Box Office Thread - April 14: ‘Civil War' at number one

[Benny]

'Ralph Breaks The Internet' stays top of UK box office as 'Spider-Verse', 'Mortal Engines' gear up


Rank Film (Distributor) Three-day gross (Dec 7-Dec 9) Total gross to date Week
1 Ralph Breaks The Internet (Disney) £2.5m £7.4m Week 2
2 The Grinch (Universal) £2m £19.5m Week 5
3 Creed II (Warner Bros) £1.7m £6m Week 2
4 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald (Warner Bros) £1.5m £29.3m Week 4
5 Bohemian Rhapsody (20th Century Fox) £973,627 £44m Week 7

Disney

Ralph Breaks The Internet stayed top of the chart after a tepid weekend at the UK box office. The film dropped 38% on its previous session, adding £2.5m for £7.4m to date. The film should have a long tail over the Christmas holiday. Predecessor Wreck-It Ralph took £23.8m in the UK, leaving its sequel with some ground still to make up.

Nutcracker & The Four Realms was down 35% this weekend, adding £140,000 for £5.3m so far.

Universal

On a weekend that saw no new openers chart in the top five, The Grinch rose up two places, posting a very strong hold with £2m, a drop of just 14%, the lowest in the top 10. The film is now up to £19.5m in the UK, which is beyond the £15.2m grossed by the Jim Carrey version of The Grinch in 2000.

Mortal Engines, the big-budget tale based on Philip Reeve’s dystopian novel of the same name, from director Christian Rivers and producer Peter Jackson, took £578,861 from previews on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. The film continues to preview this week, leading into its official opening on Friday (Dec 14).

Sorry To Bother You opened to £250,453 in the UK, including £63,509 in previews, from 147 locations. The film, a satire on race and greed from writer-director Boots Riley, premiered at Sundance this year.

Warner Bros

Creed II fell 43% in its second weekend, adding £1.7m for £6m so far – that already takes it past the lifetime gross of predecessor Creed, which ended on £5.9m.

In its fourth week, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald added £1.5m for £29.3m so far – that’s still a long way shy of the first film’s £54.7m UK gross.

A Star Is Born is up to £28.9m, posting £114,00 this weekend. Smallfoot is up to £11m.

20th Century Fox

Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody stayed in the top five after its seventh weekend, dropping 37% with £973,627. The film now sits on an impressive £44m in the UK.

The Old Man & The Gun, starring Robert Redford as a prison escapee in the 1970s who pulls off a string of heists, opened with £245,388 from 206 sites, an average of £1,191. With previews, the film’s officially opening is £313,525.

Widows is up to £6m in the UK after adding a further £110,729 this weekend.

Sony Pictures

Previewing this weekend, well-reviewed animated superhero feature Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse placed sixth in the chart with grosses of £750,000 from showings on Saturday and Sunday. That figure also includes some charity previews held to benefit MediCinema. The film has its full opening on Wednesday, December 12.

White Boy Rick, starring Matthew McConaughey and set during the ‘war on drugs’ in the US in the 1980s, opened to a soft £30,000 from 103 locations.

The Possession Of Hannah Grace added £49,000 and is up to £233,000 to date.

The Girl In The Spider’s Web has crossed the £1m mark after adding £23,000 this weekend.

Venom is now up to £20.2m, Hotel Transylvania 3 is up to £20.1m.

Lionsgate

Robin Hood added £146,407 and is up to £2.6m in the UK.

https://www.screendaily.com/news/ralph- ... 62.article

[Spartan]

Re: Box Office Thread - Ralph stays top of UK box office

LOL @ Robin Hood megaflopping. Feel bad for Taaron Everton who is a great little actor.

[Benny]

LOL @ Robin Hood megaflopping. Feel bad for Taaron Everton who is a great little actor.

It's one of the biggest flops of the year, even the 2 Jamie's (Dornan and Foxx) can't save it.

[Benny]

'Aquaman' crosses $150m at international box office

After last weekend’s fireworks in China, DC Entertainment’s Aquaman dived into a further 35 markets on Friday as the international running total surged to $152m.

The tentpole has grossed $135m via Warner Bros Pictures International (WBPI) after one week in China and already ranks as the biggest film in the DC Universe and has overtaken the lifetime totals of Black Panther, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and the two Ant-Man films.

Opening records have tumbled in the UK, where the tentpole stands at $1.8m including previews and scored the biggest opening day in the DC Universe on Wednesday, as well as WBPI’s second best opening day, and the third best industry opening day.

Opening on a non-traditional Thursday, Mexico led the way on $1.4m including previews, followed by Russia and Brazil on $1.3m apiece, rising to $2m including previews in the latter market.

Thailand generated $761,000 for WBPI’s fourth biggest opening day and the second biggest in the DC universe, while the UAE produced $691,000 for the studio’s third biggest opening day, and Malaysia $617,000 for the same accolade.

