By Chris Kavan - 12/09/19 at 12:12 AM CT
It was a tale of two animated stories this week. While Disney's Frozen II continued to post impressive numbers - and push the studio to new heights, STX had a much different story with Playmobil, which fell well outside the top 10. In fact, the top five this weekend is the exact same as last weekend. I can certainly say that won't be the case next weekend, but for now we can celebrate all the holdovers which continue to drive the box office as the year comes to a close. Disney isn't done yet, either, as they have a few big films still up their sleeves.
1) FROZEN II
Frozen II is just about to become Disney's sixth film of 2019 to hit the $1 billion global mark. For the third weekend in a row, the animated sequel topped the box office with $34.6 million (down about 60%) and giving the film a new domestic total of $337.5 million. That already means the film is the seventh-highest grossing film of 2019 - topping Joker's $332 million and behind Aladdin's $353 million. The film will certainly top $400 million domestic - probably winding up somewhere north of $410 million. But domestic performance is only half the equation, on the international front, with China ($104 million), South Korea ($75 million) and Japan ($55 million) leading the way, it has already hit $90.2 million for the weekend and $582 million total. That gives it a global total just over $919 million, with $1 billion clearly in its sights. Depending on how big is continues to play, $1.2 billion is not out of the question. Thanks to the strong performance of Frozen II, including a record $38.6 million animated IMAX showing, Disney became the first studio ever to top $10 billion for the year. With Star Wars still on the way, it will be interesting to see just how high Disney can wind up.
2)
KNIVES OUT
Rian Johnson's excellent murder mystery took the second place spot once again. With $14.1 million (down just over 47%), Knives Out hit $63.4 million on the domestic front. That is a better hold than Creed (49%) back in 2015 and speaks the strength of the strong cast and whip-smart story. It is also doing well overseas, where it has hit $60.6 million, for a total global tally just under the $125 million mark. It's stilling in decent position to hit at least $80 million domestic and maybe, just maybe, earn some nods come awards season. Nominations at the least, hopefully, as I found this to be a great experience - and a lot of fun - in the theater.
3)
FORD V FERRARI
It's going to be tight race for third place, but, by a very slim margin at this time, Ford v. Ferrari has the edge over Queen & Slim with $6.537 million - a dip of 50.4% and giving the well-received biopic a new $91.1 million total. $100 million is now within striking distance for the awards-season hopeful. It has also earned a tidy $76.5 million overseas and its global total has hit $167.6 million. After four weeks, this one is still holding up remarkably well and just goes to show that if you have a film for adults, that adults like, longevity is a pretty good guarantee.
4)
QUEEN & SLIM
A mere $7000 is all that separates Queen & Slim from Ford v. Ferrari, as the modern day Bonnie and Clyde (or Thelma and Louise) took in $6.53 million, dipping 45.1% and giving the film a new $26.89 million total. It hit that first milestone with ease and should finish within the $40 million range. For a movie that seems to target a more limited audience, that result would be just fine in my book.
5)
A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
The second adult-skewing biopic in the top five took a 55.8% hit, but still added $5.2 million to its total, which now stands at $43.1 million. This film is positioned to hit about $55 million total, which is good news for Tom Hanks if he hopes to stay in the awards-season talk. This should stick around for awhile longer - probably through December at least. We'll see if that's enough in the end.
Outside the top five: Playmobil: The Movie was a disaster, opening well outside the top 10 in 14th place with a mere $660,000. STX picked this up from Global Road after their bankruptcy in 2018 - and I'm guessing they probably should have let this go straight to streaming. That opening is the third worst for a film opening in 2000