By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
The box office went unseasonal as Moana ascended to the top of the charts with an estimated $55.6 million debut for the three-day portion of the Thanksgiving holiday. Three other wide releases made the turkey trot debut, with OK response for the World War II espionage thriller Allied, which grossed $12.7 million. Bad Santa 2 had a paucity of Christmas cheer with a $6 million bow and Howard Hughes-inspired Rules Don’t Apply was decidedly elusive with a $1.6 million tally.
Exclusive incomers saw good initial response for the emotionally charge Lion of $123,000 at four sites and a $62,400 opener for the politically resonant Miss Sloane on three screens. The session also featured continued slow roll outs for Loving, Manchester By the Sea and Nocturnal Animals that maintained their respective awards momentum.
Among foreign-language day-and-date releases, Bollywood served up the Hindi Dear Zindagi with an excellent $1 million box office ($5 million in India), while Telugu Jayammu Nischayammu Raa pancaked with a grim $12,600 gross. The latest Filipino romcom, The Unmarried Wife, was on solid footing with a $240,000 launch.
Weekend revenues inched toward $190 million and flipped up 14% from seven days earlier. Box office was flat with 2015 when the second weekend of The Hunger Games finale led with $52 million and freshmen The Good Dinosaur and Creed followed with $39.1 million and $29.6 million.
Domestic box office surpassed the $10 billion benchmark on Thursday. In 2015 that threshold was reached December 5.
Culling from Polynesian myth, Moana received upbeat critical response and got a headstart on the weekend with a two-day box office of $25.6 million. Applying the Disney formula to an unfamiliar cultural background seemed poignant for the current zeitgeist and hummable songs were an asset. The film was not overly distaff with studio exit polls identifying viewers as 55% female with 58% age 25 and younger. Roughly 72% identified as families.
The film also opened in 12 international territories to an estimated $16 million, with China supplying about $12 million of the total. The closest territory culturally to the material was Indonesia, with a $700,000 debut. On the domestic front, the movie over-indexed in Hawaii by 220%, per a studio spokesman.
Recalling the likes of Notorious and Casablanca, Allied was abetted by movie star chemistry in its launch (and yellow-sheet headlines). Its core crowd appeared to be TCM devotees with an audience that was 51% male with 85% aged 25 and older. It also debuted in 23 foreign climes (largely European) to about $9.4 million. The Free French said “oui” with $2.8 million and allied UK provided $1.6 million.
The Miramax library got dusted with the resurrection of the 2003 vintage Bad Santa going the update route. Apart from the cast, the original creative team was supplanted by newcomers and the critical response was they didn’t get the joke. Exit demos were unavailable at press deadline… ho, ho, ho.
Warren Beatty has toyed and struggled with a Howard Hughes movie back to the early 1970s (Warner Bros. announced a production start back in 1976). Rules Don’t Apply has the reclusive millionaire as a sidebar to a 1950s Hollywood romance and that proved out of step to contemporary audiences. Following on the abject rejection of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, the two films are vying for the ignominious title of 2016’s worst major talent missteps. Rules’ viewers were 55% female with 85% aged 25 and older.
Weekend (estimates) November 25 – 27, 2016 | |||||
Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
Moana | BV | 55.6 (14,350) | NEW | 3875 | 81.2 |
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | WB | 45.2 (10,900) | -39% | 4144 | 156.3 |
Doctor Strange | BV | 13.4 (4,460) | -25% | 3008 | 205.1 |
Allied | Par | 12.7 (4,020) | NEW | 3160 | 17.7 |
Arrival | Par | 11.2 (4,580) | -8% | 2442 | 62.3 |
