The holidays might be over, but that didn’t stop moviegoers across North America from continuing to head out to the movies in sizable numbers. Warner’s Aquaman continued to be the biggest box office draw, followed by a solid opening for Sony’s Escape Room and decent holdover business for Mary Poppins Returns, Into The Spider-Verse and Bumblebee.
Arthur Curry celebrated his third weekend at the top of the box office with an estimated gross of $30.7 million from 4,184 theaters. Down only 41% from one week ago, the new domestic total for Aquaman is now at a mighty $259.7 million. Next stop will be the $300 million milestone, which it should hit within the next two weeks.
If the Warner release can hold onto the screens throughout the next month or so, Aquaman could muscle its way past $350 million or more by the end of its North American run. Next week’s underwhelming group of new arrivals should help the film become the first Warner theatrical release since 2008’s The Dark Knight to spend four consecutive weeks at number one.
Speaking of The Dark Knight, the James Wan flick has passed 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises on the international front to become the highest-grossing DC Comics title released so far. Helped by this weekend’s international take of $56 million, Aquaman’s foreign total now stands at a massive $681 million. With an overall global haul of $940.7 million, Aquaman is on course to pass the one billion dollar mark within the next week.
The weekend after New Years is usually a good time to release a low-budget horror film to grab some quick cash from genre fans. Last year, Universal’s Insidious: The Last Key took advantage of the quiet frame, grossing $29.5 million in its first three days. It wound up with $67.5 million in ticket sales, which was more than enough to cover its $10 million price tag.
This year, it was Sony’s turn to grab some fast cash. It did just that with the number two film, Escape Room. Directed by The Last Key’s Adam Robitel, the $9 million Escape Room arrived on 2,717 screens this weekend where it earned a solid $18 million in its first three days.
Reviews were mostly negative for Escape Room. The PG-13 thriller scored a 53% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 49/100 on Metacritic. The film fared better with its target audience, who gave the film a “B” on CinemaScore.
Continuing to sing and dance its way into 2019 was Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns with an estimated $15.7 million from 4,090 screens. Down 44%, Mary has popped a solid $139 million in ticket sales so far. A stateside finale between $180-190 million is possible. Internationally, the Rob Marshall film has earned $119.2 million.
Sony’s Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse kept on swinging in its fourth weekend on 3,419 screens, where it earned an estimated $13 million. Off only 31%, Into The Spider-Verse has earned $133.8 million so far. Overseas, the Spideys have spun $141.5 million in ticket sales.
Rounding out the top five was Paramount’s Bumblebee, which kept humming right along in its third week of release with $12.8 million from 3,597 theaters. The North America total for the sci-fi flick is now $97.1 million and should cross the $100 million milestone by midweek. A $59.4 million opening weekend in China helped kick B’s international grosses up to $198 million.
- The Mule (Warner) $9 million (-26%); $81.1 million
The Warner hit should become Clint’s latest $100 million hit within the next two weeks.
- Vice (Annapurna) $5.8 million (-25%); $30 million
- Second Act (STX) $4.9 million (-33%); $33 million
- Ralph Breaks the Internet (Disney) $4.7 (-30%); $187 million
- Holmes and Watson (Sony) $3.4 million (-54%); $33 million
Next weekend sees the arrival of A Dog’s Way Home, Replicas, The Upside and the national expansion of On the Basis of Sex starring Felicity Jones. Unless one of these titles pulls an upset, watch for Aquaman to rule the box office for one final time before Glass arrives on January 18th.
