Hoppers leapt into first place this weekend, knocking Scream 7 out of the top spot with a $46.0 million debut. The Disney and Pixar release helped drive the total weekend box office to $96.2 million, marking the third straight weekend in which the overall domestic haul topped the comparable frame from 2025.
By comparison, the same weekend last year brought in $55.9 million, led by Warner Bros.’ Mickey 17 with a $19.0 million opening. That puts this year’s weekend 72 percent ahead of last year’s equivalent frame and adds more fuel to the argument that the first quarter of 2026 will finish roughly 22 percent ahead of the first quarter of 2025.
The momentum is not expected to cool off just yet. While next weekend may not match this frame’s total, it should still outpace the same period last year. Universal’s romantic drama Reminders of Him and A24’s horror title Undertone arrive on Friday, March 13, followed by Amazon MGM’s original sci-fi film Project Hail Mary on March 20.
Interest in Project Hail Mary continues to build, with strong advance sales and a high level of interest among surveyed moviegoers in seeing the movie. If the final two weeks of the quarter hold, 2026 remains on course to clear $9 billion in domestic box office, which would make it the strongest year since the pandemic.
Hoppers is Pixar’s 28th theatrical release and the latest original swing from the studio that began with Toy Story in 1995. Pixar’s first 27 films have generated $7.1 billion domestically and $15.0 billion worldwide, and Hoppers opened with $46.0 million in North America and $88.0 million globally. Directed by Daniel Chong, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jesse Andrews, and produced by Nicole Paradis Grindle, the film mixes science fiction, adventure, and comedy with a story rooted in empathy and environmental themes.
The film follows Mabel Tanaka, a 19-year-old animal lover who uses experimental technology developed at the fictional Beaverton University to transfer her consciousness into a robotic beaver. That premise allows Hoppers to pivot into a fast-moving, undercover-style adventure as Mabel enters the animal world from the inside and uncovers a threat to a beloved forest glade.
Along the way, she allies with a beaver leader named King George and works to unite the forest’s creatures against a planned development driven by local mayor Jerry Generazzo. Chong has described the film as functioning almost like a spy thriller once Mabel goes undercover, and that offbeat energy appears to have landed with audiences. The voice cast includes Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, and Dave Franco.
Critics and audiences are equally enthusiastic. Hoppers currently holds a 94 percent score from both groups on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviewers have praised the film’s energy, inventiveness, and emotional core, even if a few critics felt its thematic ambitions were not fully realized. Financially, the picture carries the usual Pixar price tag, with a reported production budget of $150 million.
That means it will likely need around $375 million worldwide to turn a profit. Based on Pixar’s track record, that target looks very achievable. For comparison, DreamWorks’ The Bad Guys opened to $24.0 million domestically in 2022 and went on to earn $250.4 million worldwide. Hoppers has started at nearly double that opening pace.
In second place, Paramount’s Scream 7 brought in $17.3 million in its second weekend, down a steep 73 percent from its $64.1 million launch. Even with that drop, the film has reached $93.4 million domestically and $149.5 million worldwide after 10 days.
The sequel opened $20 million ahead of Scream VI and, despite the heavier-than-hoped second weekend decline, remains on track to become the highest-grossing title in the franchise’s 29-year history. With a reported budget of $40 million, the film is already comfortably profitable and there is little doubt that more sequels are on the way.
Third place went to Warner Bros.’ The Bride opened to $7.3 million domestically and $13.6 million worldwide. Directed and written by Maggie Gyllenhaal, the Gothic romance horror reimagines the Bride of Frankenstein mythology through a new lens, shifting the action to 1930s Chicago and centering the story on the bride herself. Jessie Buckley leads the film in a triple role, with Christian Bale playing Frankenstein’s monster.
The supporting cast includes Penélope Cruz, Annette Bening, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jake Gyllenhaal. The response has been mixed, with critics at 59 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and audiences at 73 percent. Warner Bros. treated the film as a prestige studio release, but with an $80 million production budget, profitability could prove difficult unless the international box office significantly strengthens.
Sony’s Goat landed in fourth place with $6.6 million in its fourth weekend, down 45 percent. That brings the animated sports comedy to $83.8 million domestically and $146.3 million worldwide. Produced by Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media and directed by Tyree Dillehay and Adam Rosette, the film was designed as an original family franchise starter centered on an underdog goat competing in the fictional sport of Roarball.
Reviews have been strong, with an 83% critics’ score and a 93% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, the film now faces tougher competition for family moviegoers with Hoppers in the market and The Super Mario Galaxy looming on April 1. Goat still has a shot at profitability, though it may fall just shy of the roughly $200 million worldwide it likely needs to get there.
Rounding out the top five was Warner Bros.’ Wuthering Heights, which added $3.8 million in its fourth weekend for a domestic total of $78.8 million and a global total of $213.7 million. The romantic period drama has now become the highest-grossing film adaptation of a 19th-century romantic novel, surpassing Pride and Prejudice when adjusted for inflation.
That is a major win for Warner Bros., which reportedly spent $80 million to bring the project to the screen. The film has already moved into profitability and should continue to generate value through premium video-on-demand and its eventual streaming run on HBO Max.
Beginning with this weekend’s report, box office coverage will now include attendance estimates alongside revenue totals. Those figures will compare 2026 with 2025, 2024, 2023, and the last full pre pandemic year of 2019. Attendance is calculated by dividing the yearly box office by the average ticket price for that year, offering a clearer view of how many people are actually going to the movies and not just how much money is being spent at the ticket window.
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