Indonesia stands at $2.2m after two days, and Taiwan $1.4m after two, and the Philippines $1.1m after two.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald stands at $433.4m, Crazy Rich Asians $64.5m, A Star Is Born $175.7m, and Creed II $23.4m.

Ralph Breaks The Internet on $122.3 through Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International opens in Belgium and the Netherlands, while The Nutcracker And The Four Realms has reached $101.6m.

Amblin Partners’ fantasy adventure Mortal Engines on $23.7m debuts in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. The Grinch has plundered $109.8m and arrives in China and Japan, and Unfriended: Dark Web on$1.8m opens in Meixco.

The Possession Of Hannah Grace has grossed $14m for Sony Pictures Releasing International, while The Girl In The Spider’s Web stands at $19.2m, and Venom $640.9m.

Fox International launches Once Upon A Deadpool, a cleaner, child-friendly version of the R-rated Deadpool 2, in the UK, Australia and eight smaller markets. Bohemian Rhapsody stands at $429.5m, and Widows $27.8m. Dragon Ball Super: Broly, the latest in the Dragon Ball animation series, opens in Japan.

https://www.screendaily.com/box-office/ ... 26.article

[Benny]

US Box Office: 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' Delivers Largest December Animated Opening at $35.4 Million

For the 13th time this year the top film at the weekend box office was adapted from a Marvel Comics property as Sony's animated release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse took the weekend box office crown with the largest opening ever for an animated film in December. Warner Bros.'s The Mule also enjoyed a solid debut while Universal's release of Mortal Engines crashed and burned. Additionally, ahead of its domestic debut next weekend, WB's Aquaman continued its stellar international rollout as the #1 film at the global box office this weekend.

Finishing at #1, Sony Animation's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse brought in an estimated $35.4 million for what is the largest three-day animated opening of all-time in the month of December. Previously, Universal and Illumination's Sing held that record with its $35.2 million opening. However, that debut does come with the caveat that it was part of a five-day opening that totaled $55.8 million back in December 2016. That being said, this is a great start for the production which should enjoy excellent play throughout the holiday season and beyond. The film received almost universally positive reviews heading into the weekend and earned a coveted "A+" CinemaScore from opening day audiences. Opening weekend crowds were largely male at 63% with 41% of the audience coming in aged 25 or older.

Internationally, Spider-Verse brought in $21 million from 44 overseas markets, led by a $3.3 million opening in South Korea followed by the UK ($2.9m), Russia ($2.3m) and Australia ($2.3m). The film will add an additional 11 markets next weekend including openings in China and Spain.

Finishing in second is Warner Bros.'s release of Clint Eastwood's The Mule, which delivered a $17.2 million opening from just 2,588 locations. The $50 million production received an "A-" CinemaScore from opening day audiences, and played to a crowd that was 54% male and 88% of which were over the age of 25. The film should play well over the coming weeks as a solid piece of counter-programming for adult audiences.

With the best hold in the top ten, Universal and Illumination's The Grinch finished third, dropping just -23% for an estimated $11.58 million start to its sixth week in release. The film has now grossed nearly $240 million domestically to go along with $133.4 million internationally after adding an additional $23.3 million overseas this weekend including a $2.9 million opening in China and a $2.3 million debut in Japan.

Disney's Ralph Breaks the Internet dipped to fourth, falling below The Grinch for the first time since its release, with an estimated $9.58 million as the film's domestic cume is now just shy of $155 million. Internationally, Ralph added $7.9 million this weekend for a global tally that now tops $285 million. The film will open in Japan and Hong Kong next weekend with several top markets still yet to release.

Rounding out the top five is Universal's Mortal Engines, a $100 million production that took in a disastrous $7.5 million this weekend from 3,103 locations. The film entered the weekend with lackluster reviews, a sentiment that was mostly echoed by the audience with a "B-" CinemaScore. Opening weekend crowds were 55% male with 64% of the audience aged 25 or older. We don't expect this one to be around for too long.

Internationally, Mortal Engines began its overseas run last weekend and added 11 additional markets this weekend for a total of 54 from which it brought in an estimated $11.5 million for a total of $34.8 million so far. Highlights this weekend include a #3 opening in France with an estimated $1.6 million followed by the UK ($1.59m), Germany ($1.3m), Italy ($869k) and Spain ($790k). The film has three major markets yet to be released made up of Mexico (Jan 4), Brazil (Jan 10) and Japan (Mar 1).

Outside the top ten, Fox's PG-13 re-release of Deadpool 2, Once Upon a Deadpool, brought in an estimated $2.6 million from 1,566 locations. Grosses from the re-release's two week run are being added to the overall gross for Deadpool 2, which now stands at $322.3 million. The PG-13 edit was also released in 12 markets internationally where it brought in an estimated $1 million.

