As holdovers are way down from last weekend, a little-heralded Christian movie opens (relatively) strongly.
The first weekend of December, i.e. the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend, always registers a sharp drop from the weekend before, which is why it's been a decade and a half since a major film has opened on this weekend. This year was no exception, as most titles in the Top 10 dropped roughly 50% or more from the Friday-Sunday portion of last weekend (and even more if we take the Wednesday and Thursday grosses into account.
Leading the way for the second weekend in a row was Encanto, which conjured up $13.2 million for a 12-day total of $58.4 million. That's more than enough to make it the highest-grossing fully animated film of the year so far. With two more weekends before Sing 2, Encanto should be able to maintain decent grosses, and should be over $100 million before the end of the year.
In second, Ghostbusters: Afterlife became the 12th movie of 2021 to hit the $100 million mark, as it busted $10.4 million for a total of $102.2 million. It will certainly pass 1989's Ghostbusters II in the next week or so, and will likely also pass then 2016 reboot by Christmas to become the second-highest-grossing Ghostbusters film, at least in terms of raw, not-adjusted-for-inflation numbers.
In third, House of Gucci remained the choice for adult filmgoers, as it took in $7 million for a twelve-day total of $33.4 million. It should hit $50 million before the end of the year.
Opening in fourth is Christmas With the Chosen: The Messengers, a spinoff of a streaming series about the life of Christ, which is apparently a huge hit among Christian audiences without ever penetrating the mainstream--at least until now. The film, which is a blend of Contemporary Christian bands playing Christmas songs and a recreation of the Nativity, opened very strongly on Wednesday, capturing first place on both that day and Thursday, before fading over the actual weekend. From Friday to Sunday, it took in $4.3 million, and has taken in $9.2 million since it opened. The film does seem to be quite front-loaded, but even then, it seems likely that the film should be above $20 million by Christmas.
In fifth, Eternals brought in $4.1 million, for a total of $156.7 million. In sixth, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City was only able to scare up $2.7 million for a 12-day total of $13.2 million. Clifford the Big Red Dog came in 7th, bringing in $1.9 million for a total of $45.8 million.
Dune returned to IMAX screens this weekend, which proved to be a huge boon in its weekend grosses, as it only fell 11% from last weekend, to $1.9 million. Its gross stands at $104.6 million. King Richard came in 9th, with $1.2 million, for a total of $13.4 million.
Other than Christmas With the Chosen, it was a rather disappointing weekend for the new limited releases out. Faring the best was the anime Sword Art Online: Progressive-Aria of a Starless Night, which brought in $1.1 million for tenth. It fared much better than True to the Game 3, Benedetta, and Wolf, the latter two making less than Licorice Pizza made over the weekend, despite that film playing in only four theaters.
Likely leading the box office this weekend will be West Side Story, Steven Spielberg's reimagining of the beloved musical, whose previous movie version won Best Picture in 1961. Ansel Elgort plays Tony, newcomer Rachel Zegler plays Maria, and Rita Moreno, who won an Oscar for the original film, plays a new character. Buzz is sky-high, and if anything can overcome the Musical Curse of 2021 that already entrapped In the Heights, Dear Evan Hanson, Cinderella, and Everybody's Talking About Jamie, its a Spielberg-directed remake of one of the greatest musicals ever. Also opening is National Champions, a drama about a star college football player (Stephen James) who decides to launch a player boycott of the National Championship game unless the NCAA agrees to fairly compensate student-athletes. J.K. Simmons plays his coach, and Timothy Olyphant, Kristen Chenoweth, Uzo Aduba, and Tim Blake Nelson co-star. It's a good bet for #2. There's also Being the Ricardos, starring Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball. Amazon hasn't been reporting numbers for its theatrical releases since the pandemic began, but this also appears to be its biggest release in that time period. If we do get numbers, it will likely debut somewhere in the Top 10. The air may be humming, but will a big opening be the something that's coming for West Side Story? We'll find out next weekend.
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