Weekend Box Office Report: "Doctor Strange" and "Trolls" Hold Off Strong "Arrival" in Strong Veteran's Day Weekend.

Overall business rocketed ahead of this same weekend last year by 45%, when Spectre easily held the top spot with $33.7 million.


As what many expected, Marvel kept the top spot at the box office with their superhero flick Doctor Strange. The MCU's latest had a great hold though, off 49% to $43 million, for a strong $153 million pick-up in 10 days. Considering superhero movies usually fall at least 55% in their second frames, this type of hold could speak to positive word-of-mouth. Strange is now tracking ahead of Thor: The Dark World's $145 million gross through the same point, and is guaranteed to earn over $200 million stateside. Next weekend will pose a challenge as the fantasy flick will have to deal with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which is tracking to open big next weekend. Overseas continues to be huge with another $60 million earned, and nearly $500 million picked up in just two weeks. Disney's record-smashing year continues.






Holding onto second place with a fantastic hold was DreamWorks Animation's Trolls. The family musical was off just 25% to $35.1 million, for a strong $94 million gross in 10 days. Trolls is pacing ahead of The Peanuts Movie ($82 million), MegaMind ($88 million), and Wreck-it Ralph ($93.6 million) through the same point. Fantastic Beasts will steal away older kids next weekend, and then Moana will be a big problem for it the next week. Worldwide, its earned over $220 million in three weeks.

Meanwhile, opening in third place with great numbers was the sci-fi flick Arrival. The Amy Adams flick pulled in a strong $24 million in third place, for a very good $10,358 per-venue average. That is in line with where I predicted it to be on Thursday, as I had a feeling that it would be a different enough option to really bring out audiences (a 93% Rotten Tomatoes score and strong awards season buzz helps also). But even so, many forecasters were conservative, and distributor Paramount was expecting $15-16 million. This is a huge win for everyone involved. Interestingly also, Arrival doubled the debut of director Denis Villeneuve's last effort Sicario ($12.5 million). Overall, this could be a strong player through the middle of the holiday season, though a mixed "B" CinemaScore may or may not do it any favors. The budget was a reasonable $47 million.








Meanwhile, also opening in line with my predictions, was holiday comedy Almost Christmas. The PG-13 movie pulled in a very good $15.6 million, for a decent $6,551 per-venue average. As I anticipated, African-Americans and holiday-loving moviegoers showed up in droves (the former does have a tendency to do so if its the right movie). On a budget of just $17 million, the Universal release successfully brought in a solid audience. While African-American-aimed movies tend to be front-loaded, this one could prove to be an exception thanks to its Christmas theme. Like Boo! A Madea Halloween was for Tyler Perry a few weeks ago, this could have better-than-expected holding power. Reviews were mixed-to-negative (44% on Rotten Tomatoes), while audiences gave it an "A-" CinemaScore.








Following its solid debut last weekend, Hacksaw Ridge had a strong hold, off just 29% in its second frame to $10.8 million, for a pretty good $32.3 million gross in 10 days. The critically-adored Mel Gibson flick is well-positioned to continue holding strong through Thanksgiving. In a distant sixth, The Accountant continued to have strong legs, off a Top 10-best 22% to $4.6 million. The Ben Affleck action thriller has earned a great $77.7 million in one month of release. It's also earned $130 million worldwide.

Opening with an expected whimper in seventh place was horror flick Shut-in. Distributor EuropaCorp didn't really put much of a marketing effort into this one, and audience interest was predictably low, pulling in just $3.7 million, for a pathetic $1,798 per-venue average. Reviews came in at a rare 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the CinemaScore was a "C". This will likely fade very fast from theaters.

Boo! A Madea Halloween remained in the mix, off another 55% to $3.6 million. Tyler Perry's latest cross-dressing escapade has earned a very good $70.4 million in 24 days, or 3 and a half times its $20 million budget. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back had a better hold, off 39% to $3.3 million, for a $54.6 million gross in the same amount of time. The action sequel only had a $60 million pricetag, so its $130 million worldwide gross so far may be setting it up to break even for all involved.

Rounding out the Top 10 was Inferno, which continued to flee fast from theaters. The Tom Hanks disappointment was down 47% to $3.25 million, for a very dismal $31.6 million gross in 17 days. Many were thinking before it started that it would open to a similar number. A $200 million worldwide gross, however, should be enough for Sony to turn a small profit against a $75 million budget.

That's about it. Next weekend, J.K. Rowling returns with her first screenplay, and a new possible franchise with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them earning strong early reviews and buzz. Also opening is boxing drama Bleed for This, teenage dramedy The Edge of Seventeen, and the expansion of Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. We will see if the strong numbers continue.

Reviews for Doctor Strange and Trolls coming very soon. Sorry they are later than I expected, I've been real busy and haven't had a whole lot of time to write.