The holidays have been easily dominated by Aquaman, which has had an extremely successful two weeks. The superhero hit held on, down 41% in its third frame to $30.7 million. The film has earned a very strong $259.7 million in 17 days, in what looks like an easy path past the $300 million mark. Overseas numbers also continue to soar, with the worldwide numbers at $940 million and continuing to soar. It's on a path past the $1 billion mark, which would make it the 5th movie from 2018 to reach it. It looks like Warner Bros. and the DCEU got the major boost that it so desperately needed.Opening in second place was the first movie of 2019, horror thriller Escape Room. Coming in close to where I expected it (and ahead of most analysts' expectations), the Sony release earned $18 million in its debut (decent $6,625 per-venue average). For horror, that's behind The Last Key ($29 million) but a little ahead of The Woman in Black 2 ($15 million) among recent year-starting releases. With a $9 million budget, this definitely counts as a successful start. Audiences gave the film a mild "B" CinemaScore, which is actually above-average for the genre in general. Sony and analysts were expecting a more conservative $10-13 million.
With the holidays pretty much over, some of the holdovers fell back to earth. Some thought Mary Poppins Returns could have staying power like last year's Greatest Showman, but that's not turning out to be the case. The sequel retreated 44% in its third frame to $15.8 million, for a pretty good $138.7 million in 19 days. Poppins is up for four Golden Globes tonight, where Emily Blunt could win Best Actress. Some wins would definitely be helpful for later in its run. In the meantime, its' earned another $120 million overseas with some gas left in the tank.
With strong word-of-mouth and a potential Best Animated Feature win on its hands, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was off a light 31% in its fourth frame to $13 million. While $133.9 million in 24 days isn't exactly huge, it looks solid in the face of a $90 million budget. It's done moderate business overseas, with $275 million so far. Bumblebee was close behind with a 39% slide to $12.8 million, as it continues to get a bit lost in the competition. The Transformers spin-off/prequel has earned $97.1 million in 17 days, and will pass $100 million this week. Overseas, it got off to a a bit of an underwhelming start in China, though the worldwide gross is about to pass $300 million.
Perhaps the movie with the best holding power the past few weeks has been The Mule. Considering the lack of any true competition for older crowds, that shouldn't be seen as a surprise. Clint Eastwood's latest was down only 26% to $9 million, for a strong $81.1 million gross in 24 days. This film now looks likely to get above $100 million. Very good considering it only got off to a $17 million start.
With six Golden Globe nominations tonight, Vice understandably eased 25% to $5.8 million. The Dick Cheney biopic has grossed $29.8 million in 12 days. Second Act held on very well in its third frame, off 33% to $4.9 million, for a decent $32.9 million in 17 days. The Jennifer Lopez comedy looks to get above $40 million by the time its' finished, a good result considering the $16 million budget.
Holding strong in ninth place, Ralph Breaks the Internet was off 30% to $4.7 million, for a $187.2 million gross in seven weeks. Thanks to a Christmas break boost, the sequel will pass the original Wreck-it Ralph's $189 million final gross later this week. However, it hasn't quite caught on overseas like other Disney films, with the worldwide gross just now passing $400 million.
Following negative press and word-of-mouth, Holmes and Watson rounded out the list with a 54% drop to $3.4 million. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly have conned $28.4 million in 12 days, in what should be a finish close to $40 million. While not exactly a huge flop, its' still going to lose money for Sony (it had a $42 million budget).
And that's about it. Next weekend, 2019 continues to start off with more low-key releases as four new movies open with all of them not likely to make much of a dent. Sony releases family film A Dog's Way Home, Keanu Reeves stars in sci-fi pic Replicas, Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston team up in feel-good dramedy The Upside, and Felicity Jones takes on the role of Ruth Bader Ginsberg in historical biopic On the Basis of Sex. Look out for a predictions post on Wednesday. :)
