Box Office: ‘Bad Guys 2,’ ‘Naked Gun’ Scoring Solid Openings as ‘Fantastic Four’ Stays No. 1 Overall

What better way to go out than to go out laughing.

Paramount’s acclaimed The Naked Gun revival — starring Liam Neeson opposite Pamela Anderson — started off its North American run with a Friday gross of $6.3 million for an estimated opening of $16.5 million. That’s good enough for a third-place finish behind Marvel holdover The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which remains perched in first-place with an estimated $40 million second weekend, and Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s new family pic The Bad Guys 2, which grossed $9.2 million on Friday for an estimated $22.8 million launch. (Superman won the day with nearly $12 million). Both new entries are opening on the higher end of expectations.

As fate would have it, Naked Gun is the last film that will be released by the current iteration of Paramount Pictures before David Ellison’s Skydance officially closes its $8 billion merger of Paramount Global on Aug. 7. Affable movie studio chief Brian Robbins — who has also been serving as one of the three interim CEOs of Paramount Global since sale talks began last year — 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.

The Naked Gun revival, produced by Seth MacFarlane, stars Neeson in his first leading comedic role. 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.

Paul 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’s Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, graced the big screen.

“Nobody could accuse director Akiva Schaffer … and his co-writers or producer Seth MacFarlane of lacking affection for the material. That’s evident in the sweet homages to Nielsen and George Kennedy as Capt. Ed Hocken — O.J. Simpson not so much,” writes The Hollywood Reporter‘s David Rooney in his review. “The filmmakers follow the formula to a T in this legacy sequel or reboot or whatever you want to call it, enlisting the sons of Drebin (Liam Neeson) and Hocken (Paul Walter Hauser) as the new Police Squad team to provide plot continuity.”

The Fantastic Four reboot is having no trouble ruling over the competition its is second outing after reversing the curse that has plagued Marvel Studios for several years in opening to $117 million domestically and north of $200 million globally. However, despite stellar reviews and audience exit scores, the superhero pic is looking at a drop of 65 percent or more (that could change, of course, if traffic picks up on Saturday). While that’s within the norm for the superhero pic, it’s garnering attention from fanboy pundits after DC’s Superman fell less than 54 percent its sophomore outing.

Superman, however, didn’t face the same competition when it opened. But there’s no denying the pic is holding in. It’s expected to come in fourth this weekend after clearing the $300 million mark last week at the domestic box office in a major milestone for DC Studios, which has struggled far more than Marvel. (Box office experts believe Fantastic Four, which opened two weeks after Superman, will ultimately catch up, or at least come close.)

Elsewhere, Pamela Anderson is on double duty this weekend between Bad Guys 2 and Naked Gun.

If estimates hold, Bad Guys will boast the second-best animated opening of the year to date and come 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’s best-selling book series about a crackerjack crew of animal outlaws).

Director Pierre Perifel and producer Damon Ross reteamed to make the sequel, which boasts both an A CinemaScore and generally strong reviews. 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, Lilly Singh, Cody Rhodes, Liza Koshy, Eddie Yu and Danny Huston.

“Beginning with an elaborate caper and car chase through the streets of Cairo that would make Tom Cruise jealous, The Bad Guys 2 seeks to outshine the original at every turn. It smacks of overkill, but fortunately the film, smartly directed by Pierre Perifel, also features the same wit and charm that proved so appealing to youngsters and adults alike in the first movie,” writes THR critic Frank Scheck.

In the sequel, the animal crew are 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 “The Bad Girls,” who are voiced by Danielle Brooks, Maria Bakalova and Natasha Lyonne. 

The weekend’s other new offering is Neon’s buzzy horror-comedy Together, starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco. The indie pic is on course to place sixth with as much as $7 million.

“The bodily mutations in The Substance left you wanting more? Well, has Australian writer-director Michael Shanks got a movie for you, with more bone-crunching contortions, sticky goop and subcutaneous disturbance than you could dream of, writes THR‘s Rooney in his review.

Aug. 2, 8:50 a.m.: Updated with revised weekend estimates.

This story was originally published Aug. 1 at 11:35 a.m.