Weekend Wrap-Up: Star Wars Earns Trilogy of Wins with $34.5 Million
January 7, 2020
2020 got off to a great start with The Grudge opening better than expected, while most of the holdovers also held strong. Granted, it is still a post-holiday weekend and the total box office did fall 28% from last weekend earning $142 million. However, this is 2.4% higher than the first weekend of last year and that’s a much more important figure. It’s way too early for the year-to-date comparisons to matter, but 2020 did get off to a faster start than 2019 did and has a 7.7% / $17 million lead at $231 million to $215 million. Again, it is way too early to make any predictions, but any victory now will make it easier for 2020 to keep pace with last year during the inevitable slow times.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker completed the hat-trick by finishing on top of the box office chart for the third weekend in a row. This time it managed $34.52 million over the weekend, pushing its running tally to $451.58 million. The film is already the third-biggest film released in 2019, and had just overtaken Frozen II by the end of the weekend. The film will have no trouble getting to $500 million, but that’s as far as it will climb.
Jumanji: The Next Level remained in second place with $26.23 million over the weekend for a total of $235.93 million after four weeks of release. This film has a real shot at $300 million domestically and even if it can’t quite get there, it has already made enough to be a solidly profitable film. If its home market run is as good as its theatrical run, then it will be one of Sony’s biggest bright spots of the year.
Sony has another bright spot with Little Women, as the film earned third place with $13.61 million for a two-week total of $60.06 million. Awards Season could help it get to $100 million domestically, but it will need to earn some wins along the way.
Frozen II slipped a to fourth with $11.85 million over the weekend for a total of $450.44 million after seven weeks of release. The film was pushed into fourth place on the 2019 chart. However, the film that topped it, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, was also made by Disney, so it is not like there’s any reason the studio will complain.
The Grudge was right behind with $11.40 million during its opening weekend. This is great for a film that cost just $10 million to make; however, its future is bleak. There are a couple of horror films opening by the end of the month, so the competition will be tough. Furthermore, its reviews are terrible and it was given an F-rating from CinemaScore, so audiences hated it even more than critics did. That said, the low production budget should help it break even, eventually.
The only film in the sophomore class not in the top five was Spies in Disguise, which earned sixth place with $10.40 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $47.04 million. The film reportedly cost about $100 million to make and it won’t get there domestically. If it can do better internationally and find an audience on the home market, then it could break even, eventually.
- Weekend Estimates
- All-time Highest Grossing Animated Movie Worldwide
- Weekend Box Office Chart
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- Friday Estimates
- Thursday Previews
- Weekend Predictions
- Theater Counts
- Fastest to $500 million
- Fastest to $400 million
- 2019 Domestic Box Office
- 2019 Worldwide Box Office
- Friday Box Office Chart
- New Year’s Day Box Office Chart
Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Frozen II, Spies in Disguise, The Grudge, Jumanji: The Next Level, Little Women