Fox Searchlight's release of The Favourite expanded into 439 locations (+348) this weekend and brought in an estimated $2.57 million (+70.9%). Next weekend the film will expand nationwide, expected to play in 750-800 locations.

It must also be mentioned that WB's international release of Aquaman followed up its monster debut in China last weekend with a similarly strong performance this weekend as it added an additional 42 markets and brought in an estimated $126.4 million for an international cume that now totals $261.3 million. The DC Comics property added another $54.2 million in China this weekend for a cume totaling over $189 million followed by releases in Brazil ($7.7m), Russia ($7.4m), Mexico ($7.9m), UK ($6.5m), Indonesia ($5.3m), Taiwan ($4.7m), Philippines ($4.3m), India ($4m) and Thailand ($3.5m). To go along with its domestic release next weekend, the film will open in France, South Korea, Germany and Spain with releases in Australia (Dec 26), Italy (Jan 1) and Japan (Feb 8) remain.

Next week sees a flurry of new releases beginning on Wednesday with Disney's Mary Poppins Returns, which is set to play in ~3,800 locations. Following that, on Friday Warner Bros. will release Aquaman in over 4,100 theaters; Paramount will debut the latest Transformers feature, Bumblebee in ~3,500 locations; STX's romantic comedy Second Act starring Jennifer Lopez will debut in 2,600+ theaters; and Universal's Welcome to Marwen arrives in ~1,900 locations.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4467&p=.htm

[Benny]

Estimated top 10 North America Dec 14-16, 2018
Film (Dist) / Est wkd gross / Est total to date

1 (-) Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (Sony) Sony Pictures Releasing International $35.4m –

2 (-) The Mule (Warner Bros) Warner Bros Pictures International $17.2m –

3 (2) Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (Universal-Illumination) Universal Pictures International $11.6m $239.3m

4 (1) Ralph Breaks The Internet (Buena Vista) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International $9.6m $154.5m

5 (-) Mortal Engines (Universal) Universal Pictures International $7.5m –

6 (3) Creed II (MGM) MGM $5.4m $104.9m

7 (5) Bohemian Rhapsody (Fox) Fox International $4.1m $180.4m

8 (6) Instant Family (Paramount) Paramount Pictures International $3.7m $60.2m

9 (4) Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald (Warner Bros) Warner Bros Pictures International $3.7m $151.7m

10 (7) Green Book (Universal) Universal Pictures International $2.8m $24.7m

https://www.screendaily.com/box-office/ ... 33.article

[Wayne]

Re: Box Office Thread - Spider-Man huge, Mortal Engines flop

Was Mortal Engines expected to do well?

[Benny]

Was Mortal Engines expected to do well?

Well it is from the filmmakers of 'The Lord of the Rings' & 'The Hobbit' and had a budget of $100 million, so I guess yes.

[Wayne]

Re: Box Office Thread - Spider-Man huge, Mortal Engines flop

Blimey, $100 million!

[Benny]

China box office: record-breaking 'Aquaman' adds $93m, overtakes 'Justice League'

While the week of Dec 10-16 recorded a slight week-on-week drop of 2.4%, the Chinese box office inched closer to the groundbreaking milestone of RMB60bn ($8.72bn) as long as it could deliver another $218m within the next 15 days before the year closes.

Warner Bro’s Aquaman maintained a solid momentum in its second week and easily topped again with $93.1m, accounting for more than 70% of the week’s total box office. Its 10-day total of $186.2m has made it the fifth biggest foreign film and the 13th overall of 2018. It has also surpassed Justice League to become the biggest DC superhero film in China.

Sony’s Venom added $1.2m for $266.5m after 38 days from an extended run. It is now the seventh biggest film of 2018 and the 15th biggest film of all time; followed by Disney animation Ralph Breaks The Internet on $0.6m for $38.6m and Rowan Atkinson-starrer Johnny English Strikes Again on $0.4m on $24.5m, both after 24 days.

https://www.screendaily.com/news/china- ... 45.article

[Benny]

'Aquaman' tops UK box office, 'Mortal Engines' disappoints

UK box office Dec 14-Dec 16
Rank Film (Distributor) Three-day gross (Dec 14-Dec 16) Total gross to date Week
1 Aquaman (Warner Bros) £3.8m £5.2m 1
2 The Grinch (Universal) £1.7m £21.7m 6
3 Ralph Breaks The Internet (Disney) £1.4m £9.3m 3
4 Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (Sony) £1.2m £2.3m 1
5. Creed II (Warner Bros) £748,000 £7.4m 3

Warner Bros

Saline superhero feature Aquaman started its UK run at the top of the box office chart, with a £3.81m opening. Adding in £1.4m in Wednesday-Thursday previews, the film is up to £5.21m, and achieved a £6,320 site average across 608 locations.

This number is down on the other openings for recent DC Comics titles. Zack Snyder’s 2013 Man Of Steel began with £11.2m in the UK, ending on £30m, while his Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice did £14.6m and £36.6m in 2016. The same year, David Ayer’s Suicide Squad did £11.3m and went on to £33.6m.

