\n\tTalk about a two-edged sword.<\/p>\n
\n\tMarvel\u2019s The Fantastic Four: First Steps easily stayed atop the domestic box office<\/a> chart in its second weekend with $40 million, but tumbled a worrisome 66 percent. That\u2019s more than anyone could have predicted after the event pic opening to $117.6 million last weekend amid stellar audience and critical reaction. At the same time, it isn\u2019t entirely outside the range of normal for the superhero genre. And there\u2019s still a clear runway ahead before summer ends. <\/p>\n \n\tFantastic Four had hoped to clear $200 million domestically through Sunday, but instead is projecting a 10-day domestic tally of $198.4 million, compared to cume of $236.2 million and a drop of 53 percent for DC Studos\u2019 Superman<\/a> in its second weekend (to be fair, the Man of Steel didn\u2019t have another superpic to compete with, although Jurassic Park Rebirth had only opened a week earlier). Overseas, Mister Fantastic and his family made up ground in earning another $39.6 million for an early global tally of $368.7 million globally. That includes $170.3 million internationally, compared to Superman\u2018s current overseas total of $235 million from international markets. <\/p>\n \n\tIn North America, Fantastic Four had no trouble fending off Universal\/DreamWorks Animation\u2019s new family pic The Bad Guys 2 and Paramount\u2019s comedy Naked Gun<\/a>, which opened in second and third place, respectively.<\/p>\n \n\tBad Guys 2 started off with a better-than-expected domestic opening of $22.2 million. The sequel boasts the second-best animated launch of the year to date and came in not far behind the first film, which debuted to $23 million domestically on its way to transforming into a sleeper hit and earning more than $250 million globally (the series is adapted from Aaron Blabey\u2019s best-selling book series about a crackerjack crew of animal outlaws).<\/p>\n \n\tDirector Pierre Perifel and producer Damon Ross reteamed to make the sequel, which boasts both an A CinemaScore and generally strong reviews<\/a>. The sequel also sees the return of original voice stars Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos and Awkwafina. Newcomers lending their vocal talent include Zazie Beetz, Richard Ayoade, Alex Borstein and Lilly Singh.<\/p>\n \n\tIn the sequel, the animal crew is trying their best to be good, but plans go awry when they come out of retirement to stop one more heist and encounter a new trio of masterminds known as \u201cThe Bad Girls,\u201d who are voiced by Danielle Brooks, Maria Bakalova and Natasha Lyonne.<\/p>\n \n\tParamount\u2019s acclaimed The Naked Gun<\/a>\u00a0revival \u2014 starring Liam Neeson opposite Pamela Anderson \u2014 also opened on the high end of expectations, with a North America launch of $17 million and $28.5 million globally.<\/p>\n \n\t As fate would have it,\u00a0the $40 million comedy\u00a0is the last film that the current iteration of Paramount Pictures will release\u00a0before David Ellison\u2019s Skydance officially closes its $8 billion merger with Paramount Global on Aug. 7. Affable movie studio chief Brian Robbins \u2014 who has also been serving as one of the three interim CEOs of Paramount Global since sale talks began last year \u2014 intends to step down once Ellison takes control of the entertainment conglomerate and installs his executive team both in the C-suite and at Paramount Pictures, according to sources.<\/p>\n \n\tThe\u00a0Naked Gun<\/a>\u00a0revival, produced by Seth MacFarlane, stars Neeson<\/a>\u00a0in his first leading comedic role opposite Pamela Anderson. He plays Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., who is trying to follow in the footsteps of his father, Frank Drebin, the infamous comedic character played by Leslie Nielsen in the original films. The new pic boasts an A-CinemaScore from audiences and strong PostTrak exits.<\/p>\n \n\tPaul Walter Hauser, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand, Cody Rhodes, Liza Koshy, Eddie Yu and Danny Huston also star. The fourth film in the long-dormant franchise, directed by Akiva Schaffer from a script he wrote with Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, opens 31 years after the last movie, 1994\u2019s Naked Gun 33 1\/3: The Final Insult, graced the big screen.<\/p>\n \n\tOne fun fact: Anderson<\/a> is on double duty this weekend between Bad Guys 2 and Naked Gun.<\/p>\n \n\tSuperman, now in its fourth outing, finished Sunday with a global tally of $551.2 million after earning another $13.9 million domestically and $11.2 million overseas. Last week, it became the first DC title in three years to cross the $300 million mark in North America in a major win for the new leadership at DC, James Gunn \u2014 also the director of Superman \u2014 and Peter Safran (DC<\/a> has struggled far more than Marvel in modern times).<\/p>\n \n\tProduced by Steven Spielberg\u2019s Amblin in partnership with Universal, Jurassic World Rebirth rounded out the top five in North America with $8.7 million for a domestic tally of $448.4 million and $766 million globally.<\/p>\n