Despite being dropped from 232 theaters in North America, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish increased its box office take over 6%, bringing in a stellar $14.39 million over the three-day weekend, and $19.04 million over the four-day MLK holiday stretch.
Backed by strong word-of-mouth, an intelligent marketing campaign by distributor NBCUniversal, and awards season buzz, Dreamwork’s latest now sits at $112M domestically. Its global total (including domestic) is $253M. The Last Wish is the fourth animated feature to cross the $100 million benchmark in North America since the start of the pandemic. The others are fellow Universal releases Minions: The Rise of Gru ($369.7 million) and Sing 2 ($162.8 million), as well as the Disney-Pixar production Lightyear ($118.3 million).
PIB’s box office performance is even more remarkable considering that it only had a 17-day theatrical exclusive and has been available to rent on premium video on demand since January 6. The film’s availability for home viewing hasn’t deterred audiences from heading to theaters to watch it.
