YOUR BOX OFFICE NUMBERS (from Box Office Mojo)
- Justice League
- Wonder
- Thor: Ragnarok
- Daddy’s Home 2
- Murder on the Orient Express
Justice League rode a wave of begrudging, heavily qualified praise to first place this past weekend. Opening with $96M, it unseated Thor: Ragnarok as the reigning superhero flick. If IMDb’s estimated budget of $300M(!) is correct, though, Justice League is tied for second-most expensive film ever, and not on a good path to recoup that investment.
Even in an era when the summer movie season is year-round, Wonder, a very serious drama, reminds us that we are now in awards season. Prepare for six weeks of prestige pieces and family holiday comedies, starting with this and The Star.
Opening in sixth, The Star has the 3 Cs of “fine, whatever” holiday entertainment: 1) CGI, 2) Christianity, and 3) Comedy. Made by Sony Pictures (the people who brought you The Emoji Movie!) and sporting a grab-bag cast (Keegan-Michael Key! Kris Kirstofferson! Ving Rhames!) it tells the Nativity story from the point of view of the animals. Expect strong word-of-mouth from stoners.
Daddy’s Home and Murder on the Orient Express both lost about 50% over last weekend, even though the latter actually expanded to an additional 13 theaters. A Bad Moms Christmas slipped to seventh.
Lady Bird (now eighth) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (ninth) continue their slow climb up the charts, expanding to 201 and 49 more theaters, respectively.
Jigsaw is the last of the Halloween-season horror movies in the top 10, with Boo! 2 now 12th and Happy Death Day now 16th. And let us pause to mark the passing of The Snowman, Geostorm and Suburbicon, all of which have passed out of cinemas forever.