The Garfield Movie hit #1 at the U.S. box office in its second weekend. The Mark Dindal-directed Sony Pictures release becomes the 2nd animated movie of 2024 to top the box office, after Kung Fu Panda 4 achieved the feat two weeks in a row last March.
Garfield managed to secure first place with a weekend total of just $14 million (estimated), a surprisingly low total for a #1 film at the start of the summer season. The film has grossed $51.5m domestic to date, with another $100.7m from foreign plays, for a $152.2m global total.
But the Alcon Entertainment-produced Garfield should still end up profitable for its makers as it was produced for $60m, a modest figure for an American cg production. Many people in the film industry, including Disney CEO Bob Iger, believe that consumer behaviors have changed to the point where the box office will never return to its previous highs. That’s why the majors are scrambling to restructure their animation divisions for a new era. In the future, films like Garfield that are made in the $50-70 million range, will have a much better chance of consistently recouping their costs than the $150-200m studio tentpoles.
Speaking of low-budget films, Sony also took the #7 spot at the U.S. box office with another animation release through its Crunchyroll arm, Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle. The volleyball drama earned $3.5m from 1,119 U.S. theaters. The film has earned $95 global to date. No budget has been released for the film, but whatever the number, it’s guaranteed to be a small fraction of Garfield’s budget.
Also notable, Paramount’s animation-packed hybrid film IF took $10.8m in its 3rd weekend, and has now grossed over $80m domestic. Worldwide total is $138m.
