Weekend Wrap-Up: Grinch Matches Expectations, Incredibles’ Record Safe for Now
November 12, 2018
The weekend box office had a few success stories and a couple of misses. Dr Seuss’ The Grinch was one of the success stories with $67.57 million, which matches predictions perfectly. The other two new wide releases were less successful. Overlord did okay, but it will need a lot of help to break even any time soon. On the other hand, The Girl in the Spider’s Web likely won’t break even. The overall box office rose 15% from last weekend hitting $167 million. This is 11% more from the same weekend last year. I really wasn’t expecting 2018’s losing streak to end after just one weekend. This is great news. 2018’s lead over 2017 is practically the same as it was last weekend at $1.01 billion or 11% at $9.95 billion to $8.94 billion.
Dr Seuss’ The Grinch opened with $67.57 million over the weekend. This is about average for Illumination Entertainment’s animated films; it depends if you count Hop as an animated film. Its reviews are sadly below average for the company and it earned an A minus from CinemaScore, which is good, but not great for a family film. Furthermore, it does have direct competition coming in less than a couple of weeks. That said, it is still a family film playing during the holidays, so it could still be in semi-wide release at the beginning of 2019.
Bohemian Rhapsody held on phenomenally well down just 39% to $31.20 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $100.36 million. This is great news going forward and there’s little doubt the film will earn a healthy profit for Fox.
Overlord opened in third place with $10.20 million, matching our expectations perfectly, at least in terms of box office dollars. It actually placed higher than anticipated, because its competition struggled. The film’s reviews were the best of the three wide releases this weekend, while it managed a solid B from CinemaScore. Granted, a B normally isn’t good, but is better than most horror films manage. On the other hand, the film cost nearly $40 million to make, so it will need to be a hit internationally and on the home market to break even any time soon.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms landed in fourth place with $10.09 million over the weekend for a total of $35.78 million after ten days of release. It is doing better internationally, but at this point, the best Disney can hope for is saving face.
A Star is Born remained in the top five one more week with $8.11 million over the weekend for a total of $178.12 million after six weeks of release. At this point, the film should become Warner Bros.’ first $200 million hit released in 2018. They are the only member of the big six to not have a $200 million hit released this year.
The Girl in the Spider’s Web bombed earning just $7.81 million during its opening weekend, which was only enough for sixth place. Weak reviews and a mere B from CinemaScore will likely result in short legs. Even the holidays won’t help a lot, because theater owners will be dropping it by early December.
The only member of the sophomore class not in the top five was Nobody’s Fool, which fell to seventh place with $6.64 million over the weekend and $24.37 million after two. A 52% drop-off isn’t bad for this type of release, and its running tally is already more than it cost to make, so if it does well on the home market, it will break even sooner rather than later.
- Dr Seuss’ The Grinch Comparisons
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- The Girl in the Spider’s Web Comparisons
- Overlord Comparisons
Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, A Star is Born, The Girl in the Spider’s Web, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Overlord, Nobody’s Fool