(AP) – Two family films dominated the holiday box office this week, with “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” winning the three-day weekend over “Mufasa” by a blue hair.
Paramount’s Sonic movie earned USD38 million, while “Mufasa” brought in USD37.1 million from theaters in the US and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday.
On a normal weekend counting Friday, Saturday and Sunday ticket purchases, the winner would be somewhat clear.
But when the Christmas holiday falls on a Wednesday as it did this year, the studios look at two sets of numbers: The five-day earnings and the three-day weekend earnings. With the five-day tally, The Walt Disney Co’s “Mufasa” had the edge, bringing in USD63.8 million.
It all adds up to a rather robust theatrical landscape, helped by the continued success of “Wicked” and “Moana 2,” which are on their sixth and fifth weekends, respectively.
The vampire horror “Nosferatu” also debuted fairly triumphantly. Robert Eggers’ modern reimagining of a 1922 silent film starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily-Rose Depp rose to the top of a starry batch of Christmas Day newcomers, which included the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” with Timothée Chalamet; the erotic drama “Babygirl” with Nicole Kidman; and “The Fire Inside,” about boxer Claressa Shields.
“Nosferatu” landed in third place with USD21.2 million from the weekend and USD40.3 million from its first five days. Not accounting for inflation, it had the best Christmas Day opening ever for a genre film, with USD11.6 million (besting “The Faculty’s” USD4.4 million in 1998). Focus Features released the R-rated film in 2,992 theatres.
It was a gamble to open “Nosferatu” on Christmas, when family films or all-ages blockbusters tend to be prioritized. But it paid off, attracting the coveted 18 to 34-year-old demographic to theaters.
“It was a risky move, but we knew that we had such a great film,” said Lisa Bunnell, who leads distribution for Focus Features. “A lot of people thought we were insane. But I think the more that people thought we were crazy, the more we all felt like it was the right thing to do.”
The response to the unconventional counter-programming was gratifying. The sarcophagus-inspired popcorn buckets are even reselling for over USD100.
“People keep talking about ‘how do we get people back into the movies?’ I think the only way you can get people to go back is to shake it up,” Bunnell said. “You don’t just spoon feed them the same things over and over again.”
The Bob Dylan movie, directed by James Mangold, also got off to a bright start with USD11.6 million over the weekend and USD23.2 million since Christmas.
The five-day total is a record for Searchlight Pictures since Disney acquired the company in early 2019. It’s been well received by both critics (96% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (A on CinemaScore) and will likely get more of a boost from the awards race.
“Babygirl,” an A24 release from filmmaker Halina Reijn, played on 2115 screens, earning USD4.4 million over the weekend and USD7.2 million since Christmas. The film stars Kidman as a married, buttoned-up CEO who begins an affair with a young intern at the company, played by Harris Dickinson. Kidman won the best acting prize for her performance at the Venice Film Festival.
“The Fire Inside,” from Amazon MGM Studios, meanwhile got a bit lost in the mix despite strong reviews. It has earned a total of USD4.3 million, with USD2 million coming from weekend showings where it played in 2006 theaters.
Thanksgiving releases continued to perform well through the Christmas timeframe. Fourth place went to “Wicked,” which earned another USD19.5 million, bringing its domestic total to USD424.2 million. On Tuesday, the lavish movie musical will also be available to rent or purchase at home. It’s a move that has drawn some critics who believe making it available at home after only 40 days in theaters will cannibalize profits.
“Moana 2” rounded out the top five films this weekend with USD18.2 million. The Disney movie has made USD882.5 million globally and is closing in on USD400 million domestically.
Christmas Day itself was massive for the industry, with USD61 million in ticket sales. Thursday was nearly as big, with USD50 million.
“Every day was like Saturday at the box office because of the way the holidays lined up,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst.
Comscore is projecting that the year will net out with about USD8.75 billion in domestic box office receipts. That’s down about 3.3 per cent from last year, which cracked USD9 billion, and the pre-pandemic normal of USD11 billion.
Final domestic figures will be released Monday. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore, are:
1. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” USD38 million.
2. “Mufasa: The Lion King,” USD37.1 million.
3. “Nosferatu,” USD21.2 million.
4. “Wicked,” USD19.5 million.
5. “Moana 2,” USD18.2 million.
6. “A Complete Unknown,” USD11.6 million.
7. “Babygirl,” USD4.4 million.
8. “Gladiator II,” USD4.2 million.
9. “Homestead,” USD3.2 million.
10. “The Fire Inside,” USD2 million.
