Overall business was up 7% from this same weekend last year, which was led by Ralph Breaks the Internet at $16 million for its third weekend.
As expected, Frozen 2 easily remained at #1, but it did fall apart a bit from last week. The animated sequel was down 59% from Thanksgiving to $35.2 million, for a still-huge $338.1 million pick-up in 17 days. Overseas, it continues to do gangbusters, with another $90 million internationally, and the worldwide gross at a huge $920 million and still going. Next week, families with tweens and up will flock to Jumanji 2, which could lead to another drop. But, Christmas break isn't too far away, and will create some added moolah for Elsa, Anna, and co.
Faring better was Knives Out. The breakout hit from the holiday was off 47% to $14.2 million in its sophomore frame. Since its launch 12 days ago, the Rian Johnson murder mystery has earned $63.5 million, and should continue to be a major player through the holidays.
Ford v. Ferrari continued to play well also, off 50% in its third frame to $6.7 million. In 24 days, the possible awards season contender has picked up $91.1 million, and will likely pass the century mark next week. It hasn't fared as well overseas. Queen and Slim fared well over the post-holiday frame, down 44% to $6.6 million. The low-budget flick has earned $26.9 million in 10 days, and should make its way past $40 million.
Unfortunately, awards season buzz has been almost nonexistent (outside of Tom Hanks, anyway) for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, which fell 56% in its third frame to $5.2 million. The Mr. Rogers flick has earned a somewhat modest $43.1 million in 17 days, and may end up near $60 million stateside.
Meanwhile, expanding nationwide was adult drama Dark Waters. The Mark Ruffalo flick earned $4 million in sixth place (minor $2,037 per-venue average), for a $5.3 million pick-up since its limited launch 17 days ago. However, the film hasn't pulled in much awards season buzz, which could be a bad sign for holding power down the line.
21 Bridges continued to underwhelm, off 49% to $2.9 million, for a weak $23.9 million in 17 days. Playing with Fire continued to fare better than expected, despite a 52% fall to $2 million. The family flick has pulled in a solid $42 million in one month of release. Midway fell 51% to $1.9 million, for a moderate $53.4 million gross in the same amount of time. And rounding out the list was Last Christmas, which continued to play very much unlike similar holiday season favorites. Down 49% to $1 million, its at a mildly disappointing $33.5 million in one month of release.
Outside of the Top 10, just about no one was interested in Playmobil: The Movie. It opened in 14th place with just $656,000 (its' average was just $280 per theater). STX Entertainment didn't fund the film, but the studios involved in creating it will likely lose a lot of the $75 million budget.
That's about it. Next weekend, The Rock, Kevin Hart and Jack Black return for Jumanji: The Next Level, which will hope to reach the same near-$1 billion heights of its predecessor. Four smaller films also open nationwide. Clint Eastwood's Richard Jewell, female action flick Black Christmas, Fox News biopic Bombshell and Adam Sandler's Uncut Gems. I will be skipping the predictions post this week, as I am busy with other assignments. But look out for a review of AppleTV+'s The Elephant Queen and Amazon's The Aeronauts over this coming weekend along with a report of this coming weekend's box office. Hope all has a great week!
