Welcome back to Box Office Breakdown, the weekly segment where I analyze the top ten highest grossing films of the past weekend. As theatres continue to reopen and prepare for an onslaught of new theatrical releases, we will be analyzing the state of the box office, as well as VOD and streaming.
With the recent announcement that the entirety of Ontario will be in lockdown for the next thirty days, which in turn sees the closure of theatres, the Box Office is going to be very uneventful in the coming weeks. Typically Christmas is a goldmine when it comes to the Box Office, but this year that just wasn’t the case for obvious reasons. However, that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some major releases both theatrically and on home video worth discussing. All things considering, this was the most eventful weekends for the Box Office in quite some time and we saw multiple films thrive financially to some degree despite the circumstances.
Unsurprisingly, Wonder Woman 1984 has quickly become the biggest financial hit since the beginning of the pandemic, as it has miraculously managed to thrive theatrically, on streaming (HBO Max) and on PVOD (in Canada only), proving that all three release strategies can be profitable. Internationally, the film has also become a huge hit, as it has already surpassed 85 Million worldwide. Outside of Tenet, we haven’t gotten a blockbuster since the beginning of the pandemic, so fans were drawn to theatres to get a dose of escapism that they desperately needed. Unfortunately, like many 2020 releases, the film proved to be a major disappointment from a quality standpoint, as both critics and audiences have been quick to point out its flaws. The first film was very well received and represented a significant milestone in the superhero genre, so many fans are confused and upset as to why the sequel with the same filmmaker attached is such a significant decrease in quality. Despite the backlash, I would be surprised if it doesn’t secure the top spot on the charts for the next few weeks. Regardless of the reviews, people have a lot of time on their hands at the moment and are looking for some escapism, so it will likely continue to dominate until some real competition poses a threat.
Paul Greengrass’ potential awards contender News of the World also received a wide-release theatrically and firmly secured the #2 spot, already surpassing $2 Million domestically. Lead by Tom Hanks, it is a film that is likely attracting older audiences and offers perfect counter programming to Wonder Woman 1984. Word of mouth buzz is unfortunately not very strong as the film’s critical response is somewhat unenthusiastic, but it could still stick around for a while as enough people are praising it. The film has yet to receive an international release, but based on its domestic numbers and the awards buzz surrounding it, I could certainly see it gaining some traction, especially in Europe.
Emerald Fennell’s genre-bending #MeToo thriller Promising Young Woman has some of the strongest word of mouth buzz out of any film this year and is even starting to gain some awards attention, despite being very bold and somewhat polarizing. The film received a wide release, but unfortunately failed to earn $1 Million domestically. However, this is the type of film that will thrive once it hits VOD or streaming.
The Italian Pinnochio adaptation also charted, coming in at #7. The film is not associated with Disney in any way, and it doesn’t seem to have much of a marketing campaign going for it, so the confusion its causing is preventing it from having a more successful Box Office run.
Pixar decided its better to skip theatres all together due to the pandemic, and they released their latest film Soul directly on Disney+. While Disney’s PVOD/Streaming combination they pulled with Mulan raised many eyebrows and worked against them, Soul is a commercial success and has proved to be the perfect opportunity to establish Disney+ as a dominant force in the film industry and not just a novelty service for hardcore Disney fans. Soul is easily the most widely discussed film that released this past weekend and many are claiming its one of the very best films of 2020. It will continue to dominate financially, especially as we move closer to awards season.
Here are the top 10 highest grossing films domestically from the past weekend:
10) The War with Grandpa (Week 12: $89K)
9) National Lampoons Christmas Vacation: 2020 Re-release (Week 5: $91K)
8) Elf: 2020 Re-release (Week 7: $115K)
7) Pinocchio (Week 1: $268K)
6) Fatale (Week 2: $660K)
5) Promising Young Woman (Week 1: $719K)
4) Monster Hunter (Week 2: $1.1M)
3) The Croods: A New Age (Week 5: $1.7M)
2) News of the World (Week 1: $2.3M)
1) Wonder Woman (Week 1: 16.7M)
In the coming weeks, we will continue to analyze the state of VOD releases and will provide updates regarding upcoming films.
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