Welcome back to the Summer Movie Pool! Those who have played in the SMP over the years know that the summer doesn’t really kick off unless there’s a Marvel flick to wake up moviegoers. Deviating from this strategy has repeatedly hurt exhibitors, experienced as recently as 2024’s The Fall Guy ($27M). Disney must not have gotten that message as they instead are rolling with The Devil Wears Prada 2 (selected by 33 of our 38 players). And with an opening projection of $84M we may be just fine. Note that’s $84M on top of an expected $42M third weekend for the holdover Michael. Off to a promising start.
Four other Wide releases open this weekend, though none were selected by our players. There’s always been someone wanting to risk an early flier, but looks like folks are wising up here 😉 The box office projections don’t look good for the remaining openers, but those Critic and Audience scores are pretty nice (except you, Animal Farm – ouch).
Box Office Theory forecast for this weekend:
| # | 3-Day Wknd (M) | Total (M) | % Change | Theater Count | |
| 1 | The Devil Wears Prada 2 | 84.3 | 84.3 | – | 4,150 |
| 2 | |||||
| 3 | |||||
| 4 | |||||
| 5 | Hokum | 5.7 | 5.7 | – | 1,850 |
| 6 | |||||
| 7 | Animal Farm | 2.4 | 2.4 | – | 2,600 |
| 8 | That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea | 1.8 | 1.8 | – | 837 |
| 9 | |||||
| 10 | Deep Water | 1.3 | 1.3 | – | 1,675 |
Rotten Tomatoes freshness ratings:
| All Critics | Top Critics | Verified Audience | |
| The Devil Wears Prada 2 | 77% | 71% | 88% |
| Hokum | 86% | 93% | 75% |
| Animal Farm | 24% | 15% | TBD |
| That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea | TBD | TBD | 96% |
| Deep Water | 77% | 80% | TBD |
CinemaScore ratings:
| Score | |
| The Devil Wears Prada 2 | TBD |
| Hokum | TBD |
| Animal Farm | TBD |
| That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea | TBD |
| Deep Water | TBD |
TBD ratings updates will be posted as they are published.