Overall business was down
6% from this same weekend last year, when
Doctor Strange ($43 million) and
Trolls ($35 million) remained in the top two spots, while
Arrival ($24 million) and
Almost Christmas ($15 million) opened solidly in third and fourth place.
As many expected,
Thor: Ragnarok easily remained #1, and held fairly decently for a superhero movie. The threequel was down 54% to an estimated
$56.6 million, for a strong $211.6 million gross in 10 days of release. That already puts
Ragnarok ahead of the final grosses of the first two
Thor movies (which earned $181 and $207 million, respectively). The second weekend hold is stronger than the other two Marvel movies this year (
Spider-Man: Homecoming and
Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2), but not quite as strong as last year's
Doctor Strange (-49%). Next weekend,
Ragnarok will likely take a hit from the highly-anticipated
Justice League, before stabilizing over Thanksgiving weekend. Overseas, it continues to do strong business, with $76 million added.
Ragnarok crossed $650 million worldwide today, and should continue climbing over the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, in second place,
Daddy's Home 2 wasn't expected to impress. But, it outwitted its' $20 million expectations to pull in a rock solid estimated
$30 million ($8,392 average). In comparison, the first
Daddy's Home pulled in $38.7 million over its' opening weekend two years ago. It is important to note, however, that the first movie opened on Christmas Day, which means it's not a direct apples-to-apples comparison. Altogether, considering many film series tend to drop off heavily with second installments (as well as the terrible reviews as it sits at 16% on Rotten Tomatoes), this is a great start. It's especially good news for distributor Paramount, as 2017 has seen flop after flop for them. Despite negative reviews, audiences awarded an "A-" CinemaScore for the sequel, which is actually an improvement on the first movie's "B+". Look for this to potentially play well through at least Thanksgiving.
It turned out to be a good weekend for people to go to the movies as the other new release also outpaced studio and analyst expectations (which were also around $20 million). Mystery movie remake
Murder on the Orient Express managed a very good estimated
$28.2 million in third place ($8,441 per-venue average). The ensemble pic had so-so reviews (58% on Rotten Tomatoes), but pulled in a decisively older crowd (51% was 35 and older). That type of audience tends to come in more over time, which is a great sign for
Orient. Distributor 20th Century Fox also got great news overseas, as the movie earned $47 million (including $19 million in China) in its worldwide expansion. The remake of the 1974 classic did only earn a "B" CinemaScore from opening day crowds, but with no direct competition for its' older audience in the next two weeks, it also looks set to play at least through the Thanksgiving holiday.
Despite competition from another comedy sequel,
A Bad Moms Christmas held very well in its second weekend, off just 31% to $11.5 million. The sequel to last year's comedy hit has pulled in a decent $39.9 million in 12 days, and should continue to hold well into Thanksgiving and later into the holiday season.
Fall leftovers followed.
Saw reboot
Jigsaw fell 48% in its third frame to $3.4 million, for a meh $34.4 million gross in 17 days. That looks fine against a $10 million budget, but for the franchise, a $40 million finish will rank second-to-last out of the eight films.
Boo 2: A Madea Halloween was down 54% in its fourth weekend to $2.1 million, for a $45.9 million pick-up in 24 days. It doesn't have much further to go, and will finish well below the first
Boo!'s $73 million final gross.
Pricey disaster flick
Geostorm followed with a 52% decline to $1.5 million, for an abysmal $31.6 million gross in 24 days. It's about to pass $200 million worldwide with Japan still to open, but that won't be enough to offset the $120 million budget (with millions in marketing not included). Faring better (but still in red ink),
Blade Runner 2049 was off 39% to $1.4 million (its now playing in just 860 locations). The long-awaited sci-fi sequel is at $88 million in six weeks of release, but the critically-adored film has struggled overseas ($240 million worldwide versus a $150 million budget).
One of the only original films in the list,
Happy Death Day, continues to play decently. Down 51% in its fifth weekend to $1.3 million, the PG-13 horror has earned a respectable $55 million in one month of release. In just 37 locations, possible Oscar contender
Lady Bird earned a spectacular $1.25 million (a $33,766 per-venue average). Saorise Ronan's dramedy will expand nationwide Thanksgiving weekend.
That's all for now. Stay tuned for box office predictions for next weekend on Wednesday evening. :)
