‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ to Lead Quiet Post-Thanksgiving Box Office
By Rebecca Rubin
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – After a record-breaking Thanksgiving feast , the domestic box office is getting a little room to breathe.
With little competition, Disney’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet” should easily maintain its reign in North America. If the animated sequel sees a similar hold to the original “Wreck-It Ralph,” it could earn as much as $38 million in its second week of release. That would mark a drop of just 33%, an impressive feat, but one the fantasy adventure could pull off again given the movie’s glowing word of mouth. The Magic Kingdom’s previous Thanksgiving releases, including “Moana” and “Coco,” dropped between 45% and 50% in their sophomore outings. Even if “” makes half of its opening weekend haul of $56 million, it would still bring in a solid $28 million.
“Creed II” will likely nab second place again, and could pocket another $17 million this weekend. Michael B. Jordan stars in the Rocky Balboa spinoff sequel, which earned $34 million during its opening weekend. It amassed $55 million over the five-day Thanksgiving period, ranking as the best debut for a live-action movie during the holiday frame.
The weekend after Thanksgiving is generally slower, and multiplexes won’t see a huge boost in ticket sales until “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” hits theaters on Dec. 14. During the lull, titles like “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” “Robin Hood,” “Green Book,” and “Widows” are hoping to pick up some steam. Though “Crimes of Grindelwald,” the second chapter in the “Harry Potter” prequel series, has already generated $116 million Stateside, it has been struggling to gain the same traction as its predecessor in North America. Meanwhile, Lionsgate’s “Robin Hood” is shaping up to be one of the year’s biggest flops. The latest rendition of the swashbuckling bandit in tights has only collected $23 million worldwide, a potentially disastrous result considering it cost the studio $100 million to make. Universal’s awards hopeful “Green Book” has pocketed $8 million in its two weeks of release, while “Widows” has picked up $26 million in North America and $39 million globally.
Otherwise, the only newcomer to the marquee is “The Possession of Hannah Grace.” Shay Mitchell stars in the R-rated supernatural horror film that is expected to earn $3 million when it launches in over 1,700 venues. Sony’s Screen Gems is distributing, while Broken Road Productions handled production. The movie, which was entirely shot on a small and inexpensive Sony a7s II, carries a $10 million price tag.
At the specialty box office, Fox Searchlight is expanding “The Favourite” to 34 theaters in seven markets including San Francisco, Dallas, Austin, Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago, and Phoenix. Yorgos Lanthimos directed the absurdist period drama that launched last weekend with $420,000. That scored “The Favourite” the best screen average ($105,600) in two years. It is set in the early 18th century and centers on the drama between two cousins (Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone) jockeying to be court favourites during the reign of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman).