Last year, Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman started with £6.3m, including £1.2m in previews, and ended on £22.2m, while Snyder’s Justice League opened higher on £7.4m but struggled to £17.4m total.

Aquaman is the only one of this group to open in December, and with no Star Wars film this Christmas, Warner Bros will be hoping it can pick up an audience throughout the holiday period. With $186.2m after 10 days in China, it is already the biggest DC film in that territory. It also scored impressive $261m after two weekends internationally, ahead of its opening in many countries including the US (December 21).

Creed II stayed in the top five with £748,000 in its third week. Its lifetime of £7.4m is now ahead of the £5.9m achieved by the first title in 2016, and represents a decent result for Warner.

It pipped another Warner title, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald, which took £696,000 in its fifth week and is up to £30.5m. It will finish some way short of Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, which took £54.7m in 2016.

A Star Is Born added £59,000 and has now passed the £29m mark.

Universal

Post-apocalyptic adventure Mortal Engines took £310,763 from 404 screens over its opening weekend, and is up to £1.27m including previews after screening from December 8.

Universal have a running hit with The Grinch, which held second place in its sixth week on release, dropping just 14% for a £1.74m weekend and putting it above Disney’s Ralph Breaks The Internet. The Grinch is now up to £21.68m, and will look to continue its form across the Christmas weeks.

Boots Riley’s Sundance comedy Sorry To Bother You starring Lakeith Stanfield and Tessa Thompson put on £81,313 and is at £458,147 after two weeks.

Sony

Another title to open after a preview run, Sony’s Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, took £1.23m over the weekend from 570 locations for a £2,174 site average, and has £2.28m in total. It started on UK screens on December 8, before an official opening last Wednesday (December 12).

Disney

Ralph Breaks The Internet fell 43% on its third weekend for £1.4m and £9.3m to date. Barring a surge over Christmas, it will finish down on Wreck-It Ralph’s £23.8m gross.

The Nutcracker And The Four Realms put on £100,000 on its seventh weekend and is up to £5.4m.

20th Century Fox

Bohemian Rhapsody took £528,064 over the weekend and is up to £45.13m after eight weeks. The Old Man & The Gun put on £100,028 for £625,183, while Widows added £37,497 and is at £6.13m. One year on from its release, Fox has also been re-running The Greatest Showman, with £47,829 from 58 locations this weekend pushing its UK total to £47.28m.

Lionsgate

Robin Hood added £22,051 for a £2.69m cume as it approaches the end of its run.

https://www.screendaily.com/news/aquama ... 55.article

[Benny]

'Aquaman' glides past $300m heading into holiday season

Aquaman has crossed the $300m international milestone and heads into its third session as the clear favourite to retain the international crown, although several other titles will make a splash heading into holiday season.

As of December 19 the DC Entertainment tentpole – already a hit before it opens in North America on December 21 – stood at $300.4m through Warner Bros Pictures International.

This weekend sees Jason Momoa glide into France, Germany and Spain and after last weekend’s gargantuan $131.3m second session, it will bring in another substantial haul in the coming days.

One heavyweight challenger for the international crown will be Mary Poppins Returns. The family classic reboot starring Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda from director Rob Marshall will sprinkle its magic over a wide swathe of the planet as it opens day-and-date with North America this weekend through Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International.

Expected to deliver significant grosses heading in the holiday season are the UK, Germany, France, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Poland, Netherlands and Israel, among others. The Nutcracker And The Four Realms has grossed $109.1m, while Ralph Breaks The Internet on $134m arrives in Japan and Hong Kong.

Another release that could make some noise is Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, which stands at an early $26.7m through Sony Pictures Releasing International and leaps into China this weekend. Spider-Man: Homecoming opened there on $69.2m in September 2017 and if Sony’s acclaimed animation takes off there could be fireworks in China. Spider-Verse also opens this weekend in Spain, Netherlands and Belgium.

Sony’s horror release The Possession Of Hannah Grace stands at $16.4m, and the thriller Searching has reached $48.6m.

Transformers spin-off Bumblebee directed by Laika Animation chief Travis Knight and starring Hailee Stenfeld and John Cena opens via Paramount Pictures International in 38 markets. Key highlights are anticipated in Australia, Germany, Italy, Russia and Mexico. Prospects appear to be very good: 2017 release Transformers: The Last Knight opened in the aforementioned markets on $3.4m, $4.9m, $2m, $8.5m, and $7.8m.

While the number of key territories this weekend are too few to make a serious dent in Aquaman’s aspirations, Bumblebee should do well enough to establish a solid foothold before it launches next week in a further 17 markets led by the UK, France, Brazil, South Korea and Spain, followed by China on January 4. Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne comedy Instant Family stands at $9m.

