While Us scored Universal Pictures the only #1 box office debut for an original film in earlier this year, the studio can now boast they’ve accomplished this feat twice in 2019. The original R-rated comedy Good Boys opened in first place at the box office this weekend with an impressive $21 million opening weekend, giving the comedy genre a much needed boost after films like Stuber, Long Shot, and Late Night were D.O.A. It also scored the second biggest opening weekend for a comedy in 2019 so far, right behind A Madea Family Funeral’s $27 million bow.
Comedies have been dying on the vine this year, both in terms of traditional two-handers and blockbuster comedy-actioners like Men in Black: International. My gut tells me Good Boys just enjoyed being the right movie at the right time—there’s not a ton out to see right now, and the marketing was pretty perfect in selling it as an earnest, pre-teen Superbad. There’s not much left on the calendar this year in terms of traditional comedies, but perhaps Jojo Rabbit, Zombieland: Double Tap, or Super Intelligence will continue the Good Boys streak.
Image via Universal Pictures
Universal also scored the second slot at the box office this weekend, as the Fast & Furious spinoff Hobbs & Shaw pulled in another $14.1 million and surpassed $400 million worldwide. Many analysts had Hobbs & Shaw winning the weekend, so Good Boys’s performance is a pleasant surprise all around.
Aside from Good Boys, however, it was very bad news for new releases. The animated sequel The Angry Birds Movie 2 pulled in $10.5 million, which is significantly lower than the $38 million opening weekend of the first movie even though the sequel garnered far higher critical praise. New Line’s critically acclaimed (and genuinely great) Blinded by the Light bombed with $4.1 million despite a stellar A- CinemaScore—so consider this your official suggestion to see this movie in theaters before you regret not taking the plunge. The Cate Blanchette-fronted Where’d You Go Bernadette, meanwhile, pulled in a mere $3.5 million, making it one of the lowest grossing wide debuts of Richard Linklater’s career.
The shark sequel 47 Meters Down: Uncaged didn’t fare quite as terribly as some expected, pulling in $9 million versus the original film’s $11.2 million debut. The CinemaScore, however, was a C+, suggesting opening weekend audiences weren’t particular fond of the movie.
Image via Warner Bros.
In terms of holdovers, Disney’s The Lion King is officially one of the biggest movies ever made. Its worldwide total of $1.435 billion has now surpassed Avengers: Age of Ultron to secure the #9 slot on the all-time worldwide list, and it remains the highest grossing Disney Live Action movie ever made—with Disney Live Action referring to Disney-produced live-action films, and not Disney-owned live-action films like Marvel or Star Wars.
Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, meanwhile, continues to hold well, dropping only 34% from last weekend. The lengthy R-rated film’s international rollout is currently underway, and its worldwide total stands at $122 million.
Check out the full weekend estimates below.
| Rank | Title | Friday | Total |
| 1. | Good Boys | $21,000,000 | $21,000,000 |
| 2. | Hobbs & Shaw | $14,140,000 | $133,741,600 |
| 3. | The Lion King | $11,900,000 | $496,107,985 |
| 4. | The Angry Birds Movie 2 | $10,500,000 | $16,237,146 |
| 5. | Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark | $10,050,000 | $40,216,784 |
| 6. | 47 Meters Down: Uncaged | $9,000,000 | $9,000,000 |
| 7. | Dora and the Lost City of Gold | $8,500,000 | $33,909,724 |
| 8. | Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | $7,600,000 | $114,348,212 |
| 9. | Blinded by the Light | $4,450,000 | $4,450,000 |
| 10. | The Art of Racing in the Rain | $4,403,000 | $16,881,187 |
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