‘Ballerina’ Opens to Sluggish $25 Million, ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Rules With $32.5 Million
The spinoff came in well behind expectations to score the lowest start of any John Wick picture since the first film.
Lilo & Stitch continues to bare sharp claws and approach $800 million globally.
Ballerina was tracking to open to $35 million or more, then projections were lowered to $30 million heading into the weekend and even further.
The good news: Ballerina nabbed an A- CinemaScore and strong audience scores, both on Rotten Tomatoes (94 percent) and PostTrak, so it could regain its step and have longer legs.
Lionsgate decided to bank big on its John Wick universe after seeing each subsequent film open to bigger numbers, an almost unheard-of feat. That is, until now. Since Ballerina is a spinoff, expectations were always going to be different, but not to this degree. and Lionsgate was looking for it to at least match John Wick: Chapter 2‘s $30.4 million opening in 2017, not adjusted for inflation.
