by Conan Simmons – December 6, 2021 – 7:15 pm
The first weekend of the last month of the year and it was a quiet one. A regular three-day weekend as opposed to last weekends extended holiday session means that the numbers are going to look a little funny in terms of percentage changes. Other outlets will tell you a movie made so much on an extended holiday weekend of four or five days (the latter being the case for Thanksgiving) and then compare only three-day totals going forward while obscuring how much a film made in three days out of a four plus weekend. On Genre ain’t going to do that. We reported the extended weekend numbers, and we stick to them. Therefore, the percentage changes are going to look a little steep but it actually levels out to average results overall.
And, as everybody knows but downplays, even the three-day weekend totals include Thursday night showings making them closer to four-day totals realistically.
As expected, the Weekend Box Office Top 5 didn’t change much as to what films landed where with one surprising exception. The musical ‘Christmas with the Chosen: The Messengers’ not only landed in the Top 5, it also came in ahead of Marvel’s ‘Eternals’. Featuring contemporary Christain music from Brandon Lake, Phil Wickham, For King & Country and Maverick City Music, the musical comes as an early holiday surprise flying in under the radar with very niche publicity.
Music is also a major component of Disney’s animated ‘Encanto’ which once again enchanted its way to the top of the weekend box office. Starring the vocal talent of Argentinian born actress Stephanie Beatriz, ‘Encanto’ features songs written by Broadway sensation Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The fantasy comedy ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ stuck in second place as it continues to delight audiences looking for nostalgic entertainment. The Jason Reitman directed flick stars Paul Rudd and McKenna Grace.
Ridley Scott apparently goosed the millennials he blamed for his last movie, ‘The Last Duel’, bombing at the box office as his newest, ‘House of Gucci’, easily retains its spot at third place at the box office. The true crime drama stars Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Irons and Jared Leto as the family of fashion. Look for it to secure some Oscar nominations early next year, especially for Lady Gaga and Jared Leto.
Marvel, of course, couldn’t bet kept out of the Weekend Box Office Top 5 as ‘Eternals’ rounds out the list. In its fifth weekend the comic book superhero flick will finally be challenged to hold on next weekend as new releases heat up cinemas for the remainder of the year. ‘Eternals’ stars Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie and Kumail Nanjiani.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE TOP 5
- ‘Encanto’ – $12.7 million – animated (drop $27.6 million, 68% down)
- ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ – $10.4 million – fantasy (drop $24.9 million, 71% down)
- ‘House of Gucci’ – $6.8 million – drama (drop $15 million, 69% down)
- ‘Christmas with the Chosen: The Messengers’ – $4.1 million – musical (debut)
- ‘Eternals’ – $3.9 million – fantasy (drop $7.5 million, 66% down)
Total for the Weekend Box Office Top 5 comes to $37.9 million. This is a drop of 68%, or $79.7 million down, from last weekends extended holiday total of $117.6 million.
Next Friday Steven Spielberg finally unleashes his remake of the 1961 Best Picture Oscar winner, ‘West Side Story’. It should easily take the top spot for one weekend only and go on to be a major contender at the Academy Awards. Will it end up being heavily nominated with no wins? Stay tuned to find out.
Also, next weekend in limited release will be writer-director Aaron Sorkin’s take on Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in the biopic ‘Being the Ricardos’ starring Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as the Hollywood power couple. It has Oscar buzz but will it runout like ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’?
December 17 is shaping up to be the biggest weekend yet for theaters as Marvel’s team-up with Sony, ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, is already enjoying the biggest presale on tickets since 2019’s ‘Avengers: Endgame’. Will the latest Spidey adventure be boffo at the box office like it’s being hyped up to be?
There will be notable competition that weekend as director Guillermo Del Toro releases his remake of the 1947 film, ‘Nightmare Alley’ starring Bradley Cooper in the role originally played by Tyrone Power.
Finally, Christmas weekend will bring joy to moviegoers by offering a variety of films from the highly anticipated action sequels ‘The Matrix: Resurrections’ and ‘The King’s Man’ to arthouse award contenders like Pedro Almodovar’s ‘Parallel Mothers’ starring Penelope Cruz and director Joel Coen’s take on Shakespeare with ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’ starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand.