By Chris Kavan - 11/17/19 at 11:04 PM CT
The box office continues to serve up surprises, both in the good news and bad news department. The good news is that Ford v Ferrari opened up bigger than expected and, in doing so, becomes one of the first true Oscar contenders of the season. It was also good news for Joker, which finally topped the $1 billion mark worldwide. On the flip side, the continuation of Charlie's Angels was a non-starter as it joins the likes of Terminator: Dark Fate and Doctor Sleep in franchise flops. They aren't the first and they certainly won't be the last - something tells me Frozen II is going to break that curse.
1) FORD V FERRARI
This racing drama was positioned to be the top draw over the weekend, but even generous expectations didn't predict its $31 million opening. Led by Matt Damon and Christian Bale (as car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles), the film follows the two men as they attempt to design a car for the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans that has been dominated by Ferrari. Despite corporate interference, a crushing time table and the interesting problem of physics, the duo are determined to pull off this seemingly impossible feat. Add in a killer supporting cast (Jon Bernthal, Josh Lucas, Ray McKinnon, Caitriona Balfe and Noah Jupe among them) and it's little wonder the film also earned an "A+" Cinemascore from audiences. Men made up 62% of said audience with 79% coming in age 25 or older. Unlike the grim adult fare that has been offered up as of late, Ford v Ferrari is purely fun as we watch the underdogs take down the upstarts, relying on nothing but pure grit and determination. It's also the first Fox film under the Disney umbrella to be a smashing success - something both Fox and Disney sorely needed, and hopefully means good things for both companies going forward. The film added an extra $21.4 million overseas. While there is plenty of competition on the way, Ford v Ferrari is still positioned to be the adult choice in theaters for the near future.
2)
MIDWAY
Holding on to the second-place position by a thin margin (2-4 could all switch various places once the final numbers are delivered Monday) Midway dipped 51% - a bigger drop than expected, but probably right in line with how Ford v Ferrari over-performed - and added $8.75 million to its total, which now stands at $35.14 million. This sets up the Roland Emmerich war film to finish right around the $50 million range on the domestic front. While those numbers are not exactly going to blow anyone away, the result should be good enough (with the international markets thrown in) to make the film profitable in the end - which is a lot better than you can say for most of the other films in the top 10 this week. This one should leg it out through the rest of November at least, so we'll see how the final numbers stack up.
3)
CHARLIE'S ANGELS
Joining the likes of Terminator: Dark Fate and Doctor Sleep, the new version of Charlie's Angels (featuring Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska) couldn't attract audiences on its IP. With just $8.6 million - coming in under even the most modest of expectations - these Angels were a big miss. McG's two previous Charlie's Angels films opened with $37 million and $40 million - going on to earn $259 million and $264 million respectively. This new version will be lucky to limp to $25 million domestic. Just because a studio thinks an IP will have success does not mean it will have success - Rambo, Terminator, Doctor Sleep - all crashed down because audience interest just wasn't there - even good reviews can't save apathy. Charlie's Angels did earn a "B" Cinemascore from the audience who did show up (61% female with 55% coming in 25 or older) but even the reasonable $48 million budget may be out of reach, what with the marketing and the like thrown in. I don't even think a decent international rollout is going to save this one, thus the IP curse strikes again.
4)
PLAYING WITH FIRE
The current family-friendly option had a decent hold in its second weekend, dipping a light 33% and adding $8.55 million to its total, which has now hit $25.5 million. With just a little help overseas (it has $4.5 million and counting), this $30 million picture is going to be profitable in the end - though it's chances at retaining an audience are going to drop precipitously next weekend when both Frozen II and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood drop. Still, for a silly fire-house romp involving a bunch of buff, burly men and rambunctious kids - it's doing about as well as can be expected.
5)
LAST CHRISTMAS
After an underwhelming debut last weekend, Last Christmas took a 41% hit, for a $6.7 million weekend a new $22.58 million total. It's global tally isn't much better - with $35.5 million worldwide. The film will likely fall short of $40 million domestic at this point, and with little overseas help this is probably going to be a miss for Paul Feig and company.
Outside the top five: The other new wide release, The Good Liar, starring Ian McKellen as an aged grifter and Helen Mirren as his new mark, opened in 7th place and within expectations with $5.65 million. It earned a "B" Cinemascore from an audience that was 60% female and 85% 35 or older. If it can continue to play well to adult audiences it might stick around for awhile longer.
In the big milestone news of the weekend, Joker officially hit $1 billion worldwide - becoming the first R-rated film to hit that mark. It is also only the third film of all time to hit that milestone and not open in China (along with The Dark Knight and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest). Its domestic total of $322.6 million tops the likes of Lord of the Ring: Fellowship of the Ring ($313 million), Thor: Ragnarok ($315 million) and Iron Man ($318 million). Its $1.017 billion worldwide also tops the total for The Dark Knight ($1.004 billion) moving up to 43rd all time on that list.
Next week Frozen II looks to dominate the box office, while we are also going to get the crime thriller 21 Bridges and the Mr. Rogers biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.
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