Greatest Showman pulls off sleeper hit
Talk about a death-defying stunt.
The Greatest Showman, a musical about circus impresario P.T. Barnum, was dismissed by many critics when it arrived in theatres just before Christmas. Uncool. Old-fashioned. Mawkish. And when initial ticket sales were poor, most box office analysts decided The Greatest Showman was a prime example of Hollywood being unable to pry people away from their Netflix accounts. Better stick to the superheroes and sequels.
Over the past four weeks, however, The Greatest Showman (20th Century Fox) has become a rare sleeper hit, lifted by positive word-of-mouth, stunt marketing (singalong screenings) and a popular soundtrack.
Ticket sales in the United States and Canada now stand at $113.5 million (U.S.), including an $11-million haul between Friday and Sunday, good for fifth place over the weekend. The movie stars Hugh Jackman and Zendaya and was produced by a team that included Peter Chernin and Laurence Mark.
Similarly underappreciated movies dominated the weekend box office, with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Sony) leading the charge. Derided by most of Hollywood before its release as an act of desperation by a franchise-starved Sony, Jumanji was No. 1 for a third consecutive weekend, collecting about $20 million, for a new domestic total of $317 million. That astounding result is roughly in line with Skyfall, the 2012 James Bond hit, after adjusting for inflation. Jumanji is now closing in on $770 million worldwide. 1. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, $20 million (U.S.) 2. 12 Strong, $16.5 million. 3. Den of Thieves, $15.3 million. 4. The Post, $12.2 million. 5. The Greatest Showman, $11million. 6. Paddington 2, $8.2 million. 7. The Commuter, $6.7 million. 8. Star Wars: The Last Jedi, $6.6 million. 9. Insidious: The Last Key, $5.9 million. 10. Forever My Girl, $4.7 million.