Five new films plus ‘Star Wars' equal holiday feast for fans
THE Christmas holiday started early for moviegoers, with five new weekend releases for fans seeking something other than the latest ‘Star Wars’ flick. The choices included a remake of ‘Jumanji’, a Matt Damon fantasycomedy, and a picture about circus showman P.T. Barnum.
‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’, Walt Disney Co.’s space adventure, led the domestic box office for a second weekend as expected, with North American ticket sales of US$68.5 million, according to estimates Sunday from researcher ComScore Inc. After opening Wednesday, Sony Corp.’s ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’, collected Fridayto-Sunday revenue of US$34 million, more than expected.
The weekends around Christmas are among the busiest for theatres. Exhibitors count on filling a lot of seats, even if a couple of the new movies were dubbed turkeys by critics.
‘Jumanji’ was one of the betterreviewed new movies in wide release. Starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan, the film came in second over the weekend.
The movie is a remake of the 1995 Robin Williams fantasy with a twist. In the original, Williams’ character is freed from a board game where he’s been trapped for years. In this version, four teenagers discover an old video game and are pulled into its jungle setting.
The new ‘Jumanji’ got a 78 per cent favourable rating at RottenTomatoes.com, which consolidates critics’ reviews. BoxOfficePro.com predicted sales of US$25 million to US$30 million for the three-day weekend and a total of US$39 million through Christmas Day.
‘Pitch Perfect 3’, a sequel from Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures starring Ann Kendrick, opened with weekend sales of US$20.5 million to place third, coming in at the low end of BoxOfficePro’s estimate of US$20 million to US$25 million.
In the new movie, the singing Bellas reunite for a last competition. RottenTomatoes gave a low 27 per cent rating to the film,
which was expected to produce extended weekend sales of US$34 million through Christmas Day.
‘The Greatest Showman’, from 21st Century Fox Inc., features Australian actor Hugh Jackman as circus ringmaster and businessman P.T. Barnum. The film, which opened Wednesday, generated sales of US$8.6 million, matching BoxOfficePro’s estimate of US$7.5 million to US$10 million.
Critics were split, giving the picture a 51 per cent favourable rating. BoxOfficePro was predicting four-day weekend sales of US$14 million.
‘Downsizing’ opened with weekend sales of US$4.6 million for Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures, missing estimates of US$6 million to US$8 million for the three days.
Damon stars as an occupational therapist who joins a community of people who have shrunk planet and make their buying power go further. The film, from the director of ‘The Descendants’ and ‘Sideways’, garnered a 52 per cent positive rating from critics.
‘Father Figures’, distributed by Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros., opened with weekend sales of US$3.2 million, compared with a forecast of up to US$6 million. The film stars Owen Wilson and Ed Helms as fraternal twins on a road trip to find their real father.
The movie garnered a low 24 per cent positive rating at RottenTomatoes, and was expected to deliver sales of US$7.3 million through the long weekend.
‘The Shape of Water’, a potential awards contender from director Guillermo del Toro, expanded to more theatres this weekend and posted sales of US$3.1 million through Sunday. The film has a 94 per cent positive rating with critics. — WP-Bloomberg