‘Forgotten Island’s’ Strong Word Of Mouth Not Enough To Spark Second Weekend Comeback

Forgotten Island needed an exceptional hold in its second weekend to keep hopes of a long-legged, word-of-mouth-fueled comeback alive. Instead, it got a decent but unremarkable one.

The DreamWorks Animation original grossed $7.2 million domestically this weekend, down 44.6% from its debut, according to Box Office Mojo. It finished sixth and has now earned $23.63 million in North America.

A 45% decline is hardly disastrous, but given the film’s exceptional reviews and audience scores, the hope was that strong word of mouth might produce unusually long legs. So far, that doesn’t appear to be happening.

The obvious comparison is Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, the previous film from Forgotten Island directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado. That film opened to a similarly modest $12.4 million in 2022 but actually increased in its second weekend and continued posting remarkable holds on its way to $480 million worldwide.

Pixar’s Elemental followed a similar path in 2023. After a disappointing $29.6 million opening, it fell just 38% in weekend two and ultimately reached nearly $500 million worldwide.

Internationally, Forgotten Island added $4.83 million this weekend, according to Comscore, bringing its overseas total to $14.86 million. The film has now grossed $38.49 million worldwide. That’s a painful two-week result for a film with a reported $80 million budget, and its second-weekend hold offers little indication that a Puss in Boots– or Elemental-style theatrical comeback is in the cards.