DECEMBER 25 UPDATE: Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom opened top of the North American charts on a lacklustre confirmed $27.7m over the three-day Christmas weekend and a projected $40m over four days, adding further fuel to the superhero fatigue theory as audiences overall seemed more interested in gift shopping than going to the cinema.
Elsewhere there were two top 10 debuts by films from India as well as A24’s The Iron Claw, and Ketchup Entertainment opened Michel Franco’s Memory in limited release to solid numbers.
Searchlight Pictures released Andrew Haigh’s acclaimed fantasy drama All Of Us Strangers starring Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott at number 15.
Warner Bros/DC’s Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom trailed the $67.9m three-day launch of its predecessor over the December 21-23 2018 session, which earned $100.7m over the five-day period and finished on $1.15bn worldwide to rank as the highest-grossing DC Universal film.
The new tentpole, directed by James Wan, is playing in 3,706 theatres and earned $13.7m on Friday, $9m on Saturday, and $5m on Sunday, with $12.3m projected for Monday. It garnered a B on CinemaScore with the studio reporting the strongest scores coming from females under 18.
Lead man Jason Momoa has cast doubt on his future involvement as James Gunn and Peter Safran rebuild the DC Studios superhero stable, although Safran did not make any definitive statements about the franchise’s destiny in an interview with The Independent and said Momoa will always have a home at the company. Mamoa stars in the upcoming 2025 tentpole Minecraft at Warner Bros and Legendary.
Warner Bros stablemate Wonka fell one slot to number two in its second weekend, earning an estimated $17.7m over three days following a 54.6% drop. That pushes the running total to a respectable $75.2m in North America, while global box office stands at more than $250m.
Universal opened Illumination’s animated adventure Migration at number three to an estimated $12.3m in third place over three days and $17.1m over four. The tale of a family of mallard ducks earned an A CinemaScore and is expected to play well through the end of the year and into January with no direct competition from new animation until Universal opens DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 on March 8, 2024.
Columbia Pictures opened its R-rated comedy Anyone But You starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell on $6m over three days and a projected $8m ver four including $2m on Monday.
There were more notable launches from India with Hombale Films’ Telugu-language crime saga Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire starring superstar Prabhas (Baahubali) opening in fifth place on $5.5m from 802 through Moksha Movies and Pathyangira Cinemas. Prashanth Neel directed. Comedy drama Dunki starring Shah Rukh Khan arrived at number 10 on $2.7m via Yash Raj Films.
A24 opened Sean Durkin’s true life wrestling family tragedy The Iron Claw starring Zac Efron at number six on a confirmed $4.9m from 2,774 theatres.
Amazon MGM Studios’ American Fiction added $418,00 over three and a projected $556,000 over four days after expanding into 40 theatres in 13 markets.
Searchlight’s All Of Us Strangers opened in four theatres in New York and Los Angeles for $132,136 over three days for a $33,034 per theatre average. The film has won seven Bifa Awards in the UK and is nominated for four Gothams, three Spirit Awards and a Golden Globe. It earned an A- on CinemaScore and drew a 61% male crowd. Some 51% of the overall audience was aged under 35, and 64% Caucasian, 18% Hispanic, and 13% East Asian/Pacific Islander.
Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things expanded into 800 theatres in its third weekend, adding $2.1m over three and $3m over four days as the running total climbed to $6m.
GKids reported Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Heron at number seven added $3.2m over three days and a projected $3.9m over four, which brings the cumulative tally in North America to $31.3m.
Ketchup Entertainment opened Michel Franco’s drama Memory starring Jessica Chastain and Venice Volpi Cup winner Peter Sarsgaard at number 21 on a solid $36,500 from three theatres for an $18,250 average. The film will expand in the new year. SPC release AFI Fest acquisition Freud’s Last Session starring Anthony Hopkins at number 19 on $45,590 from five.
With a traditionally strong week of cinema-going ahead, Warner Bros is releasing The Color Purple, Neon launches Ferrari, and MGM opens Amazon/MGM Studios drama The Boys In The Boat – all on December 25.
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