The first weekend in December is often a dead zone and this year it it was headed for rock bottom with abysmal results for two prime Disney films. Instead, it’s the best-grossing weekend for this date since 2017. And how we got there proves out what we’ve learned in 2023: Nontraditional titles with fervent fanbases are the new path to exhibition success.
“Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé” (AMC Theatres) is #1 with $21 million; also in the top 10 this week are “Godzilla Minus One” (Toho) with $11 million, India’s “Animal” (Cinegalaxy) with $6 million, and “The Shift” (Angel) with $4.3 million. As major players vacate the release calendar, outside forces are eager to fill the gap.
“Renaissance” is a far cry from “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” which opened to $93 million, but it stands out as an opening for this date. While it shows that Swift is a unique draw (and the limited potential for concert films as a genre), “Renaissance” is a far more complex production than a concert film and its theater count represented two-thirds of “Eras.”
Hindi-language action thriller “Animal” is #7 with $6.1 million in 697 theaters for a strong $8,771 PTA. “The Shift,” a sci-fi multiverse faith-based story from Angel took #8 with a B+ Cinemascore — below average for an Angel title, but reflecting the studio’s ongoing ability to tap into its market.
Titles from conventional distributors provided less than half of the grosses. “Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” (Lionsgate) took second in its third week with $14.5 million for a $121 million total. With normal prices (unlike the elevated charge for “Renaissance”), it may represent the most tickets sold this weekend.
However, the news for Disney’s “Wish” and “The Marvels” went from bad to worse. Historically, the studio’s Thanksgiving animated release would still be #1, well over $100 million, and heading into a second wind over Christmas. Instead, the second weekend of Disney’s $200 million production fell to #5 with $7.4 million and just $42 million so far. It even fell behind the third weekend of “Trolls Band Together” (Universal).
As for “The Marvels,” it’s out of the top 10. On weekend four it’s #11, with $2.5 million and $80 million total. Neither “Wish” nor the Marvel title is likely to reach $100 million domestic.
John Woo’s “Silent Night” (Lionsgate) opened at #9 with a disappointing $3 million. The dialogue-free action film got a poor C Cinemascore parallel to mixed critical response.
Year over year this weekend is a winner, far better than last year’s $53 million. That will help move the annual total toward $9 million, but with few new releases next weekend and the uncertain fate of top Christmas releases sreaching that goal remains a challenge.
“Saltburn” (Amazon MGM) saw most of its 1,566 runs reduced to limited shows. That left it with only $1,001 per theater — a modest drop of 16 percent due to its already-underwhelming debut.
“Dream Scenario” (A24) with Nicolas Cage expanded to 1,578 theaters week three for just under $1.7 million, again a little over $1,000 per theater. “The Holdovers” (Focus) passed the $15 million mark with $1.15 million. “Priscilla” (A24) has passed $20 million.
Among new limited openings, three stood out. “Eileen” (Neon), a prison-set psychological thriller that premiered at Sundance, grossed $90,000 in six New York/Los Angeles/Austin theaters ($15,000 PTA). Utopia is projecting $30,000 for its single initial date of Sean Price Williams’ “The Sweet East” at the IFC Center in New York thanks to a significant social media presence and a cast including Talia Ryder, Jacob Elordi, Simon Rex, and Ayo Edebiri. The absurdist drama will be presented with carefully nurtured event showings in upcoming weeks.
It’s tough for a subtitled film to overcome bad reviews, but Isabelle Huppert’s draw managed to raise “La Syndicaliste” (Kino Lorber) to a respectable initial $10,075 in one New York theater.
Not for the first time, Netflix once again is missing a bet by concealing the grosses for a major awards player. Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” has a four-week theatrical release as a traditional multi-stage expansion before it starts streaming. Based on theater seating charts from some of its approximately 35 theaters, including many sellouts (with limited seating), it likely grossed over $400,000 this weekend, possibly much more.
Figures like that would elevate the film’s profile, as well as possibly get more theatrical interest as it expands further. Instead, they diminish its viability with this nonsense.
