John Krasinski’s latest cinematic venture, ‘IF,’ has claimed the top spot at the box office this weekend, according to studio estimates released Sunday. The film’s $35 million North American debut, while impressive, fell slightly below some industry projections. This opening has sparked discussions about whether it signifies a disappointment, an ominous sign for the summer box office season, or if the final chapter for ‘IF’ is yet to be penned.
In a summer season mired with uncertainty and a lack of runaway hits, ‘IF’ seems to have struck a chord. The film, featuring an ensemble cast led by Ryan Reynolds, Cailey Fleming, and numerous A-list voices such as Steve Carell, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Louis Gossett Jr., Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Maya Rudolph, stems from an original idea conceived by Krasinski himself. Notably, Krasinski also took on the roles of writer, director, and co-star in this family-friendly production.
Paramount Pictures, which produced the film at a reported cost of $110 million, released ‘IF’ across 4,041 locations in North America. Internationally, it garnered an estimated $20 million from 56 markets, culminating in a respectable $55 million global debut.
“Families came out in force and they loved the film,” remarked Chris Aronson, who heads Paramount’s domestic distribution. However, several somewhat contradictory narratives surround its opening performance. With a PG-rating, ‘IF’ was the first major family-friendly film to hit theaters in weeks. Family-oriented films often enjoy extended box office runs, unlike the typically front-loaded superhero or horror flicks. Last summer, Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ was initially assumed to be a box office failure when it debuted with $29.5 million domestically, only to accumulate nearly $500 million globally by the end of the season.
While ‘IF’ has received mixed reviews from critics—holding a “rotten” 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes—audiences have shown solid support, reminiscent of the reception for ‘Elemental.’ For Paramount, this indicates a successful debut with optimistic prospects for longevity as summer break begins for school-age children.
“I think it bodes well for moviegoing in general as we move into the summer movie season,” Aronson stated. “Kids are out of school starting this coming week and I couldn’t think of a better film to be in the marketplace than this one: It’s new, it’s fresh, it’s original, and it’s such a heartwarming film.”
Another significant contender at the box office is ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,’ which, in just ten days, has surpassed $100 million domestically and $237 million globally. It secured the second spot in its second weekend with $26 million.
. Yet, the industry hasn’t seen a major movie moment akin to last year’s hits like ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie,’ ‘Barbie,’ or ‘Oppenheimer,’ creating a noticeable void. For context, ‘Fast X’ opened at over $60 million during the same weekend last year.
“This is a very unusual summer. It got off to an unusual start without a Marvel movie,” commented Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “The box office has been in a holding pattern, 20% down from last year.”
Moreover, ‘IF’ wasn’t the only new film to hit theaters this weekend. Lionsgate’s horror movie ‘The Strangers—Chapter 1’ surpassed expectations with a $12 million debut from 2,856 locations, thanks in part to an innovative marketing campaign that staged viral moments at major events such as the Trump trial and Coachella.
Additionally, the Amy Winehouse biopic ‘Back to Black’ opened to an estimated $2.9 million from 2,010 screens in North America, while the IMAX documentary ‘The Blue Angels’ made $1.3 million from 227 screens. ‘The Blue Angels’ will continue its run on premium large-format screens through May 22 before transitioning to Prime Video on May 23.
Although Hollywood considers the first weekend in May as the kickoff for the summer movie season, things are just starting to warm up with upcoming releases like ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ and ‘The Garfield Movie.’ Dergarabedian pointed out that Memorial Day weekend often allows moviegoers to catch up on films they may have missed, which could be beneficial for ‘IF’ as word-of-mouth buzz builds.
“This is certainly a non-traditional summer in terms of film line-ups and box office trajectory,” Dergarabedian noted. “However, collectively these films should result in a solid Memorial weekend performance.”
Estimated tickets sales for Friday through Sunday in U.S. and Canadian theaters, as reported by Comscore, indicate a promising but cautious start to the summer box office. Final domestic figures will be released on Monday. The evolving landscape of cinema in 2024 continues to unfold, with many eyes on how ‘IF’ will fare in the coming weeks.
