There’s plenty of juicy publicity and excitement swirling about the upcoming release of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s superhero team-up in Deadpool & Wolverine this July. However, flying under the radar by comparison is Reynolds’ collaboration with John Krasinski on IF, which opens first in theaters this May. The combination animated and live-action feature film is forecast to make around $40 million during its opening weekend (per Deadline).
With the box office heating up over the spring, IF will drop into a climate that has been quite advantageous for another animated feature film (no live-action component), Kung-Fu Panda 4. At the time of this writing, the Jack Black-led sequel is the third-highest grossing movie of 2024, with a worldwide total of $482.5 million (per Box Office Mojo). Unlike the $40 million+ IF is predicted to bring in over its opening weekend, though, Kung Fu Panda 4 made more over its first three days in domestic cinemas with $58 million.
The coming-of-age manga Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle is another strictly animated film that has done well at the worldwide box office with $64.3 million, albeit most of those profits came from Japan, with just over $590,000 in Hong Kong receipts. And with the upcoming slate of hopeful blockbusters lining up for theatrical release in May and beyond, IF is positioned well to offer moviegoers a more family-friendly alternative over the summer months.
IF Will Offer Moviegoers a Family-Friendly Alternative in Theaters
John Krasinski admittedly cried all day when reunited with his co-star from The Office, Steve Carell, to work on the upcoming animated feature film IF. However, given all the action-centric movies vying for blockbuster status in the coming months like The Fall Guy (May 3), Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (May 10) and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (May 24), IF seems sandwiched in solid position to attract a lot of families to neighboring multiplexes. And that indicates that there should be a lot more happiness in store for Krasinski and Carell given the animated live-action adventure is poised for success.
For Krasinski, though, IF was an important movie to make, because of his children. Krasinski and his wife, Emily Blunt, have two daughters who served as a major inspiration in the making of IF. Krasinski said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly:
I figured I needed to make a movie for my kids. Seeing as though Quiet Place is like PG-40 in our house — they won’t see Quiet Place till they’re 40 — I figured I should make one for them.
Krasinski said in the same interview:
"I will say, the most emotional thing that I've ever had happen in my career is watching my kids watch this trailer [IF]. I've never been more scared to show anyone a movie than these two little people. The one criticism I'm looking for my whole life is: What do they think?"
IF opens in theaters on May 17. And on May 24, Krasinski’s family-friendly effort, featuring the joyful reunion of the filmmaker and Carell, might lose a bit of business as the animated feature film Garfield: The Movie drops in cinemas to provide some competition.