Fox International’s Bohemian Rhapsody stands at $462.1m, while the recent releases of Once Upon A Deadpool, the family-friendly version of Deadpool 2, continue this weekend in Argentina, Singapore and Denmark. Fox International is rolling the grosses into the original film and the updated tally is $419.3m.

Returning to Warner Bros Pictures International, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald has amassed $448.5m, A Star Is Born $178.3m heading into Japan, Creed II $26.5m, and Crazy Rich Asians $64.7m.

https://www.screendaily.com/box-office/ ... 93.article

[Benny]

US Box Office: 'Aquaman' Splashes Down with $67.4 Million Debut; 'Poppins' and 'Bumblebee' Play Runner-Up

The long Christmas weekend is underway with Aquaman, Warner Bros.'s latest entry into their DC Extended Universe, topping the charts, on its way to a $100+ million five-day opening. Meanwhile, Disney's Mary Poppins Returns and Paramount's Bumblebee finished in runner-up positions over a weekend that played relatively similarly to the same weekend last year, though given the holiday timing its hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison.

Performing almost exactly as expected, WB's release of Aquaman easily took the #1 spot at the weekend box office with an estimated $67.4 million over the course of the three-day weekend and a cume that now stands at $72.1 million once you include the $4.7 million in grosses from pre-weekend Amazon Prime showings. The film is now expected to deliver around $105 million over the course of its first five days, which ends on Christmas Day, routinely the busiest day at the box office all year. The film received an "A-" CinemaScore from opening day audiences and played to an opening weekend crowd that was 55% male and 58% aged 25 years or older.

Overall, the performance ranks as one of the top ten December openings of all-time, though it is sixth largest debut within WB's DC Extended Universe. That last note, however, will be an interesting stat to watch as Aquaman has enjoyed some of the best reviews of the franchise and audiences seem to be enjoying it to the tune of an 86% audience rating on RottenTomatoes.

Worldwide, the film is the #1 release at the global box office for the third week in a row, bringing in another $91.3 million overseas this weekend from 70 markets for an international cume that now stands at $410.7 million and a global tally totaling $482.8 million. Comparing to all overseas markets in release, WB reports Aquaman is tracking as the highest grossing film in the DC Universe (+22% higher than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, +52% higher than Justice League and +86% ahead of Wonder Woman). The film's top market remains China with an impressive $232.8 million, which ranks as the seventh highest grossing imported title in the market all-time. The film also debuted in South Korea this weekend with $9.9 million along with openings in France ($6.2m), Germany ($4.2m), Spain ($2.8m) and Hong Kong ($2.7m). The film will open in Australia on December 26 followed by openings in Italy (Jan 1) and Japan (Feb 8).

Disney's Mary Poppins landed in second position for the three-day after opening on Wednesday. The film brought in an estimated $22.2 million over Friday-Sunday frame for a $31 million five-day cume. This is mostly what was expected heading into the weekend and while this may seem like a light performance this is a film that should play well throughout the holidays and into the new year. The film received strong reviews prior to opening — 65 on Metacritic 77% on RottenTomatoes — to go along with an "A-" CinemaScore from opening day crowds. Poppins's audience was 59% female with 61% of the opening weekend crowd coming in aged 25 years or older.

Internationally, Mary Poppins Returns delivered an estimated $20.3 million from its first 17 markets, including a #1 start in the UK with an estimated $9.4 million. Additional openings include Italy ($2.8m), France ($2m), Germany ($1.9m) and Spain ($1.4m). The film expands further next weekend, debuting in Mexico, Denmark, Finland, Norway and many more with early January openings set for Australia and Russia and February debuts set for Japan and South Korea.

Paramount's release of Bumblebee, the sixth film in the Transformers franchise, landed in third with an estimated $21 million as it too plays to expectations and should also enjoy a lengthy box office run thanks to strong reviews and an "A-" CinemaScore from opening day audiences. That being said, the only real question with this film, as well as Aquaman and Sony Animation's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, is just how well all these films can play alongside one another and not cannibalize each other's potential box office as they play, mostly, to the same crowd. For now we're looking for Bumblebee to deliver a $32+ million five-day start.

Internationally, Bumblebee opened in 38 markets with an estimated $31.1 million led by $4.9 million openings in both Russia and Indonesia. Additional openings include Mexico ($3.9m), Australia ($2.8m), Malaysia ($2.6m), Germany ($1.8m), Thailand ($1.2m) and Singapore ($1.2m). The film will expand into 17 additional markets next week including France, UK, Brazil, Korea and Spain with a January 4 release set for China and a March 22 release planned for Japan.

The aforementioned release of Sony Animations's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse landed in fourth place with an estimated $16.7 million to kick off its second weekend with a cume that now stands just shy of $65 million. The film's 53% second weekend drop is a little more than anticipated, which speaks to the amount of competition that's currently in the marketplace right now, vying for the attention of the same sets of eyeballs.

