‘Onward’ No. 1 amid virus news
The animated film from Disney/Pixar debuts at No. 1 amid coronavirus concerns.
The animated feature from Disney-Pixar debuts at top spot at a only slightly rattled box office.
Amid mounting coronavirus fears, which led to last week’s unprecedented cancellation of the South by Southwest festival, enough filmgoers saw “Onward” to make the Disney-Pixar film tops at the box office. Still, it opened with $40 million, on the low end of analyst projections of $40 million to $45 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.
Despite worries that the virus might affect moviegoing, the overall domestic gross was up 4% over last weekend, with most other films meeting or slightly exceeding expectations. The year-to-date box office, however, fell 1.9% behind 2019, because of the wild success last year of “Captain Marvel,” which earned $153.4 million over the same period.
“Onward” features the voices of Chris Pratt and Tom Holland, who play a pair of teen elf brothers determined to resurrect their late father. It was positively received with an A- CinemaScore and a 86% “fresh” rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
The film’s performance is comparable to that of fellow Pixar title “The Good Dinosaur,” which opened in 2015 with $39 million on its way to $332 million in global box office grosses, the lowest of the studio’s 21 titles. “Onward” is also the first Pixar movie to debut in early spring; other Pixar titles have opened in either the summer or November.
The film’s international rollout excluded Italy, South Korea and China, where the coronavirus outbreak has hit the hardest. It was also banned in several Middle Eastern countries because of a reference to a lesbian relationship. Among the 47 international territories where it was released, it earned $28 million in tickets for a $68million global debut, modest by Disney standards.
In second place, Universal’s “The Invisible Man” added $15.2 million in its second weekend. Globally, the film has earned $98.3 million.
Coming in third, Warner Bros.’ sports drama “The Way Back” opened with $8.5 million. The film stars Ben Affleck as an alcoholic construction worker turned high school basketball coach and was positively received with a B+ CinemaScore and an 88% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In fourth place, Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” added $8 million in its fourth weekend. The film currently stands at $295.6 million in worldwide receipts.
Rounding out the top five, 20th Century Studios’ “The Call of the Wild” added $7 million in its third weekend. Globally, the film has earned $99.6 million.
At No. 6, Focus Features’ “Emma” expanded into wide release in its third weekend, adding $5 million for a cumulative $6.9 million. It received a B CinemaScore and an 85% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Globally, the film has earned $20.9 million.
In seventh place, Sony’s “Bad Boys for Life” added $3.1 million in its eighth weekend and surpassed $200 million with a cumulative of $202 million.
This week, Sony opens “Bloodshot,” Universal has “The Hunt” and Lionsgate debuts “I Still Believe.”