LOS ANGELES -- Toys continued to dominate the box office for a second consecutive weekend, with Toy Story 4 maintaining its position at the top of the charts and Annabelle Comes Home landing in the No. 2 spot.
The animated Pixar and Disney Toy Story sequel added $57.9 million in its second weekend (a 52% drop but in range of analysts' second weekend predictions of $55 million to $65 million) for a cumulative $236.9 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.
Internationally, Toy Story 4 earned $80.6 million for a global cumulative of $496.5 million.
In second place, Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema's horror sequel Annabelle Comes Home premiered with $20.4 million over the weekend and $31.2 million since its opening June 26, slightly above analyst projections of $30 million.
The movie received a mix of negative and lukewarm responses from critics. The third entry in the spinoff series about the evil doll was directed by Annabelle and It screenwriter Gary Dauberman.
"This was a reasonable movie to make," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' head of domestic distribution. "You don't have to exceed on every one."
In third place, Universal Pictures and Working Title's Yesterday opened with $17 million, above analyst predictions of $10 million. It earned $7.7 million internationally for a global cumulative of $24.7 million.
The film follows a struggling singer (played by newcomer Himesh Patel) who finds that he's the only person on Earth who remembers the Beatles' catalog and therefore tries to capitalize off of their songs.
It earned an A-minus CinemaScore and a 60% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Universal's President of Domestic Theatrical Distribution Jim Orr says he tries to use the word "thrilled" judiciously, but that it applies here.
"Among all of the sequels and all of the explosions of the summer, this is a very charming, original, whimsical musical romance with iconic music and amazing performances ... and direction," Orr said. "All of that adds up to a great, great run at the domestic box office."
Even Warner Bros., which has the Bruce Springsteen-theme film Blinded by the Light coming later this summer was heartened by Yesterday's premiere, which motivated a solidly adult demographic to trek out to the movie theater on opening weekend.
As Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian put it: "It's not always the No. 1 film that's the big story."
At No. 4, Disney's Aladdin added $9.3 million in its sixth weekend for a cumulative $306 million. Internationally, the movie added $24.4 million over the weekend for a global cumulative of $874.2 million.
Rounding out the top five, Universal's The Secret Life of Pets 2 added $7 million in its fourth weekend for a cumulative $131.2 million. It currently stands at $223 million in worldwide grosses.
In sixth place, Columbia's Men in Black: International added $6.5 million in its third weekend for a cumulative $65 million.
At No. 7, Disney's Avengers: Endgame added $5.5 million in its 10th weekend for a cumulative $841.3 million.
Regarding Endgame's re-release, some have viewed the "bring back campaign" as a naked cash grab to try to beat the Avatar record ($2.79 billion worldwide). Dergarabedian thinks it has more to do with Spider-Man: Far From Home, which opened Tuesday and picks up right after the events of Endgame.
The weekend overall is down nearly 15% from last year and the year to date deficit is around 9.4%.
"We've been trying to dig our way out of this deficit for it seems like forever," Dergarabedian said. "Some of the movies that were expected to be grand slam home runs were more like triples."
But Columbia and Marvel's Spider-Man: Far From Home, which has already earned $111 million from China, Japan and Hong Kong, could help turn the year around.
"There's a lot riding on Spider-Man's shoulders," Dergarabedian said. "I think this will be a real shot in the arm to the industry both financially and emotionally."
He added: "If Spidey can't do it, no one can."
Last week's No. 2 film, Child's Play, tumbled to eighth place, adding $4.3 million -- a remarkable 70% drop -- for a cumulative $23.4 million.
At No. 9, Paramount's Rocketman added $3.9 million in its fifth weekend for a cumulative $84.2 million.
Rounding out the top 10, Lionsgate's John Wick: Chapter 3 -- Parabellum added $3.2 million in its seventh weekend for a cumulative $161.3 million. The $75 million film surpassed the $300 million mark with $303.6 million earned in global receipts.
In limited release, Sony Pictures Classics opened Maiden to $50,715 on six screens, for a per-screen average of $8,453.
ArtAffects Entertainment opened The Other Side of Heaven 2 in 205 locations to $425,000, a per-screen average of $2,074.
Greenwich Entertainment released the thriller Three Peaks in one theater and brought in $4,000. The studio expanded Echo in the Canyon into 60 additional theaters in its sixth weekend, earning $253,800, for a per-screen average of $1,800 and a cumulative $1.5 million.
Neon expanded Wild Rose into 16 locations (up from four two weeks ago) for $64,113, a per-screen average of $4,007 and a cumulative $135,403.
A24's The Last Black Man in San Francisco added 83 locations and $482,387 in its fourth weekend for a per-screen average of $3,112 and a cumulative $2 million.
CBS Films' documentary Pavarotti added 153 screens and $532,000 in its fourth weekend (a per-screen average of $1,847) for a cumulative $1.8 million.
The Film Arcade expanded Being Frank into 13 locations from its 11 two weeks ago with $12,740 (a per-screen average of $980) and a cumulative $50,124.
MovieStyle on 07/05/2019