Spider-Verse also began its run in China this weekend, debuting at #1 with an estimated $26.1 million contributing to a $38 million international weekend and an overseas cume that now stands at $64.8 million. The film is still yet to open in Mexico (Dec 25), Italy (Dec 25), Brazil (Jan 10) and Japan (Mar 28).

Rounding out the top five is WB's release of Clint Eastwood's The Mule, which enters its second week in release with an estimated $9.95 million and a domestic cume that now stands at $35.6 million.

Universal and Illumination's release of The Grinch added an estimated $8.18 million this weekend as its cume now stands at $253.2 million, moving it ahead of Illumination's Despicable Me as the animation house's sixth largest domestic release of all-time. The film is certainly positioned to continue its strong run with Christmas right around the corner.

In seventh position we find STXfilms's release of Second Act, which delivered an estimated $6.5 million for the three-day weekend as it looks to deliver $8.5+ million over its first five days in release. The $16 million romantic comedy stars Jennifer Lopez and received a "B+" CinemaScore from opening day audiences while the weekend crowd was 70% female with 51% were of the overall audience coming in between the ages of 25 and 44 and 75% of the total audience aged 25 or older.

Barely finding its way into the top ten, Universal and DreamWorks's release of Robert Zemeckis's Welcome to Marwen was pretty much a disaster as the $39 million production scored a mere $2.35 million in its first three days from 1,911 locations and a $1,233 per theater average. The film didn't necessarily sit well with the audiences that did show up, receiving a harmless "B-" CinemaScore, which pretty much guarantees this one's theatrical tenure will be limited at best. The film played to an audience that was 52% female and 79% of the overall audience was aged 25 or older.

Hot on Marwen's heels is Focus Features's Mary Queen of Scots, which brought in an estimated $2.2 million over the three day as it expanded nationwide, playing in 795 locations (+729) as it enters its third week in release.

Just outside the top five is Fox Searchlight's The Favourite as it enters its fifth weekend in release and has now expanded nationwide, playing in 790 locations (+349) where it brought in an estimated $2.06 million for a cumulative gross that now stands at $10 million. The film will add a few additional locations next weekend as it plays throughout the holiday season, hoping to advance even further in the awards season race.

In limited release, Amazon Studios's Cold War brought in an estimated $55,727 from three locations for a $18,576 per theater average.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4469&p=.htm

[Benny]

Estimated top 10 North America Dec 21-23, 2018
Film (Dist) / Est wkd gross / Est total to date

1 (-) Aquaman (Warner Bros) Warner Bros Pictures International $67.4m $72.1m

2 (-) Mary Poppins Returns (Buena Vista) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International $22.2m $31m

3 (-) Bumblebee (Paramount) Paramount Pictures International $21m –

4 (1) Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (Sony) Sony Pictures Releasing International $ 16.7m $64.8m

5 (2) The Mule (Warner Bros) Warner Bros Pictures International $9.9m $35.7m

6 (3) Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (Universal-Illumination) Universal Pictures International $8.2m $253.2m

7 (-) Second Act (STX) STX International $6.5m

8 (4) Ralph Breaks The Internet (Buena Vista) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International $4.6m $162.1m

9 (-) Welcome To Marwen (Universal) Universal Pictures International $2.4m

10 (17) Mary Queen Of Scots (Focus Features) Universal Pictures International $2.2m $3.5m

https://www.screendaily.com/box-office/ ... 96.article

[Benny]

'Mary Poppins Returns' posts £8.2m opening after widest ever UK box office release

Disney’s musical fantasy sequel Mary Poppins Returns got underway in the UK this weekend with an impressive £8.2m three-day opening from December 21-23.

The film was released into a massive 740 cinemas – that’s the widest ever release for a film in the UK. Its £8.2m opening is an average of £11,081 per location.

The sequal to the much-loved original, which stars Emily Blunt alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer,is set two decades later and sees the magical nanny return to the Banks family after they are beset by tragedy.

In terms of UK openings in 2018, Mary Poppins slots comfortably into the top 10: Avengers: Infinity War (also Disney) sits top with a £23.1m three-day start; Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald (Warner Bros) posted £12.3m; Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (Universal) took £10.6m; Black Panther (Disney) took £10.5m; Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (Universal) opened with £9.7m, while Incredibles 2 (Disney) posted £9.5m.

Three films opened below Mary Poppins and made it into the top 10 overall highest-grossing releases of the year: Peter Rabbit (Sony) with £7.2m; Deadpool 2 (Fox) with £7.7m; Bohemian Rhapsody (20th Century Fox) with £6.4m.

Those numbers make good reading for Disney, with family films tending to post strong week-on-week holds this year. Incredibles 2 and Peter Rabbit both built on those decent starts to become the third and seventh highest-grossing releases of the year (£56.1m and £40.9m respectively), for example.