The Top 10
1. Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé (Variance for AMC) NEW – Cinemascore: A+; Metacritic: 86;
$21,000,000 in 2,539 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $8,721; Cumulative: $21,000,000
2. Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Lionsgate) Week 3; Last weekend #1
$14,500,000 (-50%) in 3,691 (-85) theaters; PTA: $3,840; Cumulative: $121,243,000
3. Godzilla Minus One (Emick for Toho International) NEW – Cinemascore: A; Metacritic: 79; Est. budget: $15 million
$11,032,000 in 2,308 theaters; PTA: $4,780; Cumulative: $11,032,000
4. Trolls Band Together (Universal) Week 3; Last weekend #4
$7,600,000 (-57%) in 3,613 (-280) theaters; PTA: $2,104; Cumulative: $74,833,000
5. Wish (Disney) Week 2; Last weekend #3
$7,400,000 (-62%) in 3,900 (no change) theaters; PTA: $; Cumulative: $41,956,000
6. Napoleon (Sony for Apple) Week 2; Last weekend #2
$7,125,000 (-65%) in 3,500 (no change) theaters; PTA: $1,901; Cumulative: $45,760,000
7. Animal (Cinegalaxy) NEW – Est. budget: $14 million
$6,140,000 in 697 theaters; PTA: $8,771; Cumulative: $6,140,000
8. The Shift (Angel) NEW – Cinemascore: B+; Est. budget: $6 million
$4,358,000 in 2,450 theaters; PTA: $1,779; Cumulative: $4,358,000
9. Silent Night (Lionsgate) NEW – Cinemascore: C; Metacritic: 53
$3,000,000 in 1,870 theaters; PTA: $1,604; Cumulative: $3,000,000
10. Thanksgiving (Sony) Week 3; Last weekend #5
$2,630,000 (-63%) in 3,204 (no change) theaters; PTA: $821; Cumulative: $28,378,000
Other specialized titles
Films (limited, expansions of limited, as well as awards-oriented releases) are listed by week in release, starting with those opened this week; after the first three weeks, only films with grosses over $5,000 are listed.Metacritic scores and initial film festivals recorded.
Eileen (Neon) NEW – Metacritic: 71; Festivals include: Sundance 2023
$90,521 in 6 theaters; PTA: $15,087
The Sweet East (Utopia) NEW – Metacritic: 63; Festivals include: Cannes, New York 2023
$30,000 in 1 theater; PTA: $30,000
La Syndicaliste (Kino Lorber) NEW – Metacritic: 49; Festivals include: Venice 2022
$10,075 in 1 theater; PTA: $10,075
Pianoforte (Greenwich) NEW – Festivals include: Sundance 2023
$5,500 in 1 theater; PTA: $5,500
Monster (Well Go USA) Week 2
$26,545 in 5 (+3) theaters; PTA: $5,309; Cumulative: $63,314
Saltburn (Amazon MGM) Week 3
$1,568,000 in 1,566 (no change) theaters; PTA: $1,001; Cumulative: $6,235,000
Next Goal Wins (Searchlight) Week 3
$231,000 in 500 (-1,740) theaters; Cumulative: $6,398,000
The Disappearance of Shere Hite (IFC) Week 3
$5,100 in 19 (+17) theaters; Cumulative: $27,607
Dream Scenario (A24) Week 4
$1,689,000 in 1,578 (+1,454) theaters; Cumulative: $3,470,000
Radical (Pantelion) Week 5
$271,500 in 255 (-70) theaters; Cumulative: $8,249,000
Priscilla (A24) Week 6
$322,751 in 435 (-628) theaters; Cumulative: $20,372,000
The Holdovers (Focus) Week 6; also on PVOD
$1,150,000 in 1,311 (-290) theaters; Cumulative: $15,100,000
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Variance for AMC) Week 8
$550,000 in 636 (-310) theaters; Cumulative: $178,800,000
Anatomy of a Fall (Neon) Week 8
$67,000 in 72 (-5) theaters; Cumulative: $3,492,000
