LeBron James has proved to be an MVP player multiple times on the court, and now proving to be an MVP actor off the court.
LeBron James is king of the box office this weekend, where Space Jam: A New Legacy is doing better than people expected with its domestic debut reaching $32 million from 3,956 theaters. The results squash the second Friday and anticipated weekend of Disney/Marvel’s Black Widow.
More from Deadline:
“Space Jam: A New Legacy‘s opening reps the biggest for Warner Bros. during the pandemic, besting Godzilla vs. Kong‘s 3-day of $28.2M and the best opening for a family movie. The pic is also available day-and-date in homes on HBO Max. It also reps the biggest opening for director Malcolm D. Lee outstripping the $31M debut of Girls Trip and also the filmmaker’s third film to open at No. 1. The sequel’s opening easily beats the $27.5M opening of Space Jam, not accounting for inflation, which ended its domestic run at $90.4M.
Space Jam: A New Legacy received an A- CinemaScore, the same grade as the first 1996 movie, and saw a bulk of walk-up business last night, especially from teens, indicative of moviegoing for the first Lego movie, which played beyond its family demo. Huge turnout by African Americans at 36%, Latino 23%, Caucasian 32%, and Asian/other 9% in Comscore/Screen Engine PostTrak exits. Space Jam: A New Legacy overperformed in the East and South, but the West was the most dominant territory. Premium Large Format screens drove 4% of the business, I understand.”
Following the Lakers’ season-ending Game 6 loss to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, the 36-year old James revealed that he would pass on playing for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics to focus on his upcoming matchup with the Goon Squad.
“Didn’t have much success versus the Suns, so now I am gearing my attention to the Goon Squad here in July … I’m gonna let the ankle rest for about a month and then I’m going to gear up with Lola, Taz, Granny, Bugs and the rest of the crew.”
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Michael Jordan starred in the first Space Jam, which debuted to roughly $27 million without adjusting for inflation. Space Jam 2 is on course to score the biggest opening for a family title in the pandemic-era despite poor reviews.
The budget for Space Jam: A New Legacy is about $150 million.
