Christmas Weekend Box Office: "Last Jedi" on Top Despite Drop, "Jumanji" a Strong Second, "Pitch Perfect" and "Showman" Meh...

Overall business for Christmas weekend, despite the glut of new releases, was down 3% from this same weekend last year when Rogue One and Sing combined for strong numbers at #1 and #2.

As expected, Star Wars: The Last Jedi kept the top spot at the box office. However, the film didn't hold well at all in its second frame, off 68% to $71.6 million. That pales in comparison to the 59% drop of Rogue One and the 39% ease by The Force Awakens. But before anyone calls out the mixed fan reaction as a cause here, it is important to note that Christmas Day played a part of both of the previous two movies' second weekend, whereas Last Jedi had Christmas Eve (a typical box office dead-zone) on Sunday. So the comparison really isn't valid. With kids and college students looking for stuff to do over break, this coming week will prove to be very fruitful for the middle chapter, where its' expected to add at least another $100 million between Tuesday and Friday. Overseas, the movie passed $750 million in what will likely be $1 billion by the end of the year. Including $27.5 million on Christmas Day Monday, Last Jedi has earned $395.6 million in eight days of release.




Meanwhile, the biggest new release over this weekend turned out to be a remake that many were criticizing through the trailers. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle took advantage of its sizable star power on its way to a strong $36.4 million opening weekend, after pulling in $16.6 million on Wednesday and Thursday. Including Christmas Day's $19 million, the sequel has earned an astounding $72 million in six days. That was way ahead of Sony's $55 million projection for the weekend, and proves the movie has four-quadrant appeal among families and older audiences. Reviews were surprisingly good (77% on Rotten Tomatoes), while the CinemaScore was an "A-". This is another film that will earn strong business over the next week, perhaps an additional $75-80 million over the next few days. All in all, this is a much-needed victory for Sony, as they have had a mixed year. The budget was $90 million.





It was definitely not an easy weekend to open a movie, as some stumbled a bit from the competition. Universal took this weekend to open their penultimate chapter in the Bellas trilogy, Pitch Perfect 3. Two and a half years after Pitch Perfect 2 broke out onto the box office scene with a $70 million opening weekend, the threequel stumbled to just a $19.9 million opening weekend ($26.4 million including Christmas Day Monday). Now, it would have been unfair to expect even close to $70 million, especially considering the second movie was a summer release and didn't have as much competition. But, expectations for this one were at least around $30 million for the weekend alone. Negative reviews (31% on Rotten Tomatoes) didn't help either, though it did earn an "A-" from CinemaScore audiences. Look for the threequel to possibly add another $45 million or so between now and next weekend. And against a $45 million budget, it should end up fine. But you can imagine this probably wasn't the way distributor Universal wanted to send this franchise out on.



In the meantime, Fox's The Greatest Showman debuted in fourth place with arguably mixed results. The Hugh Jackman family musical opened to $8.8 million in fourth place after $4.6 million on Wednesday and Thursday. Including $5.6 million from Christmas Day, the film has earned $19 million in its first six days. That's just below expectations, which had forecast north of $20 million for the extended stretch. Against a budget of $84 million and with mixed reviews (50% on Rotten Tomatoes), this opening is not a promising sign. I can see Showman adding another $30-35 million between now and the end of next weekend, then it will have to depend on strong word-of-mouth to carry it the rest of the way if it wants to be a success (it did earn a strong "A" CinemaScore). Overseas numbers have yet to come in.






Two cartoons followed. Ferdinand stumbled 45% due to competition. Blue Sky's latest earned $7.3 million. Including $2.8 million from Christmas Day, the book adaptation has earned a mediocre $29.6 million in 11 days. However, the animated film should pick up a little more steam this coming week. Pixar's Coco hung around in its fifth weekend, off 46% to $5.4 million. Including Christmas Day, the Day of the Dead-themed animated film has earned a very good $164.3 million in one month of release. Like Ferdinand, Coco should get some extra attention over this coming week. Pixar's latest passed $500 million worldwide this weekend also.

Meanwhile, Matt Damon and Alexander Payne had a surprising disappointment with their supposed awards season bait, Downsizing. The dramedy only managed $5 million over the weekend, and $7.7 million including Christmas Day. That was way below expectations, which forecasted a $12 million 4-day start. Mixed reviews (51% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a "C' CinemaScore aren't helping matters either, as distributor Paramount and the crew spent at least $68 million to produce the film. For Damon, this is his third-straight misfire following The Great Wall and Suburbicon. This coming week will help soften the blow for the film, but even so, its' only looking to probably be at around $25 million at the most by the end of the holiday stretch. Ultimately, distributor Paramount looks to be in red ink here in what will be a negative end to what has been a disappointing year for them.





On a more positive note, a more promising awards contender expanded very solidly in eighth place. Joe Wright's Darkest Hour played in 806 locations and earned a very good $3.9 million over the three-day stretch, and $5.5 million including Christmas Day. Possibly earning a Best Actor Oscar for Gary Oldman, this is the type of expansion the historical drama needed. Especially with break and awards season to come, do not be surprised if this continues to perform solidly. No budget information was provided, while reviews were very strong (84% on Rotten Tomatoes).

The weakest of the new releases, however, was the R-rated comedy Father Figures. The Owen Wilson/Ed Helms flick only managed to pull in $3.3 million over the three-day weekend, and $5.5 million including Christmas Day. That was way behind the $10 million expectations given to it. Again, there were a lot of options in theaters this weekend, and maybe the film would have been better off debuting a couple of months later. However, reviews were atrocious (22% on Rotten Tomatoes) and the CinemaScore was a "B-". Even with the holiday stretch, its going to be difficult for the film to really make much of an impression in such a crowded field. No budget information was released.







Rounding out the Top 10 was another film expanding, Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape of Water. The awards season contender expanded to 730 locations, and managed to earn $3 million over the weekend ($4.4 million including Christmas Day). The Fox Searchlight release should continue to expand over the coming weeks as it continues to rack up attention from multiple Golden Globe nominations and likely Oscar attention.

Finally, opening on Christmas Day itself was the crime thriller All the Money in the World. The thriller (which got attention for having Christopher Plummer replace Kevin Spacey with just two months to release date) pulled in a decent $2.6 million on Christmas Day, enough for 12th place on the four-day weekend itself (Wonder took 11th place with $2.7 million over the four-day stretch). With three Golden Globe nominations and solid reviews (79% on Rotten Tomatoes), Ridley Scott's latest could find itself with a solid number next weekend. The budget was reported around $50 million.










That's about it. With no new releases opening next weekend, I will be foregoing the normal box office predictions post this week. But, next weekend should prove to be an interesting end to 2017, as most movies look to pick up some steam.