Well, that was one of the most uneventful weekends at the box office in some time. Unless you were someone who was particularly excited to see "Christmas With the Chosen: The Messengers," which cracked the top five with $4.1 million this weekend, it was pretty quiet, serving as something of a calm before the end-of-the-year storm. Even so, "Encanto," "Ghostbusters: Afterlife," and "Eternals" passed minor milestones over the past few days. Let's dig in.
Eternals And Ghostbusters: Afterlife Lead The Pack
During a "it isn't much, but it'll do" sort of weekend, Disney's acclaimed musical "Encanto" topped the box office for the second week in a row with $12.7 million, taking a 53.2% drop from its opening weekend. In the process, it topped $100 million worldwide, and now sits at $116 million. Is that necessarily what Disney wants to see when recent, original animated movies such as "Moana" ($634 million worldwide), "Ralph Breaks the Internet" ($529 million), and "Frozen II" ($1.4 billion) have been such monster hits? Probably not. But these are different times, and it's extremely tough for movies to break through, even if you're Disney and have Lin-Manuel Miranda on your side.
Meanwhile, "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" continued to do well domestically, coming in at number two with $10.3 million, dropping 57.2% in its third weekend of release. The latest entry in the beloved franchise has now crossed $100 million domestic, with a global total of $145 million. Given its surprisingly reasonable (and responsible) $75 million budget, this one should end up doing well for Sony, especially if it can find some love overseas as it has yet to be released in quite a few major markets.
Marvel's Eternals Passes Black Widow
In somewhat surprising news, Marvel's "Eternals," which was not done any favors by critics ahead of its release, has now earned $384.3 million worldwide, adding another $4.9 million to its total this weekend. That puts it past "Black Widow," which grossed a grand total of $376.4 million during its run earlier this year. It is downright remarkable that a character who has been part of the MCU for more than a decade and finally got her first solo film led the lowest-grossing Marvel movie of the year. And yet, here we are. It speaks volumes about how that Disney+ Premier Access release surely impacted things. Theatrical exclusivity is indeed the way to go for big blockbusters still. Plain and simple.
And The Rest...
Ridley Scott's awards-season hopeful "House of Gucci" rounded out the top three this weekend with $6.7 million in its second weekend, putting its worldwide total at $67.2 million. Interestingly enough, the movie has essentially a dead even 50/50 split between domestic and international ticket sales thus far. With a $75 million budget, it still has a long way to go to become profitable, but it may have somewhat long legs if it scores major awards nominations in the coming weeks. We shall see.
"Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City" didn't find a miracle in its second weekend, dropping 50.2% and taking in $2.6 million. The reboot from Sony and Constantine Film has earned $24.2 million worldwide, essentially making back its production budget. It won't be a hit, but because it was responsibly budgeted, it may not be a total disaster if enough people get curious and rent it once it's made available on premium VOD in the coming weeks (or possibly days). But hey, "Resident Evil" had a great run at the box office for nearly 20 years. They can't all be winners.
Looking ahead, we've got Steven Spielberg's much-anticipated "West Side Story" arriving this week, as well as the acclaimed A24 flick "Red Rocket, not to mention Arron Sorkin's "Being the Ricardos." It will be a big weekend for Oscar hopefuls, as Netflix is also releasing "Don't Look Up" in select theaters.
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The post Encanto, Ghostbusters, Eternals Cross Minor Milestones In Quiet Weekend at the Box Office appeared first on /Film.
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