Weekend Box Office Report for 12/8-12/10/17 - "Coco" Easily Threepeats in Calm Before "Star Wars" Storm.

Overall business was off 3% from this same weekend last year when Moana held off a strong debut from Office Christmas Party ($17 million) to stay at #1.

As what many expected, Disney and Pixar remained perched in first place with Coco. Interestingly enough, Disney will likely keep the top spot at the box office for at least a few more weeks with Star Wars: The Last Jedi ready to pack theaters on Thursday night (another animated flick, Ferdinand, will also steal away audiences). But Coco continued to play very well, off just 34% to $18.3 million in its' third weekend. The well-reviewed Pixar flick has earned a strong $135.5 million in 17 days, and should easily make its way past $200 million with Christmas break coming. In fact, Coco is only playing a little bit behind Moana through the same point (that movie had a similar third weekend and had earned $144.7 million in 17 days). Overseas, Coco continued to shine with record numbers for Pixar in China, and a worldwide gross about to pass $400 million.






Repeating in second place, Justice League had its' best hold yet, off 42% in its third weekend to $9.6 million. A 24-day gross of $212.1 million sounds good on the surface, but for a major superhero team-up movie, its' pretty disappointing (The Avengers earned $207 million on its' opening weekend). Things will arguably get more challenging this weekend with Star Wars set to steal its' audience, though Christmas break might help it out after that. Overseas, Justice League passed $600 million over the weekend.

Remaining a strong third, Wonder was off a light 30% to $8.5 million. In the process, the movie passed $100 million on Sunday, with $100.3 million picked up in 17 days. Way stronger than anyone anticipated, Wonder should hold itself together through Christmas break.


As for new releases, there was one expanding film that got solid numbers. James Franco's directorial and starring effort, The Disaster Artist managed to pull in $6.4 million from 840 locations (solid $7,661 per-venue average). Receiving two Golden Globe nominations this morning, the biopic (retelling the making of the infamous film The Room) should be able to continue expanding and playing well in the midst of blockbuster competition.












Spending a sixth-straight weekend in the Top 5, Thor: Ragnarok continued pulling in audiences. Marvel's latest success story was off just 36% to $6.3 million, and became the fourth superhero film to pass $300 million domestically (its' at $301.2 million in 42 days). Star Wars will steal a lot of its' screens next weekend, but it's still a fantastic result nonetheless. Overseas, Ragnarok is at over $830 million and counting.

Staying side by side through one month of release, Daddy's Home 2 and Murder on the Orient Express both saw strong holds in their fifth weekends. The comedy sequel was off just 21% to $6 million, for a solid $91.2 million gross. Meanwhile, the Agatha Christie remake was off just 25% to $5.1 million, for a very good $92.7 million gross. Both movies will pass $100 million sometime over the next couple of weeks.

Inching up a spot, The Star had the strongest hold of the Top 10, off just 10% to $3.7 million. The animated Nativity story has earned a decent $32.3 million in 24 days. Ferdinand might steal some of its audience and screens next weekend, but with two weeks left until Christmas, it should wind up above $40 million. Meanwhile, Lady Bird expanded to 1,557 locations, but was off 17% to $3.5 million. Greta Gerwig's potential Oscar contender (it earned four Golden Globe nominations this morning) has earned $22.3 million since its' limited debut six weeks ago.

Rounding out the Top 10 was the only new nationwide release, adult comedy Just Getting Started. The PG-13 film, however, attracted very little attention, earning just $3.2 million from 2,161 locations (a weak $1,472 per-venue average). With terrible reviews (9% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a C CinemaScore, this will likely fade quickly from theaters. For Morgan Freeman, this definitely ranks as probably the weakest debut for him in many years. The budget was $22 million.











That's about it. Stay tuned on Wednesday for a predictions post for next weekend, including predictions for Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Ferdinand.