Bees know all about flowers. So maybe it makes sense that The Beekeeper would be a late bloomer.
After two weeks at No. 2, The Beekeeper–Jason Statham’s latest actioner—buzzed up to No. 1 and gave its competitors … hives. It earned a honey-sweet $7.4 million stateside to squeeze past last week’s champ, Mean Girls, by just $100,000 or so. The Beekeeper has now earned $42.3 million in North America, and $104.2 million worldwide.
But while Mean Girls is no longer the box office’s apex predator, don’t feel too bad for the flick. The musical comedy collected another $7.3 million to finish second and push its overall domestic tally to $60.8 million, making it the highest-grossing film thus far to be released in 2024.
Wonka continues to turn multiplexes into its own personal candy factories, with fans throwing $5.9 million for another serving of this cinematic confection. Wonka finished third this weekend and has now earned a total of $195.2 million in North America.
Meanwhile, Migration holds its own regular flying pattern. It again finished fourth, this time with $5.2 million. The animated film has now collected $101.3 million stateside. And Anyone But You continues to keep a toehold in the top five with $4.8 million weekend.
While that closes out the top five, we should make note of a few other films making some waves on the charts.
A few Oscar hopefuls saw their own box-office performances improve in the wake of last week’s Oscar nominations. Poor Things—recipient of 11 Oscar noms—finished sixth with more than $3 million. American Fiction, which earned five nominations, finished just behind Poor Things with $2.9 million. The Zone of Interest, Oppenheimer, The Holdovers, Anatomy of a Fall and Killers of the Flower Moon (the last of which returned to theaters despite now streaming on Apple TV+) all saw substantial bumps in their box-office fortunes.
Godzilla Minus One only scored one Oscar nom, but it still made a move up the charts as well. It stripped itself of color and stomped back into theaters this weekend, earning another $2.6 million for a ninth-place finish. While that’s not quite enough to leave the cinematic landscape in rubble, it was enough to give Godzilla Minus One a new distinction: Its total domestic gross of $55 million pushed past previous Oscar winner Parasite to become one of the top three highest-grossing non-English movies in U.S. history.
5 Responses
…Maybe do a “final figures update” on this one? Trades have Mean Girls over The Beekeeper by a hair. Something something, “cautionary tale” pun/reference I can’t smoothly execute.
“The Beekeeper” is not my cup of tea. I’m sure fans of actioners will enjoy it, but it just doesn’t interest me. I’m trying to catch up with Oscar-nominated films. I hope to see “American Fiction” tomorrow.
I am always glad to see Mr. Statham’s reviews. Adventure/action actors do put out all they have for their fans. They know their niche and give their all. In the case of Mr. Statham what sets him apart is his style of humor, and know he really likes to deliver those lines. That is not easy when their are usually several takes involved, and still deliver the lines and expressions fresh. His fans wish him well and safety. I am a 77 year old fan, and have been from the beginning. Thank you Mr. Statham for your style of entertainment.
The transporter, the last man in The Kings name, and many more, and now he is back as the beekeeper. Words to explain and examine make my mouth dry like a desert well.
Beekeeper was a solid movie to me. I have recommended it to others who have enjoyed it as well. No subliminal messages just a solid action movie so try a good plot to help the working class person