The two weeks following Thanksgiving are typically slow, but most films dropped harder than usual this past weekend. Still, Disney’s Ralph Breaks the Internet was able to hold onto the number one spot, and Illumination’s The Grinch continues to have excellent holds.
Ralph fell 54.5% and brought in $25.5m for $119.1m to date, putting it just behind 2016’s Moana but still about $9m ahead of last year’s Coco. This drop is not horrible, but with no new openers, and its main competition being four weeks old, it is not great. The sequel is playing slightly more frontloaded than expected, but will still be able to clear $200 million domestically.
The Grinch retook the second place spot on the chart, holding better than expected and making $17.9m as it became the eighth (of nine) Illumination film to cross $200 million. The only one to fall short is the studio’s second film, 2011’s Easter-themed, live action-animation-hybrid Hop, which made $108.0m, an amazing batting average for the young studio, especially considering their films typically cost less than half of the usual Disney and Pixar fare. Grinch should continue to hold throughout the holidays en route to a $250m+ total.
Creed II fell to third place with $16.6m and $80.9m total. The drop is only marginally worse than its predecessor’s (54% v 49%), which had made $64.5m by the same point. Barring some horrible drops in the coming weeks, Creed II will outgross its predecessor.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald had a concerning drop this week, falling 61.3% for just $11.3m over the weekend and $134.5m total, nearly $50 million behind where the first Beasts films was at the same point. While still a hit overseas, this is not a good trajectory for the franchise, especially since these films are the two lowest grossing and worst reviewed of all Wizarding World entries. It will be interesting to see what, if any, changes Warner Bros. makes regarding the upcoming films. Director David Yates, who was been directing the franchise since 2007’s Order of the Phoenix, is signed on to finish out the next three films, but if WB is nervous, they may hand the reigns to someone else in hopes of injecting some fresh blood into the franchise, as many fans are not crazy about Yates’s vision for the world. If anything is to happen, it would be announced relatively soon, as the third entry is expected to begin filming in the summer for a fall 2020 release.
Bohemian Rhapsody continues to thrive, spending its fifth week in the top five with $8.0m and $164.3m to date. The biopic has also crossed $500 million worldwide, an incredible achievement for Fox. Clearly seeing dollar signs in their eyes, Universal just announced that they will be making an original narrative film based on classic songs from Prince. Expect more biopics about famous musicians to be announced in the coming months (especially if next summer’s Elton John biopic, Rocketman, takes off as well).
In seventh place is the week’s sole newcomer, The Possession of Hannah Grace, making $6.4m, well above expectations, which were in the $2-4m range.
Green Book had the best hold in the top 10, dropping only 28.5% for $3.9m and a tenth place finish. There is still hope for the film to rebound after its disappointing expansion.
Elsewhere on the chart, A Star is Born left the top 10 for the first time in its run, following eight weeks in the top 10. The musical finished in eleventh place as it rose its total to an astonishing $193.7m.
The Favourite, another major Oscar contender, had another great weekend, $1.0 million from just 34 theaters for a $31k per theater average, the best of the weekend (the film also had the best average last weekend). While so many Oscar hopefuls have failed to breakout (Beautiful Boy, Suspiria, Boy Erased, Can You Ever Forgive Me?), The Favourite is looking very promising for Fox Searchlight. With no new releases next weekend, another expansion could be enough to put it in the top 10.
Film Central 