Jan 16, 2023

-Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" Surpasses $100 Million at the Domestic Box Office in Stunning Fourth Weekend

Opening in 232 theaters in North America, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish increased over 6% at the box office, grossing $14.39 million over the three-day weekend and $19.04 million over the four-day MLK Holiday weekend.

Buoyed by a strong word-of-mouth and intelligent marketing campaign by distributor NBCUniversal, as well as awards season buzz, DreamWorks' latest film has now reached $112 million domestically. Its worldwide total (including domestic) is $253 million. Since the pandemic began, "The Last Wish" is the fourth animated feature to cross the $100 million threshold in North America. The others are Universal's Minions: The Rise of Gru ($369.7 million) and Sing 2 ($162.8 million), and the Disney-Pixar production Lightyear ($118.3 million).

PIB's box office performance is even more remarkable given that it had only 17 days of theatrical exclusivity and was rented on Premium Video on Demand beginning January 6. PIB's box office performance was even more remarkable given that it had only 17 days of theatrical exclusivity and was rented on Premium Video on Demand beginning January 6. It deserves further attention given that it has been rented on Premium Video on Demand.

In terms of worldwide success, last week "Puss in Boots" surpassed "Lightyear" ($226.4 million) and Universal's "Bad Guys" ($250.2 million) to currently rank as the 16th highest grossing feature film of 2022. It is also expected to replace "Elvis" ($287.3 million) in the top 15.

It is easy to imagine a scenario in which "PiB" continues to do well and even move higher. There is little competition in the kids and family segment, and no major studio currently has plans to release an animated feature in the first quarter of 2023. In fact, the next major studio animated release is Universal's "Super Mario Brothers Movie" in April. Furthermore, "PiB" has not yet been released in the UK, and when it opens in the UK on February 3, it should give the box office another boost.