‘Space Jam’ Had a Slam Dunk Opening Weekend
“Space Jam: A New Legacy was in the zone during its opening weekend – grossing an estimated $31.65M and landing itself at the top of the box office leaderboard. Read more about the family-friendly sequel below.
There were a lot of things working in Warner Bros.’ favor when “Space Jam: A New Legacy” premiered over the weekend. Not only does it have a broad, multi-demo appeal, but it also had the nostalgia factor for fans of the 1996 original. And then there’s also fans of superstar NBA player LeBron James, who took over the role originally filled by Michael Jordan 17 years ago. All these elements worked together to – as they say in basketball – make the dream work. In fact, it worked so well that “Space Jam” earned the largest pandemic opening for Warner Bros. and the largest domestic opening for a family film since the start of the pandemic.
All these wins are even more impressive when you consider the fact the film – like all other Warner Bros.’ releases – simultaneously premiered on HBO Max. “It’s the family movie of the summer, and it’s exciting to see audiences come back in big numbers,” said Warner Bros. Domestic Theatrical Distribution Chief Jeff Goldstein. “It shows that families have
“Drawing from all corners of the Warner Bros. catalog, this meta-comedy serves up a rematch with even rowdier fans.” Variety
In the sequel, LeBron James struggles to connect with his video game-loving son Dom. Suddenly a Warner Bros. algorithm – known as AI G. Rhythm (Don Cheadle) – kidnaps them both to gain fame by forcing an encoded LeBron to star in the studio’s film. When that doesn’t work, he sends them to the WB Server-verse. In order to get them both home safely, LeBron has to team up with the Looney Tunes to win a high-stakes basketball game against a Goon Squad made of monster-ized scans of actual NBA and WBNA champions.
Not only are everyone’s favorite Tune Squad members present, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Tweety Bird, but the film’s plot means the entire “Warner-verse” was up for grabs. So expect to see everyone from Jabberjaw to Catwoman to King Kong making an appearance in the film.
The film earned an A- CinemaScore from audiences.
Catch “Space Jam: A New Legacy” in theaters now and available for licensing from Swank soon.