It was an easy number one win for Sony’s superb animated feature Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse this weekend at the North America box office. Joining Spidey in waking up the sleepy pre-holiday December box office was the latest Clint Eastwood feature, The Mule. The same couldn’t be said for Universal’s Mortal Engines, which seized up in its disastrous fifth place start.
For the past three years, this weekend has been the launch pad for a new Star Wars film from Disney. This year, the Force took a breather, which resulted in the top ten dropping 62% from one year ago at this time when The Last Jedi opened to an eye-popping $220 million. That said, the box office did jump up a healthy 36% over last week’s totals. It should continue to climb higher next week when Mary Poppins Returns, Aquaman and Bumblebee all begin their domestic runs.
Swinging into 3,813 theaters, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse scored a great $35.4 million. The opening for the $90 million Sony Animation Studios production was the biggest debut for an animated movie released in December, narrowly beating the $35.2 million scored by Sing two years ago.
Based on the feedback from both critics and the public, Into The Spider-Verse is looking to be an all-around winner. Spider-Verse scored a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, an 87/100 from Metacritic and a glowing “A+” from those polled on CinemaScore. The universal acclaim should not only help the film hold its own against the likes of Mary Poppins Rehashed and Aquaman throughout the holidays, but also well into the New Year. Snagging a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature won’t hurt either.
Second place belonged to the latest offering from Clint Eastwood, Warner’s The Mule. The latest directorial effort from the 88-year old Hollywood icon –who also headlines the film- got its box office run going with an solid $17.2 million from 2,588 screens.
The $50 million production -which also stars Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Pena and Dianne Wiest- received mixed reviews from the critics: 63% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 58/100 on Metacritic. The “A-“ bestowed upon the film from ticket buyers polled on CinemaScore will most likely make Clint’s day more than what the critics had to say.
Entering its sixth week in the top five was Universal’s Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, which landed in third place with an estimated $11.6 million from 3,759 theaters. Down 23% -the best hold of any film in the top ten this weekend-, The Grinch has collected $239.2 million of domestic holiday cheer so far. Overseas, the Green Grouch has earned $133.4 million to date.
The arrival of Into The Spider-Verse and continued success of The Grinch took some wind out of Disney’s Ralph Breaks the Internet this weekend as the animated comedy dropped from first to fourth place. Ralph earned an estimated $9.6 million from 3,575 theaters in its fourth week of release, a decrease of 41% from one week ago. Ralph has broken $154.4 million in North America and $130.7 million internationally.
For a while, it appeared that Lionsgate’s Robin Hood was going to be the biggest box office bomb of 2018. But now, it appears that “honor” is going to go to Universal’s Mortal Engines. Despite being produced by Peter Jackson, Mortal Engines experienced engine trouble right out of the gate, earning a disastrous $7.5 million from 3,103 theaters.
Reviews were terrible for Engines: 28% on Rotten Tomatoes, 45/100 on Metacritic and a lowly “B-“ from ticket buyers on CinemaScore. Unless the film experiences a Christmas miracle, Mortal Engines may be a distant memory by the time New Year’s Day rolls around. Overseas, the fantasy flick has earned $34.8 million so far.
- Creed II (MGM) $5.4 million (-46%); $105 million
- Bohemian Rhapsody (Fox) $4.1 million (-33%); $180.4 million
- Instant Family (Paramount) $3.7 million (-35%); $60.2 million
- Fantastic Beasts/Grindelwald (Warner) $3.65 million (-47%); $152 million
- Green Book (Universal) $2.8 million (-29%); $24.6 million
Starting on Wednesday, more year-end giants enter the frame in the quest for holiday box office gold. In addition to Mary Poppins and Aquaman, Friday sees the arrival of Bumblebee, Second Act and Welcome to Marwen.
