A 2009 movie just made more money than Borderlands at the box office

Borderlands flopping at the box office is no big surprise by now, but what was unexpected is one movie making a more successful cinema comeback 15 years later.

It should have been the biggest superhero movie of the summer – well, except for Deadpool & Wolverine – but Borderlands has flopped harder than the final season of Game of Thrones.

Debuting with a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes, both critic and fan reactions haven’t been any more complimentary since. In our three-star Borderlands review, we said, “It’s not going to be a play-by-play of 2009’s Pandora – and to get anything at all out of this film, we’ve got to be okay with that.”

However, Borderlands has arguably suffered from another embarrassing blow from an unlikely source. A remastered version of 2009’s Coraline hit cinemas over the weekend, and it made more money than Eli Roth’s live-action adaptation.

According to box office reports, the re-release brought in $11.31 million domestically across its opening weekend, echoing its revenue in 2009.

If we compare that to Borderlands, it’s not looking great. The new movie brought in $2.35 million in its second weekend, coming after its $8.6 million opening weekend.

Remember, Borderlands‘ budget was between $120 million to $130 million, as well as an estimated $30 million on advertising.

As for Coraline, it’s back – in 3D – and better than ever. If you don’t remember having nightmares about it as a kid, the animated movie follows Coraline (Dakota Fanning) who finds a strange tunnel in her new house, leading to a version of her life in a parallel universe, including her “other mother” (Teri Hatcher).

“The re-release of Coraline making it into the top 5 domestic box office this weekend as well as other animated films this year having major success is proof that audiences care about animation. The studios need to realize they can’t cut corners with their staff and underpay,” one fan posted on X/Twitter.

A second agreed that it’s “still one of the most detailed stop motion movies ever made.”

“I will watch any movie in 3D. I’ve always loved it. But Coraline just hits different, even 15 years later. Phenomenal movie that has to be seen that way,” a third weighed in.

Both Borderlands and Coraline are in theaters now. For more, check out the highest-grossing movies of 2024, alongside new movies streaming this month and the best movies of 2024.