The action of grace box office is off to a decidedly worrisome start, with overall revenues that pale in comparison to other years.
For Disney, this is a case of feast or famine. While Marvel Studios Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will remain at the top of the box office charts for the third straight weekend with a big gross of $60-65 million for the five days (Wednesday-Sunday), Disney Animation’s strange world is in serious trouble.
wakanda forever led Wednesday with $10 million from 4,174 theaters for a national total of $313.7 million.
There was no feast, however for strange world, which posted an opening day gross of $4.2 million from 4,174 sites after earning a lukewarm B CinemaScore. At this rate, the family film is eyeing a five-day opening of $24-26 million, the worst opening for a Disney Animation Thanksgiving title in history. (Disney Animation titles, such as Frozen franchise, generally dominate the holidays.)
Last year, Charm posted a five-day gross of $40.6 million after earning $7.8 million on Wednesday despite challenges posed by the COVID-10 pandemic. And in 2019, Frozen 2 grossed a record $125 million for the five days.
strange world opens just days after Bob Iger returned as CEO of the Walt Disney Co. following the shock ousting of Bob Chapek.
A host of other new movies are also vying for their place on the Thanksgiving table. Sony’s Korean War Drama Wednesday Dedication, about two naval fighter pilots, grossed $1.8 million from 3,228 sites for an expected 5-day gross of about $10 million. movie stars Top Gun: Maverickby Glen Powell and Jonathan Majors.
The big mystery is that of Rian Johnson Glass onion: a mystery at loggerheads, featuring a cast led by Daniel Craig. Netflix should not report box office receipts in accordance with its long-standing practice of keeping numbers hidden.
Glass Onion is getting unprecedented release and is the first of the streamer’s titles to play at all three of the nation’s biggest chains – AMC Theatres, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark Theatres. Rival cast executives still have their way of collecting data directly from exposure contacts, and two sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Johnson’s sequel likely grossed $2 million Wednesday from 680 theaters. That means it could open for $12 million on the five-day holiday lane, far less than Johnson’s reported $41.4 million. Knives out on Thanksgiving 2019 (the first film received a traditional theatrical release from Lionsgate) but before many of this year’s holiday films.
Searchlight’s Epicurean Horror Comedy The menuentering its second weekend, ranked No. 4 on Wednesday with around $1.1 million from 3,228 locations on a strong five-day haul of around $6 million.
Luca Guadagnino’s award nominee bones and all – about two young lovers and cannibals played by Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet who embark on a road trip – grossed an estimated $921 trillion on Wednesday as it expanded to a total of 2,727 theaters after launching in some rooms last weekend. The specialty film is predicting a five-day gross of $4 million.
Semi-autobiographical by Steven Spielberg The Fablemansa key player in the awards, goes slower in hopes of emulating the success of the Oscar-winning film green book. Spielberg’s latest film premiered in New York and Los Angeles over the weekend of Nov. 11-13 before expanding to 637 locations on Wednesday. From Universal and Amblin, the pic grossed around $400,000 on Wednesday for an expected five-day gross of $3 million.
Retention black adam is also in the mix with an expected five-day gross of around $4 million from 2,842 theaters. It arrived digitally on November 22.
The studios point out that projections could change as the holidays unfold. Some analysts are already postulating that Thanksgiving box office traffic is taking a hit because people can finally travel seriously now that the worst of the pandemic is over.
Nov. 24, 10:30 a.m.: Updated with revised unofficial projections for “Glass Onion”.