Happy New Year, everyone!
With the holiday season out of the way, folks still on holiday break found the time to check out movies they may have missed during the final weeks of 2019.
Staying put at number one for a third week in a row was Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The ninth film in the 43-year old Star Wars franchise raised 53% less on 4,406 theaters, where it collected an estimated $33.7 million. After 17 days, the domestic total for Rise of Skywalker now sits at $450.7 million.
While any studio would be over the moon to have a film clear nearly a half billion dollars in just over 2.5 weeks, Disney has to be a little underwhelmed by Skywalker’s box office run so far given the amount of money spent to make and market it.
In comparison to the $517.2 million brought in by The Last Jedi 17 days into its North America run, Rise of Skywalker is lagging approximately 13% behind that. Should the final chapter of the Sequel Trilogy continue at this pace, Skywalker’s final domestic haul could walk off into the twin sunset of Tatooine with roughly $530 million.
Internationally, The Rise of Skywalker added $50 million to its offshore total, which now stands at $468 million.
Sony Pictures scored a ticket-selling trifecta this weekend as the studio held spots two through four on the box office charts. Leading the trio was Jumaji: The Next Level with an estimated $26.5 million from 4,134 theaters. Down 25%, The Next Level has ascended to $236.2 million in North America with an additional $374 million from international markets. Next Level could end its holiday box office game close to the $300 million mark, roughly 25% lower than its 2017 predecessor Welcome To the Jungle.
Third place belonged to the critically acclaimed Little Women, which scored an estimated $13.6 million from 3,308 screens. Down only 19% from its premiere weekend, the ten-day total for the Greta Gerwig-directed drama is a great $60 million. With word-of-mouth through the roof and awards season beginning to smile upon the March family, Little Women is on track to clear the $100 million mark –possibly even higher- by the end of its run.
Then there is The Grudge, a Sony release that will lucky to still be in theaters by the end of this month. The reboot of the English-language remake from 16 years ago found itself the recipient of a grudge being held by both critics and the public. The Grudge scored a pitiful 18% on Rotten Tomatoes, a 37/100 on Metacritic and a downright deadly “F” on CinemaScore. With that type of animosity being thrown its way, watch for The Grudge to be a distant memory in a matter of no time.
Still connecting with viewers after nearly two months was Disney’s Frozen II with an estimated $11.3 million from 3,175 theaters. Down 33%, Frozen II has chilled the box office to the tune of $450 million so far. The $500 million box office mark is a strong possibility at this point.
Combined with the $875.3 million pocketed so far from overseas, Frozen II has now zipped by the original Frozen to become the biggest animated release of all time (pre-inflation).
- Spies in Disguise (Fox/Disney) $10 million (-24%); $46.7 million
- Knives Out (Lionsgate) $9 million (-9%); $130.3 million
- Uncut Gems (A24) $7.82 million (-18%); $38 million
- Bombshell (Lionsgate) $4 million (-15%); $24.5 million
- Cats (Universal) $2.6 million (-46%); $24.7 million
Next weekend will see the nationwide expansion of Universal’s World War I drama 1917 and Warner’s Just Mercy. The two will be joined by Fox’s action flick Underwater and the Paramount comedy Like a Boss. Of the four, 1917 has the best chance of dethroning Skywalker from the number one spot.
