The Weekend Report

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle took top spot for the holiday frame with an estimated $27.1 million. Not far behind with $18.6 million was The Post that went wide after three weeks in exclusives. (All figures reflect 3-day figures; chart will be updated tomorrow). Three national debuts opened respectably. Ticking-clock The Commuter landed third with $13.2 million while family-targeted Paddington 2 cuddled up to $10.5 million. Proud Mary, advertised as kin of John Cassavetes’ 1980 thriller Gloria, bowed to $9.8 million.

The Weekend Report

Unlike Blade Runner 2049 moviegoers were undeterred that they hadn’t seen 1995’s Jumanji (both were box office disappointments at the time of their respective releases) and put its sequel Welcome to the Jungle on top of the weekend chart with an estimated $36.1 million. The session’s sole new wide release – from a more vigorous franchise – Insidious: The Last Key was close behind with a $29.2 million debut.

With the Golden Globes hours away, a number of titles did strategic expansions including such contenders as Darkest Hour, I, Tonya and Molly’s Game. The trio maintained strong commercial momentum.

The Weekend Report 4-Day Chart

The 4-day holiday doesn’t vary much from expectations set in the 3-day estimates, aside from Pitch Perfect 3 being softer and All The Money In The World, Molly’s Game and Darkest Hour being stronger. It’s all within a couple percentage points and not really a story to worry about on New Year’s Day.

The Weekend Report

The final weekend of 2017 was a horse race between Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle with the former grossing an estimated $52.7 million and the latter close behind with $50.9 million. There were no new national releases but All the Money in the World and Molly’s Game had their first full weekends, with the poker opus surprisingly strong in its limited wide exposure.

The Weekend Report

Star Wars: The Last Jedi dominated with an estimated $68.8 million box office for the three-day portion of the weekend (all figures reflect three-day grosses). Five new movies leapt into the holiday melee to mixed results.

The Weekend Report

Four decades have not tarnished the Star Wars universe as The Last Jedi debuts domestically with an estimated $219.6 million. More than three of every four tickets sold this past weekend were spent on the eighth installment of the series. Efforts to counterprogram put Ferdinand, the animated bull, in the ring, where he landed a distant second with $13.3 million.

There were no significant exclusive debuts but previously limited titles had significant expansions. Wonder Wheel added 489 playdates and fizzled with a $460,000 box office. Slow rollouts of awards contenders The Shape of Water, Darkest Hour and Call Me by Your Name maintained strong five-figure averages.

The Weekend Report

It was a Coco three-peat as the animation led weekend biz with an estimated $18.5 million in a not-terribly festive frame. In one of the lowest-attended weekends of 2017, the sole new national opener was Just Getting Started, at tenth with $3.2 million.

The national expansion of The Disaster Artist laughed up $6.4 million. Also continuing slow roll-outs were Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.  Among exclusives, I, Tonya pulled off the box office equivalent of a triple axel with a $248,000 debut from four rinks.

The Weekend Report

Coco led the session with an estimated $26.2 million. The first weekend of December has traditionally been one of the lowest grossing of the calendar, so a lack of new national releases wasn’t unexpected.

Exclusive newcomers were ablaze, with Wonder Wheel, the latest from Woody Allen, circling $142,000 from five locales. The Disaster Artist laughed out a $1.2 million box office from 19 rooms. And Venice best-picture winner The Shape of Water flowed to $163,000 from just two movie palaces. Significant expansions of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Lady Bird bolstered award campaigns for both.

The Weekend Report

Coco prevailed at the Thanksgiving movie feast with an estimated $49.3 million for the weekend and a 5-day gross of $71.5 million. The session’s other national newcomer was the legal eagle Roman J. Israel, Esq. with $4.5 million that ranked ninth.

The Weekend Report

The righteous prevailed as Justice League dominated the marketplace with an estimated $95.6 million debut. Counterprogramming still proved effective with Wonder charting second with a potent $27.1 million and inspirational animated The Star grossing $9.8 million.

Exclusives were led by Roman J. Israel, Esq., which launched at four locations to $64,700 prior to a wide expansion Wednesday. Expansions of Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri sizzled as early favorites in an awards season that’s just starting.

The Weekend Report

Thor: Ragnarok rocked and yokked to the top once more with an estimated $57.3 million. A pair of new national releases started out well: Daddy’s Home 2 took with $29.7 million while the remake of Murder on the Orient Express came into the station with $28.3 million.

The Weekend Report

Marvel Studios has its best off-summer opening by a large margin with Thor: Ragnarok. When everyone is following their zig, they zag. (Universal should partner on a Hulk movie. There is too much money in play not to consider it.) A Bad Moms Christmas made a number of mistakes on its way to theaters (including opening an adult Christmas movie on November 3), but $21.5m at the end of opening weekend is only a little off the original, which did five times its opening. Lady Bird delivered the biggest per-screen opening of 2017, just shy of $100k. One of the three or four likely Best Picture nominees at this late date, it delivered appropriately.

The Weekend Report

There was no puzzling as the debut of Jigsaw ascended to the top of the weekend with an estimated $16.2 million. Two other films bowed nationally to dismal results in a depressed marketplace. Thank You for Your Service — a story of returning soldiers from Iraq — opened to $3.7 million while the Coens-penned comedy Suburbicon fled with $2.8 million.

The Weekend Report

Amid more tricks than treats the debut of Boo 2! A Madea Halloween emerged as box office leader with an estimated $21.6 million. Four other national releases struggled and sputtered for attention. Audiences were cool to Geostorm’s global warming maelstrom which grossed $13.3 million and were frigid to based-on-fact Only the Brave about doomed firefighters that opened to $5.9 million. It didn’t help that the director of The Snowman — based on the Jo Nesbø bestseller — disowned the film, which sank with $3.4 million. The faithful departed from Same Kind of Different from Me, with had a $2.6 million box office.

The Weekend Report

The confluence of a Friday the 13th debut and the upcoming All Hallows Eve celebrations propelled Happy Death Day to the top of weekend viewing with an estimated $26.5 million. The session’s other wide release, actioner The Foreigner, slotted third with $12.8 million.

The Weekend Report

Blade Runner 2049 dominated weekend moviegoing, hovering at $31.4 million. Two other national releases opened as counterprogramming, with mountain survival drama The Mountain Between Us providing an effective $10.2 million. Less assured was a My Little Pony movie that whinnied up $8.7 million. In limited wide, inspirational canine The Stray impounded limited bow-wow with a $630,000 launch.

The Weekend Report

In the year’s biggest nail-biter, three films vied for top position in the weekend sweepstakes. Photo-finish results favor It with an estimated $17.2 million. In close proximity Kingsman: The Golden Circle and the debut of American Made follow with $17.1 million and $17 million.

The Weekend Report

The debut of the intrepid Kingsman: The Golden Circle led weekend movie going with an estimated $38.7 million. The session featured two other national newcomers. The Lego Ninjago Movie ranked third with an animated $20.9 million while the horror potboiler Friend Request had a slow burn of $2.2 million.