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Christmas has come and gone which means it’s time to look back at the reality that, once again, major movie studios have abandoned movie theaters. Only two movies debuted in over 1,000 locations this weekend and I'm counting the Paramount Pictures release Better Man expanding into 1,289 locations as part of that duo. 2010's second weekend 15 years ago saw three new major wide releases dropping into the marketplace in over 1,800 locations each, plus the wide release expansion of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Imagine if Warner Bros. had dropped that Salem’s Lot movie over this frame instead of dumping it on Max in October.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. That second weekend of 2010’s biggest newcomer was Lionsgate genre feature Daybreakers. This studio has often had success with early January, dating back to the days of Hostel. Following in the footsteps of Texas Chainsaw 3D, The Legend of Hercules, The Commuter, and the 2023 Gerard Butler genre movie Plane, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera debuted in theaters this weekend. It grossed a fine $15.5 million. That’s slightly ahead of its predecessor's $15.2 million debut and right on par with the bow of Daybreakers from 2010. Studios are dropping fewer movies into theaters yet Lionsgate remains steadfast in its commitment to early January R-rated genre movies.
That’s roughly 51% better than Plane's debut two years ago. In terms of Butler action movies, the Den of Thieves movies actually have had lower bows than the three Fallen movies and Law Abiding Citizen. It also came in beneath the bows of Butler's two Sony rom-com's that we should never talk about again. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera did fine for a sequel to a seven-year-old action movie and early January action fare. Butler’s got enough of a fanbase to get these kinds of titles to okay openings, though he’s clearly got less cache than, say, Jason Statham. If it doesn’t collapse next weekend, Pantera could make a run at matching its predecessor’s $44 million domestic haul.
Here's a little fun fact for y’all: Lionsgate was not the first choice to distribute Den of Thieves 2. Once the first film’s distributor, STX Entertainment, went under, distribution rights to this follow-up were up for grabs. Briarcliff Entertainment picked up these domestic rights in May 2023 just a few days before it debuted the Butler star vehicle Kandahar. A year later, Lionsgate secured distribution rights instead once it bought Den of Thieves 2 co-financer eOne Features. Given Briarcliff’s dismal box office track record, this proved to be a blessing for Den of Thieves 2.
All the holdovers had slightly steeper declines this weekend thanks to inclement weather closing some theaters down (over here in Dallas, several theaters were closed for all or most of Thursday and Friday due to icy roads). Folks being back to work/school now that the holidays are done also played a part in the slew of 45+% declines this frame. Mufasa: The Lion King, for its part, grossed $13.2 million, a 44% drop from last weekend. With $188.7 million domestically, it’s aiming for a $225-235 million North American finish.
Right behind it was Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which grossed $11 million, a 48% drop from last weekend. With $204.5 million domestically, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is officially the first live-action video game movie to crack $200+ million domestically. Fellow December 2024 holdover Nosferatu fell 48% this frame to gross another $6.8 million. Its domestic haul now stands at $81.8 million. I think this one’s got enough juice (especially with a three-day weekend next frame) to just get past $100 million domestically. Even if it misses that mark, a $95-ish million domestic finish would be outstanding for this Robert Eggers movie.
Rounding out the top five was Moana 2, which grossed $6.5 million in its seventh weekend of release. That’s a 48% decline from last weekend. Having now amassed $434.8 million domestically, this one should just clear $450 million before its North American run wraps up. Next was A Complete Unknown, which had the smallest weekend-to-weekend decline across the top seven movies this frame. Dipping 39%, it grossed another $5 million for a $50.84 million domestic total.
Tying with Bob Dylan this frame was Wicked. This musical sensation kept on chugging with another $5 million, a 50% drop from last weekend. Its domestic total now stands at $458,9 million. Just $1.1 million to go before it's the biggest movie ever in North America to not hit $1+ billion worldwide. Also, its domestic total should eventually make it the sixth-biggest non-Disney-owned movie ever in North America (seventh if you want to count the Disney co-financed Spider-Man: No Way Home).
This weekend, Babygirl continued its leggy domestic box office run dipping 31% to gross another $3.09 million for a $21.7 million total. Reaching $30 million domestically seems just out of reach for this production, but it should end its North American box office run in the neighborhood of $26-28 million. Very good numbers for this erotic thriller. Game Changer opened to just $2.1 million from 800 theaters. Even by the standards of domestic bows for Indian blockbusters, this one was really frontloaded, making $1.5 million of its opening weekend gross from Friday alone!
