Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” had one of the bigger opening weekends of the past eight months ($8.6 million), but it didn’t come close to what WB’s “Tom & Jerry” did the week before ($14.1M). Both movies are going after the same audience: families. This may be a case of families that JUST saw “Tom & Jerry” wanting to wait a week or two before spending their money on “Raya”. Or “Raya” won’t make nearly as much money total as “Tom & Jerry”. We’ll see how the next few weeks play out.
This isn’t the first time that an animated movie released right after another animated/family film suffered a little bit from going second.
It’s minor deja vu for Disney. In 2018, “Ralph Breaks the Internet” began its theatrical run just 12 days after Illumination’s “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch”. “Grinch” had a $68 million start, while “Ralph”’s was $56M (though the five-day open was $84M). “Ralph” ($201M) ended-up grossing $69 million less than “Grinch” ($270M).
DreamWorks “The Boss Baby” opened on March 31, 2017 to $50.2 million. The very next Friday, Sony released “Smurfs: The Lost Village”. It only earned $13.2 million – exactly half of “The Boss Baby”’s second weekend gross. “BB” made $175M by the end of its run, while “Smurfs” only got $45M.
Blue Sky’s fifth “Ice Age” installment “Collision Course” ended the franchise right after its first weekend gross was revealed: $21.4 million. It lost to Illumination’s juggernaut “The Secret Life of Pets”, with a third weekend take of $29.3 million. “Pets” grossed $368M when it finished its time in theaters. “IA5”: just $64M.
DreamWorks “Penguins of Madagascar” was overshadowed by Disney’s “Big Hero 6” in November 2014. “Penguins” opened stronger in the 3-Day Thanksgiving weekend than “BH6” (Weekend No. 4), but it was closer than it should’ve been: $25.5M to $18.8M. “Penguins” only made $84 million total, while “Big Hero 6” raked-in $222.5 million.
Summer 2013 was also a crowded time for animation. Blue Sky’s “Epic” ($107.5M) opened in May. Pixar’s “Monsters University” ($268.5M) was in June. Illumination’s “Despicable Me 2” ($368M) kicked-off July. DreamWorks “Turbo” ($83M) was released just two weeks later. And DisneyToon’s “Planes” ($90M) flew-in in August. The snail racing film lost that box office race.
The end of 2011 was another busy period. “Puss in Boots” was originally scheduled to open on November 4th, but DreamWorks moved it up a week to October 28th. This “Shrek” spinoff made $149 million total. “Happy Feet Two” (which debuted November 18th) bombed, grossing just $64 million. And Sony’s delightful “Arthur Christmas” (which premiered only five days later on November 23rd) did even worse, with only a $46.5 million cume.
Opening day of Disney’s “Bolt” was November 21, 2008 – 14 days after DreamWorks unveiled “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”. That sequel earned $180M total, while “Bolt” brought-in significantly less ($114M).
Disney’s “The Wild” (NOT a Walt Disney Animation Studios film) came out just two weeks after Blue Sky’s “Ice Age: The Meltdown”. “Wild” (which many considered a “Madagascar” knock-off) totaled $37 million, a small percentage of “IA2”’s $195M.
And November 2004 was really interesting. “The Incredibles” was a knockout for Pixar, opening on the 5th to $70 million (and totaling $261M). Warner Bros. allowed “The Polar Express” to leave the gate on Wednesday the 10th. It only took-in $30 million in its first five days, but a long holiday run allowed its total to grow to $163M (still $98M less than “Incredibles”). And on the 19th, Paramount and Nickelodeon unveiled “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie”, which had a $32 million opening weekend but totaled the least of the three: $85M.
Source: Box Office Mojo