With no new films opening on the final weekend of 2018 –two opened on Christmas Day-, the top five films in North America were identical to last week’s standings. Warner’s Aquaman continued to lead the pack, which included holiday-boosted performances for Mary Poppins Returns, Bumblebee, Spider-Man: Into The Spider Verse and The Mule. The political comedy/drama Vice opened to moderate numbers in sixth while the critically damned Holmes and Watson found itself without a clue in seventh.
Despite the top ten being down five percent from one year ago -thanks largely in part to the lack of a Star Wars film in the marketplace-, the 2018 box office is closing out the year with a record-setting $11.8 billion in ticket sales.
Aquaman is showing his box office muscle, dipping a mere 24% from one week ago. The popular origin tale scored an estimated $51.5 million from 4,125 screens in its second weekend. The ten-day total for the James Wan-directed feature stands tall at $188.8 million. Aquamanshould crash through the $200 million milestone by New Year’s Day and possibly swim off into the sunset with $300 million by the end of its domestic run.
In comparison to the two DCEU releases from 2017, Aquaman is currently running 10% ahead of Justice League but approximately 8% behind Wonder Woman. Aquaman will zip right by Justice League’s final North America tally by this upcoming Friday and should pass Wonder Woman’s global haul within the next couple of weeks. Speaking of international figures, Aquaman added another $85 million to its offshore coffers, which now stands at a massive $560 million.
After a moderate opening one week ago, Disney’s $130 million Mary Poppins Returns stabilized a bit in its second round on 4,090 screens. Leaping up 19%, Mary conjured up a decent $28 million to push its stateside total up to $98 million. Not quite the grand slam Disney was hoping for, Poppins may leg it out to a solid $170 million by the end of its run. Mary has also scored $75 million so far from overseas.
Paramount’s Bumblebee continued to rev its engine in third place. In its second weekend, the acclaimed Transformers spinoff scored an estimated $20.5 million from 3,550 screens. This brought Bumblebee’s ten-day total up to $66.7 million. Bee should finish with a little over $100 million in North America. The Travis Knight flick has earned $31.1 million internationally so far.
Joining the $100 million club in its third weekend was Sony’s Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Versewith an estimated $18.3 million from 3,813 screens. Up 11.2%, the domestic total for the animated hit now stands at $103.6 million with a final haul near the $150 million mark is possible for the $90 million production. Spidey has also pocketed $110 million from overseas.
Rounding out the top five is Warner’s The Mule with an estimated $11.8million from 2,787 venues. Leaping up a healthy 24% from last weekend, Clint Eastwood’s latest acting/directing effort has earned $60.7 million so far. If the film continues to leg it out at the box office, The Mule could work its way to $90-100 million. Not bad for a film Warner kept hidden from critics and the public right up until opening day.
- Vice (Annapurna) $7.9 million; $17.7 million
Adam McKay’s take on former Vice President Dick Cheney was met with a mild response from critics – 64% approval on Rotten Tomatoes and a 61/100 on Metacritic- and a vote of no confidence from the public, who bestowed the $60 million comedy/drama with a “C+” on CinemaScore.
- Holmes and Watson (Sony) $7.3 million; $19.7 million
With a 9% critical approval on Rotten Tomatoes, a 21/100 on Metacritic and a “D+” grade from CinemaScore, it’s elementary that the latest Will Ferrell dud will be out of theaters by mid-January, if not sooner.
- Second Act (STX) $7.2 million (+11%); $21 million
- Ralph Breaks the Internet (Disney) $6.5 million (+39%); $176 million
- Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018) (Universal) $4.2 million (-50%); $265.5 million
The ten highest grossing films of 2018:
- Black Panther (Disney) $700 million
- Avengers: Infinity War (Disney) $679 million
- Incredibles 2 (Disney) $608 million
- Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (Universal) $416 million
- Deadpool 2(Fox) $324 million
- The Grinch(Universal) $265.5 million
- Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Paramount) $220 million
- Ant-Man and the Wasp (Disney) $216 million
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (Disney) $214 million
- Venom (Sony) $213 million
Next weekend, the 2019 box office will kick off with something called Escape Room. Watch for the top five to remain exactly the same for a third straight week.
