Following a record Thanksgiving weekend, the North America box office was content with leftovers as multiplexes entered the quiet post-holiday frame. Sony’s low-budget horror film The Possession of Hannah Grace was the sole wide release this weekend, and was quickly dismissed by critics and the public.
Despite the usual post-Turkey Day slowdown, the top ten was up a healthy 12% over the top ten from one year ago when Coco held on to the top spot with $27.5 million.
Disney’s Ralph Breaks the Internet remained at the top of the box office for a second straight week. The latest Mouse House hit dipped 54% in business to score an estimated $25.7 million from 4,017 theaters. To date, Ralph has broken $119 million. Internationally, the cartoon sequel has earned $88 million. Ralph should continue to sail along right through the upcoming holidays before winding down north of $200 million.
Moving up a spot to second place was another animated blockbuster, Universal’s Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch with an estimated $17.8 million from 3,934 theaters. Down only 42%, The Grinch has earned $203.5 million after four weeks of release. A final domestic haul around $260 million is possible. Overseas, the green grouch has pocketed an additional $65 million.
MGM’s Creed II showed some stamina in its second round on 3,576 screens. The boxing sequel eased 53% to bring in an estimated $16.8 million, pushing its domestic total up to $81.1 million. The sequel is running approximately 25% ahead of the first Creed, which had $61 million in the bank after its first two weeks. Creed II should cross the $100 million mark by the end of next weekend, heading toward a knockout $125-130 million domestic finale. The film’s foreign haul is currently at $11 million.
Continuing its fast domestic fade was Warner’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald with $11.2 million from 3,851 theaters, good enough for fourth place. Down a sharp 62% -the biggest decrease in the top ten-, Grindelwald has conjured up a disappointing $134.3 million so far. A final near the $160 million mark is possible. Crimes of Grindelwald has brought in $385 million internationally.
Still rocking the box office in its fifth week was Fox’s Bohemian Rhapsody with an estimated $8.1 million from 3,007 theaters. Down 42%, the Queen biopic has earned a fantastic $164.4 million so far in North America and should finish with roughly $185 million. Bohemian Rhapsody has earned an additional $329 million overseas.
- Instant Family (Paramount) $7.1 million (-42%); $46 million
- The Possession of Hannah Grace (Sony) $6.5 million
Both the press and the public gave the latest horror release the cold shoulder. At the very least, it didn’t cost much to make ($9.5 million). Unlike…
- Robin Hood (2018) (Lionsgate) $4.7 million (-49%); $21.7 million
With a production budget of $100 million –not including promotional material-, this Lionsgate release is shaping up to be the biggest bomb of 2018. Tally ho, Rob-o.
- Widows (Fox) $4.4 million (-46%); $33 million
- Green Book (Universal) $3.9 million (-29%); $14 million
Word-of-mouth appears to be helping Peter Farrelly’s race drama hang in there financially. Universal, however, needs to get this into more than 1,000 theaters if it wants to keep the acclaimed drama going throughout the month of December and into awards season.
Next weekend is another quiet week as the studios are holding back their big releases until just before Christmas. The one and only film going into more than a 1,000 theaters will be the one-week, 25thAnniversary reissue of Steven Spielberg’s 1993 masterpiece Schindler’s List. Ben is Back, Mary Queen of Scots and Vox Lux are also making their debuts in limited release.