Musicals have also fared particularly well in 2018. The Greatest Showman opened significantly less than Poppins with £2.6m, but built to become the eighth highest-grossing film of the year with £39.6m.

Mary Poppins dominated 45% of takings over its opening Friday to Sunday, with grosses growing day-on-day moving into the UK bank holidays of Dec 25 (when most cinemas are closed) and Dec 26. The family title is likely to build consistently over the coming festive days - it looks set to comfortably be the biggest holiday release of the year.

The film will have further competition from Transformers spin-off Bumblebee (Paramount) and comedy Holmes And Watson (Sony) from Dec 26.

https://www.screendaily.com/news/mary-p ... 98.article

[Benny]

'Aquaman' crossing $600m worldwide on December 27

DECEMBER 27 UPDATE: Aquaman stood at $596.2m worldwide and $473.6m internationally through December 26 and will cross the $600m global milestone on Thursday (27), based on latest numbers from Warner Bros Pictures International executives.

The tentpole opened at number one in Australia on December 26 on $2.7m to deliver the highest DC Universe opening of all time and the highest opening day for a Warner Bros film in 2018.

By close of play on December 26, Aquaman had reached $246.4m in China, $19.3m in Brazil, $18.5m in South Korea, $18.3m in Mexico, $14.2m in the UK, abd $13.8m in Indonesia.

DECEMBER 26 REPORT: Aquaman continues to make waves and has reached $556.8m worldwide through December, according to Warner Bros Pictures International (WBPI) executives on December 26.

The DC Entertainment hit has amassed $451.1m internationally and a further $105.7m from the first few days in North America, where it remains the number one release as the holiday season progresses.

December 25 highlights include a string of number one holds led by $5.3m in China to put Aquaman on $243.5m after three weekends, $4.1m in South Korea in the first week, $1.1m for $17.4m in Mexico after two sessions, and $5.9m and $8.1m after opening weekends in Germany and France, respectively.

Behind China, Brazil is the next highest market so far on $17.9m, then Mexico and South Korea, followed by the UK on $13.8m, Russia on $13.4m, rising giant Indonesia on $13.3m, Taiwan on $9.7m, Philippines on $8.7m, then France, then India on $7.8m, and Malaysia on $7.7m.

Aquaman opened in Australia on December 26, and arrives in Italy on January 1, and Japan on February 8.

James Wan directed Jason Momoa in the lead, alongside Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Jason Patrick, Nicole Kidman, and Dolph Lundgren.

https://www.screendaily.com/box-office/ ... 01.article

[Benny]

'Aquaman' is King of the Box Office Seas for a Second Weekend in a Row

There were no big surprises in the final weekend of a record-setting 2018 as Warner Bros.'s Aquaman is once again king of the box office seas with a domestic cume that now tops $188 million and a worldwide tally nearing $750 million. Meanwhile, the weekend's new wide releases in Annapurna's Vice and Sony's Holmes & Watson were quiet in their debuts as the bulk of the weekend attention goes to holiday holdovers.

Just slightly outperforming Mojo's pre-weekend expectations, WB and DC's Aquaman delivered the smallest second weekend drop in the DC Extended Universe, dipping just -23.5% for a $51.55 million second weekend, pushing the film's domestic cume over $188 million. The film now ranks as the eleventh largest domestic release based on a DC Comic after just ten days in release.

Internationally, Aquaman brought in an estimated $85.4 million this weekend from 78 markets for an overseas cume totaling $560 million and a global tally reaching $748.8 million. This makes the film the third largest worldwide release in the DC Extended Universe, topping Suicide Squad. Meanwhile, it's the fifth largest worldwide release based on a DC Comic and the second largest international release behind only The Dark Knight Rises ($636.8m). China remains Aquaman's top market with a massive $260.4 million with releases in Italy set for January 1 and Japan serving as the final market to release where the film will open on February 8.

Disney's Mary Poppins Returns also performed right on par with Mojo's pre-weekend forecast, delivering an estimated $28 million in its second weekend, a +19% improvement over last weekend, resulting in a domestic cume just shy of $100 million as the film begins to show potential for long legs.

Internationally, Mary Poppins added $28.9 million this weekend from 37 markets for an international cume that now stands just shy of $75 million. The film's top overseas market remains the UK where it has grossed nearly $30 million so far and it will open in Australia and Russia next weekend.

Paramount's Bumblebee dipped just -5% in its second weekend, delivering an estimated $20.5 million for a domestic cume that now stands at $66.7 million. The film's performance will continue to be one to watch as audiences are clearly enjoying it more than the last few films in the Transformers franchise, but the film faces a lot of direct competition in Aquaman and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which leaves open the question just how long the three films can thrive in theaters, playing side-by-side.

