While New Year’s Eve is typically a better moviegoing day than Christmas Eve, business was still down yesterday at -27% from Friday for all movies. That’s a similar decline to last weekend’s Friday-to-Christmas Eve (-26%). However, New Year’s Eve made more than Christmas Eve, $27.9M to $22.2M. Moviegoing is expected to be +19% on New Year’s Day today, and there will be an extra cushion in Monday, Jan. 2, as many typically have off in honor of the Sunday holiday. Per our sources, weather wasn’t an issue this weekend.
Disney/20th/Lightstorm’s Avatar: The Way of Water did $18M yesterday, taking its running total to $400M. Revised 3-day is $63.4M (+2% from last weekend, great), and 4-day is $82.4M, for a new domestic cume by EOD Monday of $440.5M. If those Disney estimates stick, Avatar 2 will be $400K shy of Rogue One‘s running total through its first 18 days. It took Rogue One another two weeks before it crossed the half billion mark stateside, the pic’s final total being $532.1M.
Through end of Sunday, Disney is reporting a $1.37 billion running global total for Avatar 2. Also by Monday, the 3D spectacle will pass the running domestic box office of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($439.6M). By hitting $400M yesterday, Avatar 2 officially becomes the third Disney title to cross that threshold after Black Panther 2 and Doctor Strange 2 for 2022.
Rivals got excited and over-forecasted Avatar 2 for the 3-day and 4-day stretch, believing Saturday would be a $19.6M-$19.8M day. Again, today and Monday could put the James Cameron-directed, Jon Landau-produced sequel back on course to wild money.
Imax auditoriums added $8.4M to this weekend’s gross, -6% from last weekend, and repping 13.2% of 3-day ticket sales. Imax has racked up $55.3M from Avatar 2 so far in North America.
Sony’s A Man Called Otto at four NYC and LA sites is looking at $60K for the 3-day ($15K theater average) and a 4-day of $75K.
The second weekend of United Artists Releasing’s Women Talking at 8 sites did $42K, +3%, with a 4-day of $53K and running total of $159K. Next weekend, the Sarah Polley-directed drama goes to 30 runs in ten markets, with another expansion on Jan. 13. The pic is 89% certified fresh with critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with an 88% audience score. Polley’s screenplay and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score are up for Golden Globes on Tuesday, Jan. 10.
The rest of the weekend is as follows:
1) Avatar: The Way of Water (Dis/20th) 4,202 theaters, Fri $24.4M (+27%), Sat $18M Sun $21M Mon $18.95M 3-day $63.4M (+2%)/4-day $82.4M/Total: $440.5M/ Wk 3
2) Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Uni) 4,121 (+22) theaters, Fri $6.5M (+70%) Sat $4.66M Sun $5.1M Mon $5.4M 3-day $16.3M (+31%), 4-day $21.7M/Total $66.1M/Wk 2
3) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Dis) 2,310 (+60) theaters, Fri $1.82M (+82%) Sat $1.3M Sun $1.7M Mon $1.67M 3 day $4.83M (+38%)/4-day $6.5M/Total $439.6M/Wk 8
4) I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Sony) 3,625 theaters, Fri $1.46M (-27%) Sat $1.22M Sun $1.59M Mon $1.15M 3-day $4.25M (-11%) 4-day $5.4M/Total $16MWk 2
5) Babylon (Par) 3,351 (+8) theaters Fri $935K (-36%) Sat $730K Sun $1.06M Mon $900K 3-day $2.7M (-24%) 4-day $3.6M/Total $11M/Wk 2
6) Violent Night (Uni) 2,563 (+1) Fri $820K Sat $560K Sun $750K Mon $540K 3-day $2.1M (-39%) 4-day $2.67M Total $48M/Wk 5
7) The Whale (A24) 623 (+20) theaters, Fri $491,5K (+64%), Sat $372,9K Sun $466,1K Mon $419,5K 3-day $1.33M (+28%) 4-day $1.75M Total $6.2M/Wk 4
8) Fabelmans (Uni/Amb) 1,149 (+27) theaters, Fri $320K (+157%) Sat $400K Sun $420K Mon $360K 3 day $1.14M (+53%), 4-day $1.5M Total $12.5M/Wk 8
9)The Menu (Sea) 860 (+20) theaters, Fri $386K (+121%) Sat $279K Sun $405K Mon $330K 3-day $1.07M (+58%) 4-Day $1.4M Total $36.4M/Wk 7
10.) Strange World (Dis) 1,240 (-150) theaters, Fri $201K (+39%) Sat $157K Sun $180K Mon $209K 3-day $538K (+30%), 4-day $747K, Total $37.2M/Wk 6