‘Wonder Woman 1984’ remains atop the domestic box office



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“Wonder Woman 1984” led the national charts for the third weekend in a row without much competition. The superhero sequel raised $ 3 million between Friday and Sunday, bringing its total in the United States and Canada to $ 32.6 million. Abroad, the film grabbed $ 4.7 million for an international total of $ 98.8 million.

With $ 131 million in global box office revenue, the “Wonder Woman” sequel surpassed most other pandemic-era releases. Still, that doesn’t make up for the film’s hefty $ 200 million production budget, which means Gal Gadot’s latest DC hero outing will almost certainly lose money for the studio. Nevertheless, Warner Bros. has already launched a third installment with Gadot and director Patty Jenkins on board. The comic book adaptation was released simultaneously on HBO Max in an effort to support subscribers to the streaming service. It is not known how many HBO Max users watched the film, although the company boasts a record audience. In two weeks, “Wonder Woman 1984” will be removed from HBO Max and it will only be available to watch in theaters until it hits its traditional window of home entertainment. It is expected to return to the streaming platform a few months later.

A surprising bright spot for the Amazon warrior has been Canada, where only 5% of theaters are open and HBO Max is not available. Warners released the film simultaneously in all available theaters and on premium video on demand, a rare strategy that would not have been tolerated by film operators in the pre-pandemic era. Even more unprecedented, the studio has actually leaked tangible digital sales, something no Hollywood studio is willing to share. Canada’s pVOD model generated an additional $ 7.2 million in revenue from online platforms like iTunes and Amazon.

Outside of North America, Disney and Pixar’s “Soul” – which jumped into US theaters to debut on Disney Plus – continues to gain momentum at the international box office. The existential family film raised $ 8.9 million in 11 foreign countries, bringing its total overseas to $ 47.3 million. Chinese cinemas accounted for the bulk of that transport, with $ 36 million in ticket sales coming from the Middle Kingdom alone. It is now the fourth highest grossing Pixar film of all time in China and looks to overtake “Finding Dory” ($ 38.4 million) for third place after “Coco” and “Incredibles 2.”

Without any new national releases, a variety of spinoffs topped the national box office charts. In second place, Universal and DreamWorks “The Croods: A New Age” grossed $ 1.8 million in its seventh week of release for a nationwide total of $ 36.8 million. Internationally, “The Croods” sequel topped $ 90 million after adding $ 5.1 million from 17 overseas countries. Its worldwide transport oscillates at 127 million dollars. The film is currently available on premium video-on-demand platforms as part of an agreement between Universal and major exhibitors such as AMC and Cinemark. Under the deal, the studio can put new titles on digital rental services after 17 days of their theatrical debut. In return, AMC and Cinemark get a share of the profits, and all open theaters have new content to show on the big screen.

Another universal title “News of the World” took third place with $ 1.2 million. The Tom Hanks-directed western drama, directed by Paul Greengrass, premiered on Christmas Day and has raised $ 7 million to date. Netflix has international rights to “News of the World”.

Sony’s thriller “Monster Hunter” grossed $ 1.1 million, enough to clinch fourth place. After a month in theaters, the video game adaptation with Milla Jovovich has generated $ 7.8 million. “Fatale,” a psychological thriller starring Hilary Swank and Michael Ealy, topped the top five with $ 670,000 in its fourth weekend release. This brings his total to $ 4 million.

Focus Features’ revenge thriller “Promising Young Woman” took in $ 560,000 this weekend, sinking to sixth place and taking its total to $ 2.7 million. Much like the sequel to “The Croods” and “News of the World,” the film is part of its parent company Universal’s VOD deal. Directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Carey Mulligan, “Promising Young Woman” hits home entertainment for a premium price starting January 15th.

All in all, this weekend prolongs a difficult time for cinema. With the increase in coronavirus cases, only about 35% of North American theaters are serving customers.



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