Topline
Ryan Reynolds and John Krasinski’s children’s fantasy feature “IF” grossed $10.3 million in its domestic opening, multiple outlets reported on Saturday, headed to a disappointing $31.5 million opening weekend—making the PG movie the latest box office flop of 2024.
Cailey Fleming, left, and John Krasinski pose with the character "Blue" at the premiere of Paramount ... [+]
Key Facts
Paramount’s ‘IF,’ which is also directed by Krasinski, took in $10.3 million at over 4,000 locations Friday and in Thursday previews, putting it on pace to close out the weekend $8.5 million short of its projected $40 million opening.
That figure would put the PG movie well behind its $110 million production budget, Variety reported.
The film stars a real-life Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming, as well an ensemble cast of A-List voice actors including Krasinski, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Maya Rudolph, Sam Rockwell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Bradley Cooper, Jon Stewart, Steve Carell, Awkwafina, Vince Vaughn, Bill Hader, Keegan-Michael Key, Blake Lively, Amy Schumer, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon.
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Tangent
If the movie’s $31.5 million opening weekend gross holds up, it would rank sixth among 2024 releases in their opening weekends, behind “Dune: Part Two” ($82.5 million), “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” ($80 million), “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” ($58.4 million), “Kung Fu Panda 4” ($57.9 million) and “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” ($45 million), according to Box Office Mojo. Still, “IF” would fall far from the biggest flops, including “Bob Marley: One Love” ($28.6 million), “Mean Girls” ($28.6 million), “The Fall Guy” ($27.7 million), “Civil War” ($25.5 million) and “Argylle” ($17.4 million).
Big Number
49%. That’s the rating “IF” received from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, a lackluster score even as audiences generally support the movie, giving it an 84% rating on the site. Critics were even harsher on Metacritic, giving the Ryan Reynolds movie a score of 46/100, once again under the site’s audience score (6.1/10). The New York Times’ review lauds Krasinski’s “worthy goal of making a children’s movie with an air of prestige,” though it laments that “only two scenes accomplish the transcendence Krasinski is after.” A review in NPR is similarly critical of the movie, wishing for a “plot that holds up, or even that just holds still,” while The Chicago Tribune lambasted the movie, saying “Ryan Reynolds and a truckful of sugar can’t make the medicine go down.”
