Box Office Discussion: Leaving a "Mark"

 In a close battle for #1, Liam Neeson's latest was able to hold off two holiday holdovers.

The Marksman, Liam Neeson's attempt to be Clint Eastwood, won a narrow victory at the box office in its second weekend, taking in $2 million to lead for the second weekend in a row.  The thriller now has a 10-day total of $6.1 million.  This is slightly below both what Honest Thief made in its second weekend and where that film was after ten days.  Thief finished its run with $14.1 million, suggesting that The Marksman is probably headed for a final gross somewhere in the $12-13 million range.

Marksman was able to hold off The Croods: A New Age, which rose back to #2, taking in $1.8 million in its 9th weekend.  The animated hit crossed the $40 million mark to come in at $41.8 million, and there's no reason to think it won't ultimately make it to $50 million.  It seems unlikely to catch Tenet's $57.9 million, but it could come close.

One film that won't be catching Tenet--or The Croods, for that matter--is Wonder Woman 1984, which slips to third with $1.6 million.  The superhero saga stands at $37.7 million, a disappointing total, even with the pandemic.  It seems clear at this point that poor word-of-mouth did the film in, though with the title now off HBO Max and PPV streaming and DVD release at least a couple of months away, the title will now at least be a theater exclusive for a while.

Monster Hunter came in fourth, grossing $0.8 million to go over $10 million domestic.  News of the World also took in $0.8 million and moved to $9.6 million, meaning it will also pass $10 million, probably by next weekend, and also has now beaten 1985's The Man With One Red Shoe.

Fatale and Promising Young Woman continue to be hitched together in 6th and 7th, both finishing about $2,000 apart just under $0.4 million.  Respective grosses are $5.3 million and $4 million.

Opening in 8th is dramady Our Friend, which finally came out after debuting at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival.  The film, which boasts Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson, and Jason Segal as its leads, was clearly made in order to win awards, and while the Oscar deadline this year has been extended to the end of February, this is unlikely to hear its name called when nominations are announced in March.  The film opened to $0.3 million, and is already available on PPV.

At 9th is The War With Grandpa, which somehow has now tied Frozen for the longest stay in the Top 10 over the last decade.  The comedy, now in its 16th week of release, has taken in $19.5 million.  The longest run of the 21st century belongs to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which racked up 19 weeks in the Top 10 (18 of then consecutive) in 2002.  Will The War With Grandpa be able to equal or beat that?  Probably not, but a couple of weeks ago, I assumed Grandpa wouldn't be able to tie Frozen, and yet here we are.  And of course, with The Croods seemingly haven taken up permanent residence in the Top 3, even if Grandpa does manage to get the record, it might not be able to hold it for long.

Rounding out the Top 10 is Pinocchio, which will not be hitting 16 weeks in the Top 10, and it's a minor miracle it has made it 5 weeks in the Top 10.  It has now grossed $1.5 million.

This week sees the release of one new wide release, the serial killer thriller The Little Things.  It almost feels like this one is just slipping into theaters, despite the fact it stars Denzel Washington and co-stars two other recent Oscar winners in Rami Malek and Jared Leto.  Even though, as noted above, this is eligible for Oscars this year, the fact that not one person has even hinted this is an Oscar film suggests it might have been released in January, even if there was no pandemic.  The Little Things will also be the second straight to HBO Max film, which will likely affect its box office.  That said, it's a new film starring Denzel Washington, his first in 2 1/2 years, opening against almost no competition.  This should be an easy #1.  We'll find out next week.