Internationally, Bumblebee is now playing in 55 markets from which it grossed an estimated $45.7 million this weekend for an overseas cume that now stands at $90 million. Highlights among new openings include a $7.8 million opening in South Korea followed by the UK ($6.3m), France ($4.1m), Brazil ($3m), Taiwan ($2m) and Hong Kong ($1.5m). The film will begin playing in China on January 4 followed by a March 22 release in Japan.

In fourth place, the aforementioned Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse followed what was a larger-than-expected drop last weekend with a +11.2% improvement this weekend, delivering an estimated $18.3 million to start its third week in release with a domestic cume that now tops $103 million. The film also added another $27.4 million internationally from 60 markets for a worldwide cume that now totals $213.2 million. Spider-Verse has still yet to open in Brazil where it will debut on January 10 followed by a March 28 opening in Japan.

Rounding out the top five is WB's The Mule, which saw an impressive +24% improvement compared to last weekend, resulting in an estimated $11.78 million weekend and a domestic cume that now tops $60 million.

Outside the top five, following its Christmas Day debut this past Tuesday, Annapurna's Vice entered its first weekend, playing in 2,442 locations from which it delivered an estimated $7.79 million. The performance is within range of pre-weekend expectations and slightly ahead of Mojo's pre-weekend forecast. Looking ahead, this clearly isn't looking to be the same kind of success as writer/director Adam McKay's The Big Short, which waited five weeks to play in as many theaters as Vice opened in, not to mention Big Short received an "A-" CinemaScore compared to the "C+" for Vice. The studio may have been better off with a platform approach, similar to Big Short, targeting a wide release on January 25, three days after the upcoming Oscar nomination announcement.

That being said, Vice is already Annapurna's highest grossing domestic release of all-time after just six days in release with the picture grossing $17.7 million thus far.

Also following its Christmas Day debut, Sony's comedy Holmes & Watson wasn't a hit with critics or audiences. The film received a "D+" CinemaScore from opening day crowds, signaling a steady decline in attendance, which was reflected in this weekend's performance with the film delivering an estimated $7.3 million from 2,776 locations. The film has now grossed just shy of $20 million after six days in release. To put that into perspective, previous comedies headlined by Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly saw Step Brothers open with $30.9 million ahead of a $100 million domestic run and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby opened with $47 million before ending its domestic run just shy of $150 million.

Holmes & Watson also began its international rollout this weekend, playing in eight markets and delivering an estimated $4 million led by a $1.8 million opening in Australia and a $1.7 million debut in the UK. Upcoming key markets include Russia (Jan 24), Germany (Feb 7), Italy (Feb 14), Spain (Feb 22) and France (Feb 27).

In limited release, Reliance's release of Simmba debuted with an estimated $1.7 million from 300 locations ($5,751 PTA); Focus's release of On the Basis of Sex delivered an estimated $690k from 33 theaters ($20,909) after debuting on Christmas Day; Sony Classics's Stan & Ollie opened with $79,674 from five locations ($15,935); and Annapurna's Destroyer brought in an estimated $58,472 from three theaters ($19,491 PTA) after it too opened on Christmas Day.

Overall, the weekend's top twelve were mostly on par with last weekend, grossing just +0.8% more as 2018 will soon come to a close as the highest grossing year at the domestic box office of all-time. So far, 2018 has delivered nearly $11.7 billion in domestic ticket sales and will top 2016's previous record year by more than $400 million.

Next weekend will see us begin 2019 with the release of the Sony horror film Escape Room, debuting in ~2,500 locations.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4471&p=.htm

[Benny]

'Mary Poppins Returns' stays top for second week at the UK box office

Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns took £7.4m from 740 sites on its second week on release to hold on to the top spot for the three-day weekend of December 28-30. It fell just 10% to gross £23.3m to date.

Paramount’s Transformers prequel Bumblebee rode the waves of good reviews to take £5.4m from 587 sites and snag second place on its opening weekend. It is directed by animation specialist Travis Knight, who has been twice nominated for an Oscar - for The Boxtrolls in 2015 and then for Kubo And The Two Strings in 2017. Bumblebee is his live-action debut and stars Hailee Steinfeld as a young girl in 1980s California who discovers and befriends the bashed up and abandoned machine Bumblebee.

In third place is Warner Bros’ Aquaman which garnered £2.4m from 559 sites on its third weekend on release, a bump of 2%.

The other big opener was Sony’s comedy Holmes & Watson which grossed £1.4m from 481 sites. It is the second film by Etan Cohen, who previously directed Get Hard in 2015, and stars Will Ferrell, Ralph Fiennes, John C Reilly and Rebecca Hall.

Finally at number five, Disney’s Ralph Breaks The Internet made £1.2m for a £13.2m total after five weeks.

https://www.screendaily.com/news/mary-p ... 06.article

[jochen]

Re: Box Office Thread - 'Aquaman' reaches $750m worldwide

Truly enjoyed it

[KEY9481]

Re: Box Office Thread - 'Aquaman' reaches $750m worldwide

Never expected Aquaman to do that good.