While Disney's recent batch of live action adaptations of its classic animated movies have taken the form of remakes/re-imaginings of the original stories, Christopher Robin instead embarked down the sequel path. Rather than give us another story of the young Christopher Robin hanging out with the denizens of the 100 Acre Wood, the movie instead follows Christopher as an adult reuniting with Winnie the Pooh and the gang. Working with decades of Winnie the Pooh nostalgia, Christopher Robin has understandably been advertised as a movie appealing to both longtime fans and kids who perhaps haven't seen anything Winnie the Pooh-related before. Now Christopher Robin is finally showing on the big screen, and it got off to a decent start last night, making $1.5 million in preview screenings.
For comparison, Variety reports that Christopher Robin exceeded Disney's March release, A Wrinkle in Time, which made $1.3 million in its Thursday night screenings. Christopher Robin also soared past fellow weekend openers The Spy Who Dumped Me, which brought in $950,000, and The Darkest Minds, which collected $550,000. As we enter August, the summer movie season is starting to wind down, but people are still showing up to catch movies in the evening right as they open, and Christopher Robin's $1.5 million isn't a bad way to kick off its theatrical run.
Overall, Christopher Robin is predicted to make a little over $30 million domestically this weekend, and it's anyone's guess what the worldwide numbers will look like. It should be noted that Christopher Robin is facing competition beyond just The Spy Who Dumped Me and The Darkest Minds. First, we have Mission: Impossible - Fallout, one of this summer's last blockbusters which is predicted to also make around $30 million during its second weekend. Let's also not forget that Christopher Robin isn't the only kid-friendly movie available on the silver screen right now, as Teen Titans Go! to the Movies and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation are also drawing eyeballs. Still, Christopher Robin is based around a property that's been a pop culture mainstay for nearly a century, and with the Disney weight behind it, presumably that'll get a lot of people to check it out this weekend.
On the critical side of things, Christopher Robin has fallen into mixed territory, but for those of you looking for a little family-friendly entertainment to pass the time this weekend, it sounds like this movie provides just that. Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Mark Gatiss and Bronte Carmichael comprise Christopher Robin's main live action cast, while the voice cast includes Jim Cummings as both Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Brad Garrett as Eeyore, Nich Mohammed as Piglet, Peter Capaldi as Rabbit, Sophie Okonedo as Kanga, Sara Sheen as Roo and Toby Jones as Owl.
Don't forget to read CinemaBlend's Christopher Robin review, and if you're interested in planning your trips to the movie theater later this year, look through our 2018 release schedule to find out what is coming out when.
