DC League of Super-Pets Projected to Win Weekend Box Office With $25 Million Plus Opening

Warner Bros. DC's League of Super-Pets is projected to win the box office on its opening weekend. At mid-week check, League of Super-Pets is projected to open with $25-30 million in theaters, which would edge out Jordan Peele's Nope in its second week, after that sci-fi thriller opened to $40 million in its first week and is projected for $15 to $16 million in its second. League of Super-Pets will be opening in 4,300 theaters in North America, and looks to snag a wide demographic net of viewers with its family-friendly premise – which you can read below: 

When the Justice League are captured by Lex Luthor, Superman's dog, Krypto, forms a team of shelter-pets who were given super-powers: A hound named Ace, who becomes super-strong, a pig named PB, who can grow to giant-size, a turtle named Merton, who becomes super-fast, and a squirrel named Chip, who gains electric-powers.

DC and Warner Bros. have been dealt a hard blow in 2022, as dreams of finally establishing a franchise universe to rival Marvel all but crumbled. With the movie slate cut down by nearly half (The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom) were both delayed. League of Super-Pets could be a much-needed dark horse success for the studio – possibly a new lane of franchise starter much like Sony got with the slow-burn success of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. 

So far, animated films seem to be holding strong in the post-pandemic market – with the conspicuous exception of Disney•Pixar's Lightyear, which crashed and burned with just $215 million worldwide on a $200 million budget. However, Universal's Minions took in $643 million worldwide on an $80 million budget, so it really does seem to be all about the appeal of the content and brand recognition. League of Super-Pets comes with that big "DC" stamp on it, as well as some stunt-casted celebrities voicing iconic characters (see below). 

The cast of DC League of Super-Pets includes the voices of Keanu Reeves as Batman, John Krasinski as Superman, and Marc Maron as Lex Luthor. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Kevin Hart star along with Kate McKinnon, Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, and Diego Luna. League of Super-Pets is directed by Jared Stern and Sam Levine, from a script written by Stern. Johnson and Stern produce alongside Patricia Hicks, Dany Garcia, and Hiram Garcia. John Requa, Glenn Ficarra, and Nicholas Stoller all serve as executive producers.

Source: Variety