Box Office: 'Jurassic World: Dominion' Maintains Reign as 'Lightyear' Dims on Father's Day Weekend
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The 'Toy Story' spin-off cannot budge the third 'Jurassic World' movie from the top spot as it has a soft launch with an underwhelming opening number that falls below expectations.

AceShowbiz - Buzz Lightyear proves to be no competition to dinosaurs. "Lightyear" could not defeat "Jurassic World: Dominion" at the North American box office following the animated movie's debut on June 17.

The "Toy Story" spin-off, which serves as an origin story for the character Buzz Lightyear, has a soft launch with an estimated $51 million from 4,255 locations domestically. It fell below industry expectations, which projected the film to make around $70 million.

Despite its tie to one of the most-successful Disney-Pixar franchises, "Lightyear" was marketed as a film about the man behind the toy character rather than the toy itself. "The expectations are always incredibly high for any Pixar movie, particularly one that has a direct connection to the 'Toy Story' brand," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for box office tracker Comscore.

It's also the first Pixar movie to be released in theaters since 2020. The studio's last three films, "Soul", "Luca" and "Turning Red", all went directly to Disney+, which may lead audience to wait for "Lightyear" to be available on the streaming service rather than rushing to cinemas.

"There may have been a little confusion about whether it's just in theaters," Dergarabedian further weighed in. "This is a movie that is going to have to be marketed in real time as family audiences connect the dots."

With a reported production budget of $200 million before the millions spent on marketing and promotion, "Lightyear" has a long way to go to turn profitable. With 77% positive reviews from critics and an A- CinemaScore, the movie could have a slow burn, benefitting from the gap before "Minions: The Rise of Gru" arrives on July 1.

"Lightyear" has also opened in 43 markets overseas, where it also has a lackluster debut with $85.6 million. It has been banned in thirteen nations from the Muslim world and the Palestinian territory due to the inclusion of a brief kiss between a lesbian couple.

Thus, "Jurassic World: Dominion" maintains its reign at the domestic chart for the second week in a row with an estimated $58.7 million. It has grossed $249.8 million in North America and $372.4 million overseas for a current global total of $622.2.

"Top Gun: Maverick" also remains strong despite losing another position to No. 3. It collected additional $44 million, dropping only 15.1% on its fourth weekend. "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" is also down one place to No. 4 with approximately $4.2 million, while "The Bob's Burgers Movie" stays steady at No. 5 with an estimated $1.1 million.

Top 10 of North America Box Office (Jun. 17-19, 2022):

  1. "Jurassic World: Dominion" - $58.7 million
  2. "Lightyear" - $51 million
  3. "Top Gun: Maverick" - $44 million
  4. "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" - $4.2 million
  5. "The Bob's Burgers Movie" - $1.1 million
  6. "The Bad Guys" - $980,000
  7. "Everything Everywhere All at Once" - $959,631
  8. "Downton Abbey: A New Era" - $830,000
  9. "Sonic The Hedgehog 2" - $228,392
  10. "Brian and Charles" - $198,000

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