Soooo…how’s everyone doing?
I know in light of “recent events” stuff like this can feel kind of trivial. It might even seem crass to talk about. Who cares about how much money Venom made right now? Ultimately, through trying times, cinema has always been a form of escape, whether during a depression, a war, or after the events of 9/11. And yes, that might sound overly dramatic, but let’s be real: Tuesday sucked. So hopefully these silly weekly reports will provide some sort of relief too. Stay strong, everybody.
Our number one movie—for the third weekend in a row—is Venom: The Last Dance. That makes it one of only four films this year to win a box office triple crown, with the others being Inside Out 2, Deadpool and Wolverine (which actually enjoyed five weekends on top), and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Venom isn’t reaching the same financial heights of those flicks, mind you, but it wouldn’t be showing these kinds of legs if people weren’t having fun.
At “number two” we have The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Kind of. You see, that $11 million opening includes $2 million from sneak preview screenings last weekend. Still, money is money, and God knows Lionsgate could use a success story now. They’re hoping the well-reviewed family film can last through the holidays, but with Wicked and Moana 2 coming on the horizon, I’m not sure if it can.
Our other newcomer is Heretic, the A24 horror film which possibly looks like the most A24 thing ever. Some were expecting this to overtake Venom for the top spot this weekend, but I thought that was overly optimistic. That said, Heretic is over-performing for what it is, so clearly some audiences are game for Hugh Grant being creepy for two hours (even with that ‘C+’ CinemaScore). Critics are converted with absolutely terrific reviews.
Anyway, the top ten, via Deadline
- Venom: The Last Dance (Sony) 3,905 (-226) theaters, Fri $3.9M (-40%) Sat $7.1MSun $5.1M, 3-day $16.2M (-37%), Total $114.8M/Wk 3
- Best Christmas Pageant Ever (LG) 3,020, Fri $5M Sat $3.3M Sun $2.8M 3-day $11.1M/Wk 1
- Heretic (A24) 3,221 theaters, Fri $4.3M Sat $3.8M Sun $2.8M 3-day $11M/Wk 1
- The Wild Robot (Uni) 3,051 (-186) Fri $1.48M (-21%), 3-day $6M (-19%), Total $130.2M/Wk 7
- Smile 2 (Par) 2,822 (-413) theaters Fri$1.42M (-29%) Sat $2.1M Sun $1.4M , 3-day $5M (-26%), Total $60.5M/Wk 4
- Conclave (Foc) 2,283 (+487) theaters, Fri $1.16M (-22%) Sat $1.7M Sun $1.2M 3-day $4.1M (-19%), Total $21.5M/Wk 3
- Anora (NEON) 1,104 (+851 theater), Fri $885K Sat $920K Sun, 3-day $2.45M(+36%), Total $7.2M/Wk 4
- Here (Sony/Mir) 2,732 (+85) theaters, Fri $725K Sat $1M Sun $700K, 3-day $2.42M(-50%)/Total $9.5M/Wk 2
- We Live in Time (A24) 1,865 (-1099) theaters, Fri $701K (-34%) Sat $862K Sun $646K 3-day $2.2M (-36%), Total $21.8M/Wk 5
- Terrifier 3 (Icon/Cinev) 1,563 (-363) theaters, Fri $411K (-56%) Sat $641K Sun$417K 3-day $1.47M (-56%), Total $53.3M/Wk 5