Director John Krasinski’s imaginary friends end the reign of Wes Ball’s Planet of the Apes entry at No. 1; four newcomers crack the Top 10. 
Despite some tough love from the critics, writer and director John Krasinski’s IF is the No. 1 movie at this weekend’s box office. Actor Ryan Reynolds and his imaginary friends overcome what is currently a rating that is “splatting” at 49% on the Tomatomenter because moviegoers are loving the real-life animated feature film. Armed with a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 87% and an even more impressive “A” CinemaScore, IF overtakes Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and lays claim to the top spot.
IF made an estimated $35 million during its opening weekend domestically, while making another $20 million internationally (per The Numbers). Unfortunately, even though Krasinski’s IF finds itself sitting at No. 1, the film didn’t quite live up to its box office forecast, which predicted a debut closer to $40 million. However, with a worldwide take of $55 million, the live-action animated adventure has made back half of its $110 million budget.
Meanwhile, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes holds fairly well between its first and second weekends (-55%), as Proximus Caesar’s (Kevin Durand) box office reign at No. 1 ends, but settles into the No. 2 spot with $26 million. With its overseas numbers at $136.3 million, Kingdom boasts a worldwide take of $237.5 million, at the time of this writing. But what about the other newcomers which were hoping to compete with IF this weekend?
All Four Major Box Office Newcomers Crack Top 10
Naturally, The Strangers: Chapter 1 stars want fans to see the horror film in theaters. And, as it turns out, many people did venture into cinemas to see director Renny Harlin’s entry in The Strangers franchise. Of the other three major newcomers this weekend, only Chapter 1 managed to crack the Top 5, as the movie lays claim to the No. 3 spot with $12 million domestically. This weekend’s other newbies, Back to Black (No. 6 | $2.9 million) and The Blue Angels IMAX experience (No. 9 | $1.3 million) didn’t do quite as well, but both did end up cracking the Top 10.
Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt’s team-up in the Guinness World Record-breaking The Fall Guy holds extremely well at -38% and lands the No. 4 slot with $8.5 million. Now, what might surprise some cinephiles is the fact that Zendaya’s steamy sports romance Challengers is the No. 5 film this weekend with $2.9 million. Despite the fact that Challengers is now available to rent on VOD platforms, director Luca Guadagnino’s latest big-screen effort continues to thrive in theaters.
