By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
Moana continued to hold top spot among moviegoers with an estimated weekend gross of $28 million. The seasonal tradition of audiences giving priority for holiday preparation has translated into low box office in early December for as long as anyone can remember. This year was no exception and the sole national release for the frame – the bargain budget Exorcist-inspired Incarnate – struggling for a top 10 spot with a $2.6 million box office.
Among foreign-language day-and-date releases, Hindi Kahanni 2 was off to an OK start of $283,000 while Telugu Saithan (Bethaludu in Tamil) pancaked with a $46,500 tally. Also soft was the Chinese epidemic actioner Sky on Fire with $38,300. Limited wide releases fared no better including the inspirational Believe with $528,000 at 639 venues and the cop drama Man Down grossing $255,000.
Exclusive openers saw a bright spot with the launch of Jackie bowing with a potent $274,000 on five screens. Also on the Oscar hunt was an effective expansion for Manchester By the Sea that garnered $2.3 million.
Revenues for the frame hovered around $95 million and sank 49% from the prior weekend. It was a more modest 2% decline from 2015 when the third weekend of The Hunger Game finale led with $18.8 million and newcomer Krampus held second spot with $16.3 million.
Next weekend sees the launch of Office Christmas Party and wide release of Miss Sloane.
| Weekend (estimates) December 2 – 4, 2016 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (average) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| Moana | BV | 28.0 (7,220) | -51% | 3875 | 119.5 |
| Fantastic Beasts | WB | 18.4 (4,610) | -59% | 3988 | 183.3 |
| Arrival | Par | 7.4 (2,530) | -36% | 2915 | 73.2 |
| Allied | Par | 7.1 (2,250) | -44% | 3160 | 29 |
| Doctor Strange | BV | 6.5 (2,220) | -53% | 2935 | 215.3 |
| Trolls | Fox | 4.6 (1,450) | -57% | 3156 | 141.1 |
| Hacksaw Ridge | Lionsgate/ Elevation | 3.4 (1,360) | -39% | 2494 | 57.2 |
| Bad Santa 2 | Broad Green/ eOne | 3.3 (1,110) | -47% | 2945 | 14.3 |
| Incarnate | High Top | 2.6 (1,490) | NEW | 1737 | 2.6 |
| Almost Christmas | Uni | 2.5 (1,590) | -56% | 1556 | 38.1 |
| Manchester By the Sea | Roadside Attract/ Mongrel | 2.3 (1,470) | 88% | 156 | 4.4 |
| The Edge of Seventeen | STX/VVS | 1.6 (1,010) | -45% | 1608 | 12.7 |
| Loving | Focus | 1.0 (2,200) | -42% | 446 | 5.6 |
| Moonlight | A24/Elevation | .89 (1,550) | -27% | 574 | 9.9 |
| The Accountant | WB | .75 (1,230) | -28% | 608 | 84.2 |
| Nocturnal Animals | Focus | .68 (5,350) | -19% | 127 | 2.7 |
| Rules Don’t Apply | Fox | .55 (230) | -65% | 2386 | 3.3 |
| Believe | FreeStyle | .53 (830) | NEW | 639 | 0.53 |
| Dear Zindagi | Big Pitures | .43 (2,840) | -56% | 152 | 2.1 |
| Kahaani 2 | Eros | .28 (3,490) | NEW | 81 | 0.28 |
| Jackie | Fox Searchlight | .27 (54,840) | NEW | 5 | 0.27 |
| Bleed for This | Open Road | .27 (420) | -70% | 649 | 4.8 |
| Man Down | Lionsgate | .25 (1,080) | NEW | 236 | 0.25 |
| The Unmarried Wife | ABS | .23 (4,390) | -24% | 53 | 0.74 |
| Jack Reacher: Never Go Back | Par | .22 (730) | -40% | 298 | 57.8 |
| The Eagle Huntress | Sony Classics | .21 (2,580) | -21% | 81 | 1.2 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $92.10 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | -2% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | -49% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Lion | Weinstein Co. | .12 (16,910) | -4% | 7 | 0.28 |
| Elle | Sony Classics | 91,600 (2,860) | -22% | 32 | 0.55 |
| A Man Called Ove | Music Box | 57,300 (780) | -53% | 73 | 3.1 |
| The Handmaiden | Magnolia | 48,100 (1,150) | -39% | 42 | 1.7 |
| Bethsludu/Saithan | Creative | 46,500 (650) | 72 | 0.05 | |
| Miss Sloane | Europa | 43,700 (10,920) | -27% | 4 | 0.12 |
| Things to Come | IFC | 41,600 (4,620) | 9 | 0.04 | |
| Sky on Fire | Well Go | 38,300 (1,820) | 21 | 0.04 | |
| Eyes of My Mother | Magnolia | 9,200 (1,840) | 5 | 0.01 | |
| The Duelist | Sony | 7,200 (720) | 10 | 0.01 | |
| Anonymous | Archstone | 6,400 (530) | 12 | 0.01 | |
| The Caretaker | Orion | 3,500 (390) | 9 | 0.01 | |
| Pet | Orion | 2,500 (280) | 9 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (January 1 – December 1, 2016) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Box Office | Market Share | |||
| Buena Vista (15) | 2456.2 | 23.90% | |||
| Warner Bros. (23) | 1815.4 | 17.70% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (22) | 1391.3 | 13.60% | |||
| Universal (19) | 1248.5 | 12.20% | |||
| Sony (24) | 855.2 | 8.30% | |||
| Paramount (15) | 754.5 | 7.40% | |||
| Lionsgate (26) | 560.1 | 5.50% | |||
| Focus (12) | 189.9 | 1.80% | |||
| STX (6) | 175.8 | 1.70% | |||
| Open Road (8) | 96.7 | 0.95% | |||
| Weinstein Co. (10) | 59.7 | 0.60% | |||
| A24 (11) | 58.1 | 0.55% | |||
| Other * (375) | 595.2 | 5.80% | |||
| 10256.6 | 100.00% | ||||
| * none greater than 0.45% | |||||
| Top Global Grossers (January 1 – December 1, 2016) | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Box Office | |||
| Captain America: Civil War | BV | 1,152,485,135 | |||
| Zootopia | BV | 1,022,935,733 | |||
| Finding Dory | BV | 1,027,039,851 | |||
| The Jungle Book | BV | 965,813,980 | |||
| The Secret Life of Pets | Uni | 874,474,223 | |||
| Batman v Superman | WB | 869,781,622 | |||
| Deadpool | Fox | 782,612,155 | |||
| Suicide Squad | WB | 742,709,679 | |||
| Star Wars: The Force Awakens * | BV | 741,421,311 | |||
| Doctor Strange | BV | 623,046,360 | |||
| The Mermaid | Alibaba; Sony | 552,537,068 | |||
| X-Men: Apocalypse | Fox | 544,470,521 | |||
| The Revenant | Fox | 532,077,984 | |||
| Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | WB | 522,889,005 | |||
| Kung Fu Panda 3 | Fox; Dreamworks | 519,910,674 | |||
| Warcraft | Uni; Legend | 437,925,899 | |||
| Jason Bourne | Uni | 415,883,537 | |||
| Ice Age: Collision Course | Fox | 407,268,056 | |||
| Independence Day: Resurgence | Fox | 386,950,728 | |||
| The Legend of Tarzan | WB | 354,786,485 | |||
| The Angry Birds Movie | Sony | 349,779,543 | |||
| Star Trek Beyond | Par | 343,951,633 | |||
| Now You See Me 2 | Lionsgate | 335,367,064 | |||
| The Conjuring 2 | WB | 319,315,443 | |||
| Alice Through the Looking Glass | BV | 299,358,565 | |||
| * Does not include 2015 box office | |||||
