After slowing down a bit on Christmas Eve, the box office rebounded on Christmas Day due to strong new releases. In fact, 14 movies grossed $1 million or more yesterday. Warner Bros., Sony (Columbia) and Paramount releases are only estimates right now, and will release their actuals later on.
Debuting on top, Les Miserables got off to a bolstering start on Tuesday, grossing $18.1 million, for a per-theater average of $6,450 from just 2,808 theaters. That was the biggest non-weekend Christmas Day start ever, and Miserables came in second to Sherlock Holmes ($24.1 million) on the overall Christmas Day opening day scale. I can't predict what it will do over the weekend, but it may drop off a bit over the remainder of the week, but an opening weekend above $30 million is likely. The film earned great critical reception and an "A" CinemaScore.
In second place, Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained also got off to a huge start on Christmas Day, earning $15 million. The awards season favorite earned an "A-" CinemaScore, but its' R rating may make its' daily gross drop off during the week. Altogether, Unchained saw the largest opening day to date for Tarantino, ahead of Inglorious &(&$@*!_. I can't predict an opening weekend, but this one too should find itself above $30 million for Friday-Sunday.
After 11 days on top, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey finally surrendered the top spot, backing down to third place. But it did see a nice bump, up 64% from Christmas Eve (estimated to earn $6.9 million then) to an estimated $11.3 million. This is a great sign for the movie's word-of-mouth, and with families more open tomorrow and Thursday, it should see another bump on Wednesday, and could even see a bump over the weekend. But whether it can hold the top spot for a third-straight weekend remains to be seen. Hobbit has earned $168.3 million in 12 days.
Some people forget that there's another movie out in theaters, and unexpectedly, Parental Guidance actually got off to a very solid start on Tuesday. Opening in fourth place, the movie grossed $6.3 million on Christmas Day. That wasn't far behind Cheaper by the Dozen's $7.8 million opening on Christmas Day, which would lead that film to a $27 million weekend. That film did open on a Thursday though, and Guidance will burn off some demand with a Tuesday start. But with an "A-" CinemaScore despite negative reviews from critics, plus families having more time to go to the movies Wednesday-onward, an opening weekend above $20 million is now very much likely.
After debuting in second last weekend, Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher earned an additional estimated $5.3 million on Christmas Day, dropping to fifth place and up 101% from Christmas Eve. Since its' opening five days ago, the movie has earned $23.5 million, and will likely find itself near $60 million by New Year's.
Judd Apatow's This is 40 saw the biggest boost on Christmas Eve, up a remarkable 189% despite sliding to the sixth spot. The film earned $4.4 million for a five-day total of $17.5 million. It doesn't appear that the "B-" CinemaScore is affecting it, and 40 should earn another $25-$30 million by New Year's. Not a solid gross but nowhere near disastrous.
Also receiving a nice bump on Christmas Day was The Guilt Trip, which slid only one spot to seventh but its' fortunes haven't exactly been reversed. Up 135% from Christmas Eve to an estimated $2.6 million, the movie's seven-day total is at just $11.1 million. Barbara Streisand and Seth Rogen's road trip comedy is struggling from having too much traffic to deal with in theaters, and a $30-$35 million total by New Year's looks like a best case scenario. But it wouldn't be surprising if it wound up a bit less than that.
Continuing to benefit from strong word-of-mouth, Steven Spielberg's Lincoln came in eighth place on Christmas Day with a 82% increase from Christmas Eve to an estimated $2.3 million. The awards season favorite passed $120 million today and will likely add another $15 million to that by Sunday.
Sliding down two spots to ninth place, Disney/Pixar's re-release of Monsters Inc. is starting to finally grab in families. Up 76% from Christmas Eve, the movie earned $1.5 million, and has earned $8.5 million in one week. A bump is expected on Wednesday and Thursday, so another $15 million or so should be added to that by New Year's. But even so, that'll only be just over half of what Finding Nemo earned in its' re-issue run altogether. Thank goodness these conversions are cheap.
Rounding out the Top 10 on Christmas Day was Skyfall, which was up 25% from Christmas Eve to an estimated $1.35 million despite losing nearly 1,300 theaters. Since its' debut 47 days ago, the 23rd James Bond film has picked up an amazing $282.2 million, and still stands a minor chance at closing above $300 million domestically.
Outside the Top 10, Life of Pi also picked up significantly, up 27% to $1.3 million on Christmas Day, despite dropping over 1,400 locations. Since its' debut 36 days ago, the Ang Lee film has earned $78.7 million, and should earn another $10 million or so by New Year's, giving it a pretty good chance at reaching $100 million before it's all done.
DreamWorks Animation's Rise of the Guardians was 12th, and after losing over 1,300 theaters, saw its' gross drop 22% from Christmas Eve to an estimated $1.2 million, boosting its' gross to a disappointing $82.4 million in 36 days. That isn't surprising considering the theater drop and that families were busy with Parental Guidance and staying home for Christmas. I do think it will improve on Wednesday and Thursday, and add another $10 million by New Year's, giving it a solid chance at closing above $100 million. But that's just my thoughts, there's also a chance the movie drops hard after Christmas passes.
Expanding into 745 locations, The Silver Linings Playbook found itself in 13th place on Christmas Day with another $1.1 million, for a $21.4 million gross since its' limited opening 41 days ago. Expect another $5-$7 million by New Year's.
Finally, Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away picked up nicely on Christmas Day, up 139% to an estimated $1 million in 14th place, but its' five-day gross is only at $3.7 million. While it will certainly pick up over the rest of the week, the total gross probably will only be south of $10 million by Sunday.