Rounding out the top ten was The Last Showgirl, which scored $1.5 million from 870 locations this weekend. That’s not an extraordinary debut (its per theater average was only $1,770), but it’s a significantly better-than-usual expansion into wide release for a post-2019 arthouse Roadside Attractions release. Showgirl doubled the bows of Lee and Somewhere In Queens and opened 78% ahead of The Good House from September 2022 (remember that movie?) Once it gets past $3 million domestically, it’ll be the second biggest non-Retribution Roadside Attractions title of the 2020s only behind The Courier.
The Brutalist finally expanded into more theaters this weekend (68 to be precise) and put up fantastic numbers in those locations, grossing $1.387 million for a $20,408 per theater average. That makes this the fourth consecutive weekend where its per theater average has exceeded $20,000. Over just this three-day weekend, it's already matched what it grossed in its first 21 days of release. The Brutalist is now up to an impressive $2.6 million domestically. Fun fact: this Brady Corbet directorial effort has now surpassed Exhuma as 2024's highest-grossing domestic performer to never play in 100+ theaters. Exhuma will, of course, regain that crown next weekend when The Brutalist inevitably expands into 100+ theaters.
Gladiator II grossed a further $1.2 million, a 54% decline from last frame. This period piece epic has now slashed its way to $170.98 million. In its fourth frame, Homestead eased 46% to add $1.08 million to its domestic haul which now stands at $19.2 million. Now we move on to the big wide release misfire of the frame…
Expanding into 1,222 locations this weekend, Better Man amassed disastrous wide release opening weekend numbers. It grossed just $1.05 million this frame for a disastrous $860 per theater average. It came in behind The Brutalist (which cost $101 million less to make) this weekend despite that indie title playing in 1,154 locations. This music biopic was always going to be a tough sell in America because music biopics live and die based on the popularity of their real-life subject matter. In the US, British pop sensation Robbie Williams is totally unknown, especially compared to Freddie Mercury, Bob Dylan, and Elvis Presley. An awkward release date and marketing shifts (including allegedly downgrading Better Man’s wide release theater count at the last minute) didn’t help.
Dismal early box office numbers in the UK, unfortunately, suggest international numbers won’t salvage Better Man. What a shame since it’s a much better-than-usual modern musical and musician biopic.
The Fire Inside collapsed this frame after losing 1,010 theaters, grossing just $307,998 to bring its domestic total to just $7.86 million. Flow continues to impress in its domestic run as it expanded into 247 locations this weekend and grossed $303,4000 (a 42% leap from the last frame) for a $1,228 per theater average. It's now grossed $3 million in North America. In its second weekend, The Damned collapsed 76%, grossing another $186,000 for a 10-day total of just $1.25 million.
Finally, a Bleecker Street title that didn't put up embarrassing numbers! Hard Truths returned to 22 theaters this weekend and grossed $165,625 for a $7,528 per theater average. A Real Pain jumped 2% from last weekend to add another $118,000 for an $8.02 million domestic total. Nickel Boys expanded to 26 locations this frame and eased 23%, grossing another $112,219 for a $4,316 per theater average. Its domestic total after five weekends stands at $578,297. The Count of Monte Cristo stayed steady in 93 locations and grossed another $105,000, a 44% drop from the last frame. Its domestic total is now at $445,235.
Anora, slightly expanding to 111 locations, grossed another $90,000 (a 41% drop from last weekend) for a $14.55 million domestic total. September 5 expanded into 20 locations and grossed $60,000 for a disappointing $3,000 per theater average. It's now grossed just $374,000 domestically. All We Imagine as Light expanded into 51 locations this frame and grossed $52,600 (a 25% dip from last weekend) for a $1,031 per theater average. It's now up to $843,861 domestically. The Seed of the Sacred Fig eased 34% this weekend to gross $31,000 from 19 locations. It secured a $1,632 per theater average. Its domestic total now stands at $363,442. Vermiglio grossed $29,700 from 19 locations this weekend for a $1,563 per theater average. It's now amassed $69,691 domestically.
The top ten movies this weekend grossed only $69 million. I’d normally talk about how this figure is drastically down from other pre-COVID in early January…but honestly, that’s so insignificant given all the real-life horrors affecting Los Angeles. What’s most important right now is everyone staying safe. We’ll see where January 2025’s box office trajectory lands next weekend when it’s a three-day holiday frame, Oscar nominations get announced Sunday, and how National Popcorn Day celebrations affect box office sales. For now, everyone looks out for one another. We’re all we’ve got in this world.