Paddington 2, a film that has amazingly maintained its 100% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes after 150-plus reviews, opened in 5th place over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. The live-action film with a cg animation star grossed just $15 million over four days, a drop of 41% from the original Paddington, which opened with $25.5 million on the same holiday weekend in 2015.
The film’s soft opening could be attributed in part to The Weinstein Company (TWC) scandals, since that company was the original distributor of the film. Following the revelations of Harvey Weinstein’s deviant sexual harassment and abuse, TWC quickly unloaded the film before filing for bankruptcy protection, with Warner Bros. buying the film’s U.S. rights just two months ago. But even with the marketing might of a major studio like WB, it’s hard to execute a proper promotional campaign for a wide release in a couple months’ time.
The other notable animation release last weekend was the Peruvian animated feature Condorito: The Movie, which launched in 153 theaters through Lionsgate and Pantelion Films, and grossed a solid $288,187.
