The box office problems for sequels in North America continues this weekend. Sure, Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” made an incredible amount of money— $118 million domestically—in its opening weekend, but the figure is far down from the early estimates that had the film opening to around $150 million in North America. It’s the largest opening for a “Toy Story” movie ever, and this is excellent news, but that 2019’s summer slump, the fatigue that seems to be setting in with North American moviegoers does seem like it hurt the film a little.

Continue reading ‘Toy Story 4’ Has The Largest Opening For Any ‘Toy Story’ Film, But Still Falls Short Of Expectations [Box Office] at The Playlist.

The summer movie season is always going to have some incredible, often record-breaking box office stats. Just this year, we’re seeing that with some great results for films like “John Wick 3,” “Aladdin,” and, of course, “Avengers: Endgame.” Also, every year, the summer brings with it some box office bombs. But it’s rare that a weekend is as dreadful as what we saw this frame, with films like “The Secret Life of Pets 2” and “Dark Phoenix” not only underperforming, but doing it in historically bad fashion, particularly in the case of the latter, the final Fox film in the 20-year “X-Men” franchise.

Continue reading Bombs Away! ‘Dark Phoenix’ Fizzles With Franchise-Worst Opening As ‘Secret Life 2’ Can’t Compete With The Original [Box Office] at The Playlist.

June can be characterized as the middle child of summer movie season. Maybe this is because we’ve become so accustomed to some sort of Marvel film kicking the season off in a big way in late April/early May, or because May is dominated by Cannes coverage. Either way, June has turned into a weird halfway point between the start and end of the season, with July and August once again picking up in terms of quality and quantity.

Continue reading 11 Movies To See In June: ‘Toy Story 4,’ ‘Last Black Man In San Francisco,’ ‘Dead Don’t Die’ & More at The Playlist.

By the time it hit theaters in 2016, “The Secret Life of Pets” had already enjoyed a lengthy (and ultimately effective) marketing campaign. The film grossed $875 million worldwide and earned a spot among the top ten highest grossing films of that year. It also boasted the biggest opening weekend of any original film, ever. Now, three years later, its highly anticipated sequel has arrived to take the world by storm.

Continue reading ‘Secret Life Of Pets 2’ Final Trailer: An Anxious City Dog Visits A Farm To In This Animated Sequel at The Playlist.

Illumination’s upcoming highly-anticipated sequel “The Secret Life of Pets 2” is doing something unique with its marketing campaign. Instead of sharing full trailers, detailing the plot of the film, the studio is releasing character-centric teasers, showcasing little storylines with the various pets and their celebrity vocal talent. The latest puts Kevin Hart (who’s been in a few headlines lately, huh?) and his character Snowball front and center, in a superheroic way.

Continue reading ‘The Secret Life Of Pets 2’ Snowball Trailer: Kevin Hart’s Superhero Bunny Takes Center Stage at The Playlist.

You’re either a cat person or not. And in the new trailer for the upcoming “The Secret Life of Pets 2,” the animated film gives viewers a chance to see exactly why cats are so divisive.

Let’s be real, cats can be annoying. Chloe, from ‘Secret Life 2,’ is a prime example of this. In the new trailer, focused entirely on the plump feline, we see just what so many cat people go through on a daily basis.

Continue reading ‘Secret Life Of Pets 2’ Chloe Trailer: The Latest Look At The Animated Proves Why Cats Are The Worst at The Playlist.