With a forecasted $30 million opening weekend and estimated $130 million production cost, Home sounded like it was on the road to being a box office flop. Showing that the critics aren’t always right, the movie was the weekend’s top seller and grossed $54 million domestically.
Home, by DreamWorks Animation, is a story about the misfit alien, Oh, who forges an unlikely friendship on Earth with a girl named Tip. Throughout their adventures, Oh learns that it’s OK to be different and make mistakes. Rihanna voices Tip and Jim Parsons voices Oh. The rest of the cast includes big names such as Steve Martin and Jennifer Lopez.
We’re starting to see Hollywood bring more diversity in movies for the younger set. We already have our first black Disney princess and black orphan Annie, but these movies are still not the everyday norm as actress Teyonah Parris’s viral instagram post “Representation Matters” highlights. When a movie with a minority lead flops there’s still that flutter of fear that Hollywood will give up casting similar roles for future films, even though there may be many other factors that affect sales.
When compared to opening weekend sales of hit animated movies like Big Hero 6 (over $56 million), How to Train Your Dragon 2 (over $49 million) and Brave (over $66 million), Home falls right in line. Let’s hope we continue to see its box office numbers soar.