UPDATE: 2025-08-13 08:03 EST BY BRENNAN KLEIN
Megalopolis Sinks Even Lower With A $4 Million Debut,
This article was originally written Saturday AM and has been updated Sunday AM with altered box office projections (in bold), a full chart, and further analysis.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuiceapproaches a major milestone at the domestic box office whileThe Wild Robottrounces fellow new releaseMegalopolis. Though theBeetlejuice Beetlejuicereleaseis in its fourth weekend in theaters, Tim Burton’s smash-hit legacy sequel has continued to thrive after debuting with $111 million, the third-best opening weekend of the year so far. Its latest competition is the DreamWorks animated movieThe Wild Robot, about a robot stranded on a desert island learning to bond with nature, and Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded $120 million sci-fi epic passion projectMegalopolis.
PerVariety, as of Sunday morning,Beetlejuice Beetlejuiceis projected to hit the $250 million milestone at the domestic box officeby the end of its fourth weekend in theaters, adding$16 millionto its cumulative total. This will see it draw perilously close to topplingBatman($251.4 million), which is Tim Burton’s second highest-grossing movie in North America behindAlice in Wonderland($334.1 million). It seems certain to surpassBatmanas Burton’s No. 2 domestic movie in the coming week.
Meanwhile, of the new English-language releases,The Wild Robothas come out on top by a substantial margin. The animated movie is projected to debut to $35 million, which isthe third-best opening weekend ever for a September animated release.Megalopolishas fallen significantly behind, with a projected$4 milliongross placing it at No. 6 on the domestic chart for the weekend, landing outside of the Top 5 completely. Take a look at the full Top 5 domestic chart below:
1
$35 million
$35 million (weekend 1)
2
$16 million
$250 million (weekend 4)
3
$9.1 million
$38.9 million (weekend 2)
4
$6.7 million
$6.7 million (weekend 1)
5
$4.3 million
$28 million (weekend 3)
WhileMegalopolisfailed to debut on the Top 5 chart, a different new release movie found its way onto the chart. That would beDevara: Part 1,an Indian action title that featuresRRRstar N. T. Rama Rao Jr in a dual role. The Telugu-language feature debuted in North America with a $6.7 million gross from just 1,040 theaters, which is even fewer thanMegalopolis' 1,854, which was already slightly conservative for a contemporary wide release.
The Wild Robotdebuted in 3,962 theaters, giving it access to a much wider audience across North America than either of its new release competitors, though all three debuts are considered “wide releases.”
Meanwhile,Transformers Onedropped from No. 2 to No. 3 with a $9.1 million gross. This represents a 63% drop from its opening weekend,a not unexpected but slightly rough fall after debuting at No. 2. Additionally,Speak No Evilhad a solid 27% fall from No. 3 to No. 5 with $4.3 million in its third weekend.
With two new releases appearing on the chart,two of last week’s Top 5 titles have been cleared from the board. One was the previous No. 5 titleDeadpool & Wolverine, which has fallen to No. 7 with $2.8 million during the tenth weekend of its record-breaking run. The other isNever Let Go, which fell from No. 4 directly to No. 8 with $2.1 million, a 53% drop that is not particularly harsh for a second-week horror title, as the genre frequently drops 60% or more during its second weekend.
What These Opening Totals Mean For The Wild Robot And Megalopolis
Only One New Release Is On Track To Break Even
This opening weekend total putstheWild Robotreleaseon a strong footing. Although it is only the third-best September animated debut, it is just behind 2012’sHotel Transylvania($42.5 million) and 2015’sHotel Transylvania 2($48.4 million), which went on to gross $358.4 million and $475.2 million worldwide respectively. If the new movie can stay on track with those titles,it could gross somewhere around $295 million by the end of its run, which would be a respectable total in the face of its $78 million budget.
Typically, a movie needs to earn roughly two-and-a-half times its budget to turn a profit, which likely placesThe Wild Robot’s break-even point around $195 million.
In contrast, theMegalopolisreleasehas a difficult road ahead of it. U.S. distributor Lionsgate is not on the hook for the massive $120 million budget. However, the self-funded movie took a financial toll on Coppola. The risky moves made by theApocalypse NowandThe Godfatherdirector included selling a portion of his winery to fund the long-gestating sci-fi epic, which originally went into development in 1983. With this single-digit debut, it seemshighly unlikely to come anywhere close to making that money back in theaters, let alone turning a profit.
Our Take On The Weekend Box Office
Megalopolis Suffers In Comparison To The Weekend’s Hits
While theWild RobotandBeetlejuice Beetlejuicebox officeare both likely set up to continue enjoying a strong chart performance in the coming weeks, it seems possible thatMegalopoliscould fall from the Top 10 immediately during its second week in theaters.There does not seem to be a strong likelihood of a word-of-mouth boost for the Coppola project, which has a D+ CinemaScore and a 41% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. That, combined with the impending release of the blockbuster superhero sequelJoker: Folie à Deux, likely spells doom for the ambitious sci-fi movie.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Cast
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel to the original Tim Burton classic that starred Michael Keaton and Wynona Rider in a horror-comedy that involved ghosts trying to scare off new homebuyers from taking their house. The sequel brings back Michael Keaton as the hilarious and sleazy ghost with selfish intentions, now joined by Jenna Ortega in a new role.
The Wild Robot
The Wild Robot is an animated drama film based on a series of books by Peter Brown. The adaptation is written and directed by Chris Sanders and stars Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, and Catherine O’Hara. The Wild Robot centers on a robot named Rozzum 7134, who becomes stranded on a deserted island and the guardian of a young orphan.
Megalopolis
Megalopolis, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is a visionary 2024 film exploring the ambitious dream of reconstructing New York City into a utopia, following a devastating disaster. The narrative delves into the clash between the architect’s utopian vision and the political and personal turmoil that ensues. With a star-studded cast, the film examines themes of ambition, power, and the human spirit’s resilience against the backdrop of a futuristic metropolis.
