“Black Widow” gave up its No. 1 spot to an unlikely foe in its second week in theatres. LeBron James, Bugs Bunny and the rest of the stars of Warner Bros.’ “Space Jam: A New Legacy” defied expectations and won the box office this weekend. “Space Jam: A New Legacy” grossed $31.7 million in North America, while “Black Widow” took in $26.3 million. It’s a known fact that not many expected “Space Jam: A New Legacy” to pull off this win. The film was poorly reviewed. But a great number of families and millennials who grew up with the original “Space Jam” left the house and went to a theatre to see it. Audiences also gave the film a promising A- CinemaScore. “Space Jam: A New Legacy” is the largest pandemic opening for Warner Bros. It is quite significant since the studio in 2021 is releasing all its films simultaneously in theatres and on HBO Max.
It’s also the largest domestic opening for a family film since the beginning of the pandemic. Warner Bros. said 32% of the audience was under 18, which is larger than usual. Most of the major family films that have come out during the pandemic have opened well under $20 million. But audiences of all ages turned out for the new “Space Jam.” “It shows that families have waited for a movie that everyone can go to and that’s this movie,” said Warner Bros.’ head of domestic distribution. “It’s just a fun movie for the family.” “Black Widow” fell 67% in its second weekend, which is also fairly normal for superhero films. Last weekend, “Black Widow” became the highest-grossing film of the pandemic. Disney also surprised many in the industry by revealing its first weekend profits from the movie’s streaming rentals. Rental grosses were not provided this week.
