“Fly Me to the Moon” Crash Lands as “Despicable Me 4” Continues Box Office Reign!

Animated family comedy film Despicable Me 4 remained at the top of the box office as the new live-action release Fly Me to the Moon, starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, failed to make a huge impact.

Animation seems to be having a strong 2024. And as a fan of animated content, I’m here for it. Despicable Me 4 was able to collect an additional approx $44.6 million, pushing the domestic haul to $211 million and the global take to north of $437 million.

The current box office week gave the long-running franchise another thing to celebrate. The Despicable Me/Minions franchise has managed to cross the $5 billion mark, making it the first-ever animated feature film to do so. The franchise is sure to continue, with Universal and Illumination having announced Minions 3 for 2027.

I ended up watching Despicable Me 4 again the past week because I had some time to kill. While it’s not the most well-written animated movie, it sure is a fun one, with the narrative focusing on the theme of family.

Despicable Me 4‘s strong box office performance prevented new movies Longlegs and Fly Me to the Moon from debuting at the top of the chart. At least, the horror thriller Longlegs did far better than the rom-com Fly Me to the Moon.

From writer-director Osgood Perkins (yes, he’s the son of Hollywood icon Anthony Perkins), Longlegs stars Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage. The R-rated film’s approx $22.6 million debut (against a reported production budget of less than $10 million) from 2,510 cinemas made it the biggest opening ever for Neon.

Not only that, but such a debut means this is the biggest opening for Cage since National Treasure: Book of Secrets in 2007. It is also currently the biggest opening for an R-rated movie in 2024. I’m sure there are other records the film broke in the horror space if you decide to do some research.

Though the movie was hyped before release, it looks like general audiences weren’t feeling it. As of writing this post, Longlegs holds a 63% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. I do plan on watching Longlegs. Apparantly, Cage’s character is something to behold. But I’m unsure if I’ll actually get to watching it. Let’s see.

The story involves an FBI agent trying to uncover a decades-spanning mystery behind a spree of murders and how everything seems to be connected to someone called Longlegs.

Coming back to animation, Inside Out 2 continued to print money for the House of Mouse. It collected $20.7 million this week. And yes, Inside Out 2 is now the top-grossing animated film of all time with a global haul of $1.35 billion. A third movie in the franchise is bound to happen.

As for the other newcomer, we have Fly Me to the Moon by director Greg Berlanti. Starring Johansson and Tatum, the movie failed to entice audiences, debuting with only $10 million from 3,356 sites. It has a strong 89% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes though.

It is reported to have a production budget of $100 million. So, yeah, I think it can be considered a flop. But having said that, let’s see if it’s able to rally an audience via streaming. Regardless, I think Johansson, similar to her male peers, is also having a tough time making it big at the box office outside of the MCU content or when not attached to a recognized IP.

The Top 10 Box Office Chart (July 12-14, 2024)

1. Despicable Me 4 – $44.6 million
2. Longlegs – $22.6 million
3. Inside Out 2 – $20.7 million
4. A Quiet Place: Day One – $11.8 million
5. Fly Me to the Moon – $10 million
6. Bad Boys 4 – $4.4 million
7. Horizon – $2.44 million
8. MaXXXine – $2 million
9. Indian 2 – $1.96 million
10. Sound of Hope – $1.34 million

Did you watch Longlegs and Fly Me to the Moon? What did you think of them?

Let us know.

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(via THR, Beyond the Trailer)

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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