‘Encanto’ gets a second helping from the audience

Key takeaways:

• “Encanto,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” and “House of Gucci” maintained in the top three spots, according to studio estimates given on Sunday.
• Next week, things could pick up when Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of “West Side Story” hits theatres across the country.

This weekend, moviegoers in North America were served leftovers. According to studio estimates released on Sunday, “Encanto,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” and “House of Gucci” remained in the top three slots. All three films are only available in theatres.

The weekend after Thanksgiving is traditionally a slow one at the box office. This year was no exception, especially because new releases like “Flee” and “Benedetta” were only available in limited theatres. 

“Encanto,” a Disney animated film with original music by Lin-Manuel Miranda, took the top spot with US$12.7 million, down 53% from its initial weekend. To date, it has made $116.1 million worldwide.

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“Ghostbusters: Afterlife” came in second with $10.4 million in its third weekend, putting it just over the $100 million mark. And “House of Gucci,” starring Lady Gaga and Adam Driver and directed by Ridley Scott, arrived in 3rd place in its second weekend with $6.8 million from 3,477 sites, increasing its domestic total to $33.6 million.

Fathom took fourth place with “Christmas with The Chosen: The Messengers,” a pleasant surprise. It’s not quite a movie, but it’s an episode of a faith-based streaming series about Jesus’ birth, with multiple performances by Christian groups, that was shot expressly for a 10-day run on the big screen. 

It made $4.1 million over the weekend on 1,700 theatres. Since Wednesday, it has grossed $9 million, making it Fathom’s highest-grossing event ever.

“It simply goes to demonstrate how important event cinema is and how non-traditional releases can benefit movie theatres,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst.

This weekend, Warner Bros. reintroduced “Dune” to IMAX cinemas in other major showings. Over half of its $1.8 million in domestic earnings came from premium displays.

Paul Verhoeven’s “Benedetta,” distributed by IFC Films, earned $145,000 from 202 theatres, while Focus Features’ “Wolf” opened to $80,000 on 308 screens. “Flee,” a Neon animated documentary, debuted on four screens and earned $25,033. The story follows a young guy who escaped Afghanistan in the 1980s as a refugee.

Next week, things could pick up when Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of “West Side Story” hits theatres across the country.

“With $3.7 billion in the bank, we’re moving into the home stretch of the box office year,” Dergarabedian added.

Before the epidemic, the North American box office was regularly over $11 billion. But, if a certain superhero steps in to aid on Dec. 17, Dergarabedian believes that $4 billion is still within a goal for 2021.

“Over the next several weeks, I believe the industry has the potential to create $300 million,” Dergarabedian remarked. “‘Spider-Man’ could be the catalyst for us to break the $4 billion barriers.”

Source: CTV News

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