'Pacific Rim Uprising' dethrones 'Black Panther' at the box office

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March 26, 2018 4:12 AM

It took giant robots fighting giant monsters to finally unseat “Black Panther” at the top of the box office.

“Pacific Rim Uprising,” the bombastic sequel to Guillermo Del Toro’s 2013 action film, grossed $28 million domestically in its first weekend.

The new film from Legendary and Universal, directed by Steven S. DeKnight (“Daredevil”), opened smaller than its predecessor domestically — that one made $37 million upon release — but thrived overseas, making $122.5 million internationally, with a huge reception in China. “Pacific Rim Uprising,” shot mostly in China and Australia, cost $155 million to make, not including marketing.

“Black Panther” pulled in another $16 million, good for second place. The film has now made $630 million domestically; it will have to reach about $676 million in order to beat “The Avengers,” from 2012, to become the biggest superhero film of all time, adjusting for inflation.

“Sherlock Gnomes,” Paramount’s chipper computer-animated comedy about a garden doll version of the Arthur Conan Doyle detective, made $10.6 million — a steep decline compared with its predecessor, “Gnomeo & Juliet,” which made $25.3 million upon its opening in 2011. The new film received terrible reviews and represents another box office flop for Paramount, which has limped through the past six months with financial disappointments like “Annihilation,” “Suburbicon,” and “Downsizing.”

“Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson’s latest buoyant stop-motion film for Fox Searchlight, earned $1.57 million in just 27 theaters. Reviews have been strong, but discussion around the movie, set in Japan, has been plagued by accusations of cultural appropriation. The film will open wide in the coming weeks.

The surprise faith-based hit “I Can Only Imagine,” starring Dennis Quaid, continued to draw audiences in its second week, making $13.8 million. The Roadside Attractions film has now made $38 million, far surpassing its $7 million production budget. And another low-budget faith-based movie, Sony’s “Paul, Apostle of Christ,” opened to a respectable $5 million, continuing a recent formula of success for Christian movies.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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