Movie News

“LEGO Movie 2” Disappoints, Still Leads US Friday Box Office

Despite its first-place result, “The LEGO Movie 2” underperformed.

The rapid release of spin-offs clearly took a bite out of “The LEGO Movie” franchise.

Official sequel “The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part” underperformed at the US Friday box office.

The sequel earned $8.5 million on Friday, which marked its first day of release. While enough for a first-place finish Friday (and enough to position “LEGO” for a clear weekend victory), the tally is well below expectations. It is also well below the $17.1 million earned by the original film.

It also trails the $14.5 million earned by “The LEGO Batman Movie” (though tops the $5.8 million earned by “The LEGO Ninjago Movie”).

The film will likely close the weekend with $29-32 million in receipts. That will yield a comfortable weekend victory (no other film is even a lock for $20 million), but it will be well below the $50 million-plus analysts expected.

The first film earned $69.1 million in its inaugural weekend.

New release “What Men Want” took second place with $6.6 million Friday. It should also take #2 on the weekend chart with $17-19 million.

“Cold Pursuit,” another newcomer, was #3 at the Friday box office with $3.6 million. A projected weekend finish in the $9-11 million range should keep it in the #3 slot.

“The Prodigy” took #4 at the Friday box office with $2.0 million, but it may fall below “The Upside” and “Glass” as the weekend continues. They are respectively projected for $6.5-7.5 million and $6-7 million this weekend, while “The Prodigy” may land in the $4.5-5.5 million range.

Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.

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Brian Cantor