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NEW YORK-The Freddie Mercury biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" and 20th Century Fox are-for now, at least-champions of the world.
"Bohemian Rhapsody," starring Rami Malek as the late Queen frontman, "shrugged off production troubles and mediocre", and another 72.5 million internationally, according to studio estimates Sunday. That was well
beyond expectations, which had pegged the film closer to 35-40 million in its opening weekend.
But hearings rushed to theaters to see the popular praised performance by Malek, the "Mr. Robot "star, and to hear Queen's foot-stomping anthems like" We are the Champions, "" Another One Bites the Dust "and the operatic title song. The movie Bryan Singer directed before being
by Dexter Fletcher, at times has an almost concert-like feel, including a lengthy re-creation of the band's 1985 Live Aid performance.
"It really is a celebration of Queen and their music, and I think we did a great job of letting people know that's what this is," said Chris Aronson, chief distributor for Fox.
In soaring to No. 1, the Fox release from one of Disney, which will soon own the studio. Despite a budget production of $ 125 million, the Walt Disney Co.'s lavish, big-budget "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms" opened with just $ 20 million. Disney is set to merge with Fox in the coming months, effectively ending the 103-year-old Fox, one of Hollywood's six major studios.
"We were hoping for a stronger start, but we do think it's a movie that," said Cathleen Taff, head of theatrical distribution for Disney.
Disney's record of success is the envy of Hollywood, "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms" marks the third time this year following the underperforming "A Wrinkle in Time" and "Solo." The studio's CGI-stuffed resurrection of E.T.A.
Hoffmann story is an early season release, but flopped with critics (34 percent "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes) and sparked only modest interest from audiences. It grossed 38.5 million overseas.
"Bohemian Rhapsody," made for 52 million, was largely dismissed by critics as an overly biopic rock (60 percent "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes). But the film is more popular with moviegoers, who gave the PG-13 release, produced by Graham King, an A CinemaScore and 4 1/2 stars out of five on the Comscore's PostTrak audience survey.
"Even in the negativity that came out of criticism, there was always a goal, 'almost universally:' But Rami is great, '" noted Aronson. "I'm very happy for Graham and Rami and the entire filmmaking team. And I'm happy for the home team. This is a big win for Fox. "
Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst for Comscore, praised Fox's rollout of the film as "pitch perfect." Dergarabedian also cited Malek's breakout big-screen performance and the endowment of all things musical at the box office.
Musical based movies have been major draws in theaters, from Fox's own "The Greatest Showman" earlier in the year to Warner Bros. 'Oscar favorite' A Star Is Born, "which collected another 11.1 million in its fifth weekend for 165.6 million overall .
"It seems that audiences can not get enough of movies that have music baked into their DNA," Dergarabedian said. "That's proving to be a very successful formula."
Another winning formula – Tiffany Haddish plus anything – came up short over the weekend.
"Nobody's Fool," which was paired with another box office writer-director-producer Tyler Perry, opened in third with a so-so 14 million. While 19 million to make, the muted performance of "Nobody's Fool" seemed likely to result from oversaturation.
Two films starring Haddish- "Night School" and "The Oath" -have opened in the past six weeks, and "Night School" is still No. 12 at the box office.
In limited release, Joel Edgerton's acclaimed gay conversion therapy drama "Erased Boy," starring Lucas Hedges, opened with a strong per-theater average of 44,000 in five theaters.
Matthew Heineman's "A Private War," starring Rosamund Pike as war correspond Marie Colvin, opened in four theaters with a per-theater average of 18,000.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.
1. "Bohemian Rhapsody," 50 million (72.5 million international)
2. "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms," 20 million (38.5 million international)
3. "Nobody's Fool," 14 million (265,000 international)
4. "A Star Is Born," 11.1 million (13.9 million international)
5. "Halloween," 11 million (18.3 million international)
6. "Venom," 7.9 million (15.6 million international)
7. "Smallfoot," 3.8 million (12.1 million international)
8. "Goosebumps 2," 3.7 million (9 million international)
9. "Hunter Killer," 3.5 million (3.3 million international)
10. "The Hate U Give," 3.4 million
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