Universal takes top three spots at domestic box office

Although the box office has yet to fully recover from the pandemic, at least one studio has good reason to celebrate this Fourth of July weekend. Universal Pictures currently has the top three films at the domestic box office with 'œF9,'ť 'œThe Boss Baby: Family Business'ť and 'œThe Forever Purge,'ť according to studio estimates Sunday. It's the first time that's happened for Universal since 1989, when the studio had 'œSea of Love,'ť 'œParenthood'ť and 'œUncle Buck'ť topping the charts, and the first time for any studio since 2005.

As expected, the 'œFast & Furious'ť sequel 'œF9'ť maintained the top spot in its second weekend in North American theaters. The film added an estimated $24 million over the weekend and is projected to take in $32.7 million by the end of Monday, bringing its domestic total to $125.8 million. Worldwide, 'œF9'ť will likely surpass the $500 million mark on Monday.

In second place, the animated 'œBoss Baby'ť sequel surpassed expectations opening with $17.3 million for the weekend and $23.1 million including Monday. 'œThe Boss Baby: Family Business'ť features Alex Baldwin voicing the worldly toddler. And in third place, the latest Blumhouse venture, 'œThe Forever Purge,'ť is expected to gross $12.8 million in ticket sales through Sunday and $15.9 million over the four-day weekend.

Although the three films may share a studio name, they're also all different genres with different audience bases: A PG-13 action pic, an R-rated horror and a PG-rated family film. Almost half of the audience for 'œThe Boss Baby 2,'ť for example, was 12 and under, while 64% of the audience for 'œThe Forever Purge'ť was in the coveted 18 to 34 range and also very ethnically diverse.

While it's a bit unconventional for a major studio to open two big films on the same weekend, Universal's head of domestic distribution Jim Orr said they simply saw an opportunity and have historically had great successes on the Fourth of July weekend.

'œThis weekend is just a great glimpse of what we do constantly. which is provide theatrical audiences with a diverse slate of quality films,'ť Orr said. 'œThe results speak for themselves.'ť

The varied slate, he said, is something the studio takes great pride in.

'œWe have films for every single audience out there,'ť Orr added. 'œWe have tremendous partners, with DreamWorks and Blumhouse, and we also have some of the biggest franchises in the industry with the Fast saga.'ť

Paramount's 'œA Quiet Place Part II'ť landed in fourth with an estimated $4.2 million over the three-day weekend and a projected $5.6 million including Monday, bringing its total to $145.8 million in its sixth weekend. 'œThe Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard'ť took fifth with $3 million for the weekend.

'œWe are still in an unusual marketplace,'ť said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore's senior media analyst. 'œBut this is a solid weekend- 'œ81% of theaters are open in North America and moviegoers had a smorgasbord of options. This feels like truly the first fully fledged summer weekend.'ť

The based-on-a-Twitter-thread film 'œZola'ť also had a strong opening on 1,468 screens. The film about a road trip to Florida gone wrong has earned an estimated $2.4 million since Wednesday. According to studio A24, many of the New York and Los Angeles showings sold out this weekend.

"'Zola' is disproving the notion that only blockbusters will bring people to the theaters," Dergarabedian said.

And despite also being available on Hulu, Questlove's 'œBlack Woodstock'ť documentary 'œSummer of Soul'ť earned $650,000 from 752 theaters. Although a somewhat modest number, Searchlight said it's the best performing documentary of the year so far.

The successes are also notable for what they were up against outside of theaters. This was a weekend where there were quite a few at-home streaming options as well, with Amazon Prime Video's Chris Pratt blockbuster 'œThe Tomorrow War'ť among them.

The Universal films accounted for over 77% of the total projected grosses this weekend, which was the third best of the pandemic (behind last weekend's 'œF9'ť opening and the first 'œQuiet Place 2'ť weekend), according to data from Comscore.

But the reign likely won't continue for long. Next weekend, Disney and Marvel's 'œBlack Widow" hits theaters. And even 'œBlack Widow'ť has a caveat, despite being the first Marvel movie in almost two years: It'll also be available to rent on Disney+.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. 'œF9,'ť $24 million.

2. 'œThe Boss Baby: Family Business,'ť $17.4 million.

3. 'œThe Forever Purge,'ť $12.8 million.

4. 'œA Quiet Place Part II,'ť $4.2 million.

5. 'œThe Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard,'ť $3 million.

6. 'œCruella,'ť $2.6 million.

7. 'œPeter Rabbit 2: The Runaway,'ť $2.3 million.

8. 'œThe Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,'ť $1.3 million.

9. 'œIn the Heights,'ť $1.3 million.

10. 'œZola,'ť $1.2 million.

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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/ldbahr