‘Cocaine Bear’ beats box office expectations, ‘Ant-Man 3’ falls short

Universal’s horror-comedy “Cocaine Bear” blew away box office estimates, earning an impressive $23 million from 3,534 North American theaters in its opening weekend. The blood-spattered animal adventure landed in second place on the domestic charts behind Disney’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania,” which faltered in its sophomore outing.

“Ant-Man 3” managed to stay in first place thanks to its huge $106 million opening, but the comic book installment suffered from negative buzz. It added $32.2 million from 4,345 venues in its second weekend of release, marking a brutal 69% drop from its debut.

Now, “Quantumania” holds the ignominious distinction of being the biggest week-to-week drop in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which includes “Black Widow” (which dropped 67.8% in its simultaneous debut on Disney Plus) and “The Eternals” (which dropped 62% dropped) after equally bad reviews). Worldwide, the movie grossed $364 million, including $167 million domestically and $196 million internationally.

“Cocaine Bear,” directed by Elizabeth Banks, earned another $5.3 million for a worldwide debut of $28.4 million at the international box office. The movie had a budget of around $35 million. For Universal, “Cocaine Bear” is another win for original concepts following its killer-doll movie “M3GAN,” which was a surprise hit for $170 million worldwide.

“It’s an outrageous comedy that absolutely delivers on its premise,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution. “People were ready to see something up there.”

Moviegoers were mixed on “Cocaine Bear”, giving the film a “B-” CinemaScore. Inspired by the true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, the wildly R-rated “Cocaine Bear” follows the residents of a small town as they try to escape a 500-pound black bear that devours a duffle bag.

“Audiences tend to be tougher after being grossed out,” says David A. Gross, who runs movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research Still that didn’t stop patrons from buying tickets. “Scary jokes benefit from the outrageous, and this story about a cocaine-crazed bear is wacko by accident,” he adds.

In third place, Lionsgate’s religious drama “Jesus Revolution” debuted to $15.5 million from 2,475 theaters, just shy of the project. Heading into the weekend, the movie was expected to gross $6 million to $7 million.

Faith-based audiences — 59% female and 89% 25 and older — were enthralled by “The Jesus Revolution,” giving the film a rare “A+” CinemaScore. From “I Can Only Imagine” filmmakers Erwin Brothers, the $15 million budget film follows a youth minister and a pastor as they take part in the evangelical Christian movement that swept Southern California in the early 1970s.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” rounded out the box office charts. At No. 4, James Cameron’s “Avatar” sequel added $4.7 million from 2,495 venues in its 11th weekend. It is now the ninth-highest-grossing film in North America with $665.4 million. Overseas, the sci-fi blockbuster generated a whopping $1.6 billion, bringing its global tally to $2.267 billion.

“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” followed closely behind with $4.1 million from 2,840 in its 10th weekend in theaters. The animated sequel, set in the “Shrek” universe, is quietly running with $173 million at the box office and $442 million worldwide.

More to come…