Weekend Box Office 12.19.2021

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Weekend Box Office Poster of Top Three Movies
  1. SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME opened in the top spot with a stunning $253M (Million) domestic debut and $587.2M global rollout, bringing the box office up 19% from 2019 when THE RISE OF SKYWALKER led all titles. Breaking it down, this is the third biggest opening weekend ever after AVENGERS: ENDGAME and INFINITY WAR, and the biggest December opening of all-time, besting STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. International is also gigantic, and this does not include China, where the film may or may not still see a release. At a budget of $200M plus marketing, this film will be profitable for Sony, Marvel, and Disney by tomorrow, only the fourth day of domestic release. Even more impressive, this is set to be in the upper-echelon of all Marvel films ever, possibly their third biggest, or second, should it eclipse the total of Infinity War. It will be the biggest Spider-Man film of all-time as well, and will continue to shatter records in the next several days and weeks. 
  2. ENCANTO brought in $6.5M for the weekend, with a domestic total of $81.5M and a worldwide total of $175.4M. Produced for well over $150M plus marketing, this film's financials have always been dependent upon Disney+ where it is scheduled to be released this upcoming week, timed for the Christmas holiday. As such, theatrical is only one component of Disney's metrics, and the animated film's success will additionally be measured by how many viewers watch at home on the studio's streaming service. 
  3. WEST SIDE STORY collapsed at -67.7% to land in third place for the weekend, bringing in just $3.4M. The domestic total is now only $17.9M and worldwide stands at $27M. Produced for $100M plus marketing, this will be a sharp financial loss for 20th Century Studios and Disney, despite a wave of critical praise and award nominations. 
  4. GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE held onto fourth place with $3.4M, a domestic total now of $117.2M, and $173.6M worldwide. Produced for $75M plus marketing, this Sony reboot is still on its way towards profitability, as the family title will enjoy a nice holiday bump and still has some key international runway ahead. A sequel is all but guaranteed at this point, though yet to be made official. 
  5. NIGHTMARE ALLEY opened with a disastrous $2.9M debut. Produced for $60M plus marketing, this will be a significant loss for Searchlight and Disney, and yet another sign of how much trouble adult-skewing titles are in, as the core older demographic has not returned to theaters over the past several months, a trend which will continue well into 2022 and could, troubling enough, hold a lasting and chilling effect on the box office. 
  6. HOUSE OF GUCCI found itself in sixth place this weekend with $1.8M, a domestic total of $44.8M, and $106M worldwide. Produced for $75M plus marketing, this might yet reach break-even range for United Artists Releasing, but much will depend on what happens over the holidays on this prestige star-studded drama. 
  7. PUSHPA: THE RISE - PT. 1 made its debut with $1.3M. They don’t include the numbers out of India sadly (I wish they did!) when these rare crossover films hit domestic. There’s not even a distributor listed, so I suspect the venues were rented out by an independent source. 
  8. ETERNALS continues to hang in there with $1.1M, a domestic total of $163M, and nearly $400M global. As well-documented, at a budget of $200M plus marketing, this is a major financial loss for Marvel and Disney, and the rare black-eye for the MCU brand as a whole, which before NO WAY HOME found itself with three underwhelming titles at the box office between BLACK WIDOW, SHANG-CHI, and ETERNALS -- all of them on the lowest end of Marvel Studios theatrically. Next for the MCU is DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, looking to continue the winning streak brought on by the immense success of Spider-Man. 
  9. CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG earned another $400K, for a domestic total of $48.5M, and nearly $68M worldwide. This is in addition to being the most-watched film ever on the Paramount+ streaming service. A sequel has already been announced. 
  10. 1RESIDENT EVIL: WELCOME TO RACCOON CITY is in the tenth spot for this weekend with $280K, a domestic total of $16.7M, and $31.6M worldwide. Produced for $25M plus marketing, this will be a moderate financial loss for Screen Gems.
  11. This next week will continue to see Spider-Man and pals swing to the top, but the box office will get a further jolt as animated sequel SING 2, WB's sci-fi/action sequel THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS, 20th Century Studios' THE KING'S MAN, Denzel Washington and Michael B. Jordan's drama A JOURNAL FOR JORDAN, and inspirational sports drama AMERICAN UNDERDOG all make their debuts along with the expansion of awards favorite LICORICE PIZZA over the busy and lucrative holiday frame.

    LARRY LASKY
    Twitter: @Larry_Lasky
    Instagram: @Lawrence.Lasky

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