By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle continued at the top of the weekend charts with an estimated $19.7 million. Two newcomers followed with OK launches. 12 Strong — a fire-and-fury saga of the Afghan conflict — grossed $16.3 while the bank heist caper Den of Thieves had a $15.2 million opening. In limited wide, the musical romance Forever My Love bowed with a sentimental $4.5 million.
Revenues for the frame generated about $140 million and slid 13% from last weekend. It was a slight 6% decline from 2017 when debuts of Split and xXx: The Return of Xander Cage led with respective starts of $40 million and $20.1 million.
In the tradition of recent flag wavers 12 Strong gave the big salute to men in service and played well. Definitely tilted toward heroism rather than politics, studio exit polls identified the crowd as 55% male with 79% of viewers aged 25-years and older. Den of Thieves targeted a similar demographic.
In the awards race, Phantom Thread and Call Me by Your Name had major expansions, with both films holding ground against a field with no clear-cut frontrunner. The SAG awards will have observers closely eyeing the prize for ensemble. It’s likely that Lady Bird, The Shape of Water, Darkest Hour and Three Billboards will experience modest commercial flutters rather than sharp turns, and the Oscar bump will be only a blip after nominations morning.
Japan anime hit Mary and the Witch’s Flower had a potent weekend of $410,000 following a special Thursday preview, which brewed up $1.1 million. In Québec. Canada’s foreign-language Oscar submission Hochelaga: terre des âmes bowed with a solid $148,000. Puerto Rican romantic comedy Colao had a strong debut of $127,000 from seven screens. It’s played in the Caribbean for two months and amassed more than $1 million.
Decidedly the marketplace counter-programmer, Forever My Girl delivered an audience that was 78% female with 64% of the audience aged 25 and older.
| Weekend (estimates) January 19 – 21, 2018 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle | Sony | 19.7 (5,320) | -30% | 3704 | 316.7 |
| 12 Strong | WB | 16.3 (5,440) | NEW | 3002 | 16.3 |
| Den of Thieves | STX/VVS | 15.2 (5,070) | NEW | 3002 | 15.2 |
| The Post | Fox | 12.1 (4,250) | -38% | 2851 | 45.1 |
| The Greatest Showman | Fox | 10.8 (3,840) | -13% | 2823 | 113.3 |
| Paddington 2 | WB | 8.2 (2,210) | -26% | 3702 | 25 |
| The Commuter | Lionsgate | 6.7 (2,320) | -51% | 2892 | 25.7 |
| Star Wars: The Last Jedi | BV | 6.5 (2,660) | -45% | 2456 | 604.3 |
| Insidious: The Last Key | Uni | 5.9 (2,330) | -59% | 2546 | 58.7 |
| Forever My Girl | Roadside | 4.5 (4,020) | NEW | 1115 | 4.5 |
| Proud Mary | Sony | 3.7 (1,730) | -63% | 2125 | 17 |
| Phantom Thread | Focus | 3.4 (3,750) | 196% | 896 | 6.2 |
| Pitch Perfect 3 | Uni | 3.1 ((1,750) | -41% | 1772 | 100.6 |
| Darkest Hour | Focus | 3.0 (2,260) | -32% | 1341 | 41.1 |
| I, Tonya | Neon | 2.9 (3,670) | -13% | 799 | 14.6 |
| The Shape of Water | Fox Searchlight | 2.2 (2,590) | -22% | 853 | 30.2 |
| Coco | BV | 1.9 (2,150) | -43% | 878 | 200.7 |
| Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Fox Searchlight | 2.0 (2,120) | -44% | 954 | 32.1 |
| Molly’s Game | STX/eOne | 1.7 (1,580) | -56% | 1091 | 24.4 |
| Ferdinand | Fox | 1.6 (1,350) | -53% | 1212 | 79.1 |
| Call Me By Your Name | Sony Classics | 1.4 (1,770) | 102% | 815 | 9.1 |
| Lady Bird | A24/Elevation | 1.3 (1,900) | -28% | 675 | 39.1 |
| Wonder | Lionsgate | .55 (1,110) | -54% | 496 | 129.9 |
| Mary and the Witch’s Flower | Gkids | .41 (2,760) | NEW | 149 | 1.161 |
| All the Money in the World | Sony | .38 (1,020) | -69% | 374 | 24.1 |
| Hostiles | Entertainment | .36 (7,370) | 32% | 49 | 1.3 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $134.65 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | -6% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | -13% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| The Disaster Artist | A24/Elevation | .19 (1,290) | -59% | 147 | 20.7 |
| Hochelaga, Terre des ames | Seville | .15 (4,630) | 32 | 0.15 | |
| Colao | Caribbean | .13 (18,170) | 7 | 0.13 | |
| Le Trip a trois | Seville | .11 (1,890) | 15% | 57 | 1.7 |
| Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds | Well Go | .10 (4,210) | -48% | 24 | 1.7 |
| The Final Year | Magnolia | 65,200 (2,330) | 28 | 0.07 | |
| A Better Tomorrow 2018 | Media Asia | 61,500 (1,920) | 32 | 0.06 | |
| Ex-File 3 | China Lion | 38,700 (1,840) | -66% | 21 | 0.81 |
| Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool | Sony Classics | 36,700 (2,290) | -13% | 16 | 0.19 |
| Mom and Dad | Momentum | 19,100 (350) | 54 | 0.02 | |
| The Road Movie | Oscilloscope | 16,700 (1,120) | 15 | 0.02 | |
| Beuys | Kino | 9,500 (4,750) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Small Town Crime | Saban | 7,900 (790) | 10 | 0.01 | |
| A Ciambra | IFC | 7,100 (7,100) | 1 | 0.01 | |