Trolls | Fox | 10.4 (3,120) | -41% | 3322 | 135.2 |
Bad Santa 2 | Broad Green | 6.0 (2,060) | NEW | 2920 | 8.9 |
Hacksaw Ridge | Lionsgate/ Elevation | 5.4 (2,330) | -19% | 2332 | 52.2 |
Almost Christmas | Uni | 5.7 (3,210) | -21% | 1769 | 34.8 |
The Edge of Seventeen | STX/VVS | 2.9 (1,510) | -38% | 1945 | 10.3 |
Loving | Focus | 1.7 (3.970) | 92% | 421 | 4 |
Rules Don’t Apply | Fox | 1.6 (660) | NEW | 2382 | 2.1 |
Moonlight | A24 | 1.3 (2,060) | -15% | 618 | 8.6 |
Manchester By the Sea | Roadside Attractions | 1.2 (25,620) | 380% | 48 | 1.6 |
The Accountant | WB | 1.1 (1,940) | -50% | 556 | 83.3 |
Dear Zindagi | Big Pitures | 1.0 (6,730) | NEW | 153 | 1.4 |
Bleed for This | Open Road | .89 (570) | -62% | 1549 | 4.2 |
Nocturnal Animals | Focus | .81 (6,380) | 64% | 127 | 1.7 |
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back | Par | .36 (1,050) | -64% | 345 | 57.4 |
Boo! A Medea Halloween | Lionsgate | .35 (1,030) | -69% | 339 | 72.8 |
The Eagle Huntress | Sony Classics | .26 (4,110) | 44% | 64 | 0.91 |
The Unmarried Wife | ABS | .24 (4,740) | NEW | 51 | 0.24 |
Shut In | Europa/VVS | .23 (840) | -85% | 277 | 6.7 |
The Girl on the Train | Uni | .22 (1,190) | -62% | 187 | 74.9 |
The Secret Life of Pets | Uni | .21 (1,010) | -8% | 209 | 367.8 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $178.10 | ||||
% Change (Last Year) | 0% | ||||
% Change (Last Week) | 14% | ||||
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk | Sony | .19 (160) | -79% | 1176 | 1.6 |
Lion | Weinstein Co. | .12 (30,770) | 4 | 0.12 | |
A Man Called Ove | Music Box | .12 (1,450) | -52% | 81 | 3.1 |
Elle | Sony Classics | .12 (3,330) | -5% | 36 | 0.4 |
The Handmaiden | Magnolia | 78,500 (1,450) | -42% | 54 | 1.6 |
I Am Not Madame Bovary | Well Go | 72,200 (2,670) | -60% | 27 | 0.36 |
Miss Sloane | Europa | 62,400 (20,800) | 3 | 0.06 | |
Seasons | Music Box | 37,500 (2,880) | 13 | 0.04 | |
Jayammu Nischayammu Raa | Sakhti Ent. | 12,600 (310) | 41 | 0.01 | |
Always Shine | Osilloscope | 4,900 (2,450) | 2 | 0.01 | |
Mifune: The Last Samurai | Strand | 4,200 (4,200) | 1 | 0.01 | |
Evolution | IFC | 3,700 (1,850) | 2 | 0.01 | |
Domestic Market Share (January 1 – November 24, 2016) | |||||
Distributor (releases) | Box Office | Market Share | |||
Buena Vista (15) | 2367.5 | 23.70% | |||
Warner Bros. (23) | 1738.5 | 17.40% | |||
20th Century Fox (22) | 1373 | 13.70% | |||
Universal (19) | 1239.2 | 12.40% | |||
Sony (24) | 854.3 | 8.60% | |||
Paramount (15) | 718.1 | 7.20% | |||
Lionsgate (26) | 550.4 | 5.50% | |||
Focus (12) | 185.7 | 1.90% | |||
STX (6) | 171.1 | 1.70% | |||
Open Road (7) | 95.1 | 0.95% | |||
Weinstein Co. (9) | 59.6 | 0.60% | |||
A24 (11) | 56.2 | 0.55% | |||
Other * (372) | 580.6 | 5.80% | |||
9989.3 | 100.00% | ||||
* none greater than 0.45% | |||||
Top Limited Releases (January 1 – November 24, 2016) | |||||
Title | Distributor | Box Office | |||
Eye in the Sky | Bleecker/eOne | 18,704,595 | |||
Hello, My Name is Doris | Roadside Attractions | 14,444,999 | |||
Love & Friendship | Roadside Attractions | 14,016,568 | |||
Hillary’s America | D’Souza Media | 13,099,931 | |||
The Light Between Oceans | BV | 12,581,941 | |||
No Manhes Frida | Lionsgate | 11,578,242 | |||
Café Society | Lionsgate/Mongrel | 11,185,091 | |||
The Lady in the Van | Sony Classics | 10,021,175 | |||
The Lobster | A24/Mongrel | 9,151,790 | |||
Catol * | Weinstein Co. | 8,910,357 | |||
Queen of Katwe | BV | 8,709,834 | |||
A Beautiful Planet | Imax | 7,478,136 | |||
Moonlight | A24/Elevation | 6,985,105 | |||
The Danish Girl * | Focus | 6,607,578 | |||
Southside with You | Roadside Attractions | 6,304,223 | |||
Sultan | Yash Raj | 6,197,181 | |||
Captain Fantastic | Bleecker Street/eOne | 5,878,408 | |||
Hunt for the Wilderpeople | Orchard | 5,205,471 | |||
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie | Fox Searchlight | 4,761,241 | |||
Kabali | CineGalaxy | 4,677,244 | |||
* Does not include 2015 box office |