially a win considering the controversy surrounding the film. “We have lots of room to run in the coming weeks as the big comedy in the marketplace.”
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The new picture features Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones as the main characters. The female ghoul chasers replace the original Ghostbusters played by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson in Ivan Reitman’s 1984 original film.
Moviegoers, who were 54 percent female and 55 percent over the age of 25, gave the film a B-plus CinemaScore while critics gave it a 73 percent “fresh” Rotten Tomatoes score.
Sliding to third place at the box office is Warner Bros.’ The Legend of Tarzan with $11.1 million, crossing the $100 million mark after 17 days in theaters.
Rounding out fourth and fifth place is Pixar’s Finding Dory and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, respectively. The highly successful animated hit, Dory, added an additional $11 million to its $445.5 million domestic haul, while Zac Efron’s R-rated comedy finished its second weekend out with another $7.5 million.
The weekend’s other new wide released included Bryan Cranston’s The Infiltrator with $5.3 million from 1,601 locations. The film, which fell in eighth place, stars Cranston as a federal agent who infiltrates Pablo Escobar’s drug cartel. Critics gave the film a 66 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes, while moviegoers gave it an A-minus CinemaScore.
Top 10 Films at Weekend Box Office: July 15-17
- The Secret Life Of Pets — $50.7 million
- Ghostbusters — $46 million
- The Legend of Tarzan — $11.1 million
- Finding Dory — $11 million
- Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates — $7.5 million
- The Purge: Election Year — $6.1 million
- Central Intelligence — $5.3 million
- The Infiltrator — $5.3 million
- The BFG — $3.75 million
- Independence Day: Resurgence — $3.5 million
