There’s one key question gripping the world this weekend: will the box office be smiling, or will it be Lyling?
Sony’s “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” had hopes to challenge for the top slot at the box office this weekend, though it seems that the family comedy will now be unable to outpace the second weekend of Paramount’s horror film “Smile.” Meanwhile, 20th Century Studios’ “Amsterdam” is bombing in its debut, aiming to finish in third.
“Lyle, Lyle” landed a $3.47 million opening day, screening in 4,350 locations. While that’s not exactly the most impressive opening day on paper, the majority of ticket sales for the musical will come with family audiences attending screenings on Saturday, Sunday and the Monday holiday of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which will keep a good fraction of kids out of school.
No word yet on Sony’s projections for the opening. With a production budget of $50 million, “Lyle” hopes to make a substantial splash in its debut to get word-of-mouth kicking. There isn’t much competition for family audiences through October, barring the PG-13 DC Comics spectacle “Black Adam.” The film landed a middling 57% approval rating from top critics on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, while Variety chief film critic Owen Gleiberman wrote that “the spirit of the tale isn’t matched by the telling.” But a favorable “A-” grade through research firm CinemaScore shows that audiences are being much more responsive.
Based on the beloved children’s book by Bernard Waber, “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” follows a friendly CGI reptile with a bad case of stage fright, voiced by Grammy-nominated artist Shawn Mendes. The film also stars Constance Wu, Scoot McNairy and Winslow Fegley as the hospitable Primm family, as well as Javier Bardem as Hector P. Valenti, Lyle’s beguiling, mildly deranged showbiz mentor.
Meanwhile, the weekend’s other new wide release “Amsterdam,” from David O. Russell, isn’t generating the bustle that its sizzling line-up of A-list talent would suggest. The 20th Century Studios release is outright flopping in its debut, earning $2.6 million on Friday from 3,005 theaters. Projections for the weekend are now at $7 million, but estimates were floating around $10 million heading into the weekend and were as high as $20 million last month.
In a theatrical landscape that is still regathering itself coming out of COVID-19 lockdowns, box office expectations for adult-skewering dramas have been more measured and forgiving. But it’s difficult to dress this up as anything other than a terrible start for “Amsterdam.” New Regency co-funded its oversized $80 million production budget, while Disney has expended a good chunk of change on high-profile premiere events and marketing.
Critical approval is usually a key factor in elevating the financial prospects for a prestige product like “Amsterdam,” but reviews have been largely unfriendly. The film currently holds a 35% approval rating from top critics on Rotten Tomatoes — a career-low for the once-Academy-darling Russell (barring his disowned, long-shelved “Accidental Love”). A lightly positive “B” grade on CinemaScore likely won’t move the needle much.
“Amsterdam” features a packed cast, including Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Taylor Swift, Michael Shannon, Zoe Saldaña, Mike Myers, Robert De Niro and Rami Malek. The neo-screwball farce follows a group of friends who become involved in the murder of a senator in the 1930s.
More to come…