The Secret Life of Pets Passes $100 Million In Its Opening Weekend

The Secret Life of Pets from Illumination Entertainment and Universal Studios earned an estimated [...]

secretlifeofpets

The Secret Life of Pets from Illumination Entertainment and Universal Studios earned an estimated $103.2 million this weekend, the sixth-biggest opening weekend of all time for an animated feature.

In the film, which debuted on Friday, Max (Louis C.K.) is a spoiled terrier who enjoys a comfortable life in a New York building until his owner adopts Duke, a giant and unruly canine. During their walk outside, they encounter a group of ferocious alley cats and wind up in a truck that's bound for the pound. Luckily, a rebellious bunny named Snowball swoops in to save the doggy duo from captivity. In exchange, Snowball demands that Max and Duke join his gang of abandoned pets on a mission against the humans who've done them wrong.

The movie also features the voice talents of Kevin Hart, Lake Bell, Albert Brooks, Hannibal Burress, and more.

The Secret Life of Pets got 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, just enough to be "Certified Fresh." It will be interesting to see where the box office numbers go from here, as it was never expected to earn more than $80 million in its opening weekend. There's also the possibility that the film's haul was bolstered by a Minions short film advertised on kid-themed YouTube videos in recent weeks.

Coming in second this week was The Legend of Tarzan, with just over $20 million for a week to week drop of 46.5%. In third was Disney/Pixar's Finding Dory, which also passed Captain America: Civil War to become the highest-grossing film of the year at the domestic box office. That movie had earned a massive second weekend, beating out competition from the much-anticipated Independence Day sequel, before edging out Tarzan last week. Dory dropped 51% in its fourth week, meaning that it just barely missed out on beating Tarzan again.

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates earned more than $16 million, outperforming projections and coming in fourth ahead of The Purge: Election Year, which dropped more than 60% in its second week.

Independence Day: Resurgence sunk below the $10 million mark this weekend with a 50%+ drop in its third week. That film has earned $91 million to date and it now appears statistically impossible for it to earn its $165 million budget back at the domestic box office. Like the first Independence Day, it has earned the vast majority of its money overseas, but it still looks unlikely to come even close to the $800 million-plus global haul of its predecessor. In fact, the movie appears likely to stall out with less than $500 million worldwide.

Perfoming similarly to Resurgence at the domestic box office is The Conjuring 2, but of course on a $40 million budget, the fact that the film should pass $100 million in the next couple of days is actually a pretty respectable haul.

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