Skyfall wasn't the only potent force at the box office this weekend. Disney's Wreck-it Ralph also showed strength in its' second weekend. The latest animated hit was down just 33% to $33 million this weekend, for a 10-day tally of a great $93.6 million, or about $5 million ahead of MegaMind through the same point. Ralph is showing excellent word-of-mouth, and if it can post similar or slightly stronger holds through Thanksgiving, then it could wind up its' run near or slightly above $200 million (but that all depends on if it gets trounced by Rise of the Guardians or the typically harsh post-Thanksgiving weekend). The movie's second weekend was in line with Puss in Boots (albeit with a much larger decline), which had earned $75.5 million through its' tenth day. With kids out of school tomorrow, Ralph should easily push past $100 million tomorrow, ahead of Skyfall (but not for long, at least the movie will have bragging rights of getting to that number first).
Also showing strength in its' second weekend was Denzel Washington's Flight, which dropped just 41% from last weekend to $14.8 million, for a 10-day gross of a great $47.5 million. The R-rated thriller held well in the face of Skyfall and is expected to expand into more theaters next weekend, so lighter declines are to come. On the other hand, Ben Affleck's Argo was down 35% to $6.6 million, for a $85.6 million gross in one month of release. While the hold is still good, its' double the amount the movie has dropped in the last few weekends. Still though, the awards front-runner should still close above $100 million. Holding onto the fifth spot was Taken 2, which continued to stabilize with a 32% decline to $4 million, for a $131.3 million gross in six weeks of release. The action sequel's hold was miraculous in the face of Skyfall, as its' final gross should come within $5 million of its' predecessors' final gross.
There was only a $200,000 difference between sixth through tenth place, and as expected, the actuals shuffled the list. Cloud Atlas plummeted 51% to $2.7 million, for a pathetic $22.8 million gross in just 17 days. In its' second weekend, The Man with the Iron Fists suffered the consequences, plunging 67% to $2.6 million, for an all-but-disastrous $12.8 million in just 10 days (against a $15 million budget). After lagging outside the list the last two weeks, Pitch Perfect shockingly bounced back to eighth place, down just 16% to $2.57 milllion, for a $59.1 million gross in seven weeks of release, and should reach $65 million before it leaves theaters.
Kevin James' Here Comes The Boom held onto ninth place, and continued to show signs of word-of-mouth, down just 29% to $2.52 milllion, for a $39 million gross in one month of release, and will likely add another $1 million tomorrow when kids are out, and another $5 million before it leaves theaters. Leggy animated hit Hotel Transylvania rounded out the Top 10 in its' seventh weekend, down 46% to $2.4 million, for a $141 million gross in 49 days, with about another $5 million to go before it closes shop. Sony has slated a sequel for the animated spookfest for September of 2015.
Internationally, Skyfall won with another $89 million from 57 territories, pushing its' international gross to a stunning $428 million, and will eclipse fellow Bond film Quantum of Solace's final gross tomorrow. Argo took second with a stellar $12 million major foreign launch, while animated hits Wreck-It Ralph and Hotel Transylvania followed with $11 million apiece. Ralph is only playing in 17% of foreign territories, while Transylvania has already opened in nearly every market and should pass $300 million worldwide before it leaves theaters. Rounding out the Top 5 was Paranormal Activity 4, which added another $6 million for a foreign tally of near $80 million and worldwide tally of close to $130 million...
