USA TODAY International Edition
‘Ralph’ rules for the third straight weekend
Slow run for box office ready to pick up the pace
NEW YORK – In the calm before the Christmas storm at the box office, “Ralph Breaks the Internet” was No. 1 for the third straight week, and the upcoming DC Comics superhero film “Aquaman” arrived with a cannonball-sized splash in Chinese theaters.
For the second week in a row, no new wide releases opened in North American theaters, allowing Disney’s animated sequel to again lead ticket sales with $16.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The top six films at the box office were unchanged. “The Grinch,” with Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of Dr. Seuss’ title character, was still a major draw in its fifth weekend. It trailed in second with $15.2 million.
Rounding out the top five: “Creed II,” the latest in the “Rocky” series, starring Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed, finished third with $16.8 million. J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” prequel “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” held in fourth with $11.2 million, and Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” was fifth with $8.1 million.
But the weekend’s biggest new arrival was in China, where “Aquaman” landed with $93.6 million in ticket sales. Considering the checkered recent history of DC films (“Justice League,” “Suicide Squad”), the big launch in China was a promising sign for the spinoff starring Jason Momoa.
“Adding to the success of ‘Wonder Woman,’ this is a really solid performance and portends big numbers for North America in two weeks when it opens,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore.
“Aquaman” will expand to 40 international countries next week and arrive in North American theaters on Dec. 21. But it wasn’t the only big-budget holiday season release receiving a lift this week. “Transformers” prequel “Bumblebee” played a one-night sneak preview in 326 theaters nationwide ahead of its release Dec. 21.
The film, directed by Travis Knight and starring Hailee Steinfeld, aided its word of mouth with largely glowing reviews – a rarity for the “Transformers” franchise.
The feel-good road trip period tale “Green Book” fared well at last week’s Golden Globe nominations (five, including best comedy or musical, and acting nods for Maheshala Ali and Viggo Mortensen) and had good results at the box office to show for it. In its fourth week of release, “Green Book” held with a rare zero percent drop, earning $3.9 million. It has grossed $20 million in total.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ period drama “The Favourite,” starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz, expanded into 91 theaters to gross $1.4 million ($15,000 per theater).
A more traditional royal drama, “Mary Queen of Scots,” also opened strongly in limited release.
The film, starring Saoirse Ronan as Mary Stuart and Margot Robbie as Elizabeth I, made its debut in four theaters with a robust $50,000 per-theater average.
The film’s modern spin “made it resonate with audiences in a powerful way paralleling so much of what is still going on today for women,” says Focus Features president of distribution Lis Bunnell.
Also opening in limited release were “Ben Is Back,” the family addiction drama with Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges (a $20,250 per-theater average in four theaters), and the caustic pop music critique “Vox Lux,” with Natalie Portman (a $27,000 per-theater average in six theaters).
Next weekend, the box office is expected to be significantly busier with the release of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” “Mortal Engines,” “Once Upon a Deadpool” and Clint Eastwood’s “The Mule.”
Final figures are expected Monday.