Theater Averages: Last Jedi Dethrones Beauty and the Beast $51,987 to $41,508

December 19, 2017

The Last Jedi

The Last Jedi became the biggest wide release of the year on the theater average chart with $51,987, overtaking the previous leader, Beauty and the Beast, which had an opening weekend average of $41,508. Last week’s number one film, I, Tonya was pushed into second place with an average of $34,256 in five theaters. The film clearly has more room to grow. Call Me by Your Name was well behind with an average of $16,398 in 30 theaters. There were two more holdovers in the $10,000 club: The Shape of Water at $10,828 in 158 threatres and Darkest Hour at $10,090 in 84.

There were only a few other new limited releases and only one of them, Youth, did well. That film earned an average of $8,667 in 30 theaters. The Ballad of Lefty Brown was well back with an average of just $2,780 in two theaters, but it was also playing on Video on Demand, so that’s an important factor to take into account. The Thousand Faces of Dunjia barely avoided the Mendoza Line with an average of $2,142 in 27 theaters. Birdboy: The Forgotten Children wasn’t as lucky, with an average of $1,462 in four theaters. Animated films rarely do well in limited release, but this also has disappointing reviews. Finally there’s Permanent, which earned an average of $715 in 8 theaters. It was a family film playing on VOD, so I’m surprised we got any numbers at all.

This past week also saw milestones reached for a few Per Theater Chart alumni:

  • Darkest Hour hit $2 million over the weekend and should have no trouble getting to $3 million early this weekend. In fact, if it expands significantly, it could get to $4 million as well.
  • The Shape of Water reached $2 million and $3 million over the weekend.
  • The Disaster Artist managed to hit $10 million before the weekend and it is already more than halfway to $15 million.
  • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri surpassed $20 million early in the weekend. It is losing theaters at a very fast pace, but it still has a shot at $25 million.
  • Lady Bird topped $25 million over the weekend, making it just the third limited release, released this year, to make it to that milestone. It is the 79th biggest release on the domestic yearly chart, just ahead of The House.
Weekend Box Office Results

Filed under: Theater Averages, Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi, The Disaster Artist, Darkest Hour, I, Tonya, Call Me by Your Name, Psiconautas, los niños olvidados, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Shape of Water, Permanent, Lady Bird, The Ballad of Lefty Brown, Fang Hua, Qi Man Dun Jia