'Dark Phoenix' burns out, 'The Secret Life of Pets 2' stumbles into first place

Weekend Box Office: June 7-9, 2019

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — “The Secret Life of Pets 2” fell short of modest predictions that had the film earning $50 million over its first weekend, but its $47 million was still good enough to nab first place as the latest (and last from Fox) X-Men film “Dark Phoenix” struggled to make just $33 million.

“The Secret Life of Pets” opened domestically with $100 million over its first three days in July of 2016. It finished with a worldwide total of $875 million. $500 million of that total came from overseas. “The Secret Life of Pets 2” opened internationally to $49 million. That puts its worldwide total is just shy of $100 million. Having cost $80 million to produce, "Pets" is going to need a incredibly strong second weekend before “Toy Story 4” arrives on June 21.

Still, things could be worse. You could be “Dark Phoenix,” a film that was highly anticipated right up until Disney bought Fox and then became something of a whimper, rather than a scream. Reviews have been terrible, worse than the film deserves. There are a select few who were completely bewitched by it. I found it to be a little dull and redundant. I do, however, feel like a second viewing is in order. $33 million is a franchise low, dipping well below the $55 million that "The Wolverine" opened to in 2013. The numbers internationally are a little more promising as the film brought in $107 million for a worldwide total of $140 million. $45 million coming from China alone.

Disney’s live-action remake of “Aladdin” quietly did $24.5 million this weekend for a domestic total of $232 million. Worldwide, the film has made $604 million.

With $15.5 million, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” dropped 67% in its second weekend. Its domestic total is an underwhelming $78.6 million. Worldwide the film has earned $292 million.

“Rocketman” took in $14 million, for a $50 million domestic total. That’s a 46% drop, which is a fairly solid hold, but any hope that the Elton John fantasy biopic would match the might of “Bohemian Rhapsody” has been permanently grounded.

At least "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum" continues its fantastic run as it dropped 33% with $7.4 million for a domestic total of $138 million. Worldwide the film's total is $252 million. The first two films made a total of $260 million combined.

Next week sees the wide release of “Late Night” with Mindy Kaling and Emma Thopmson, “Men in Black International” with Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson and the latest film from the Shaft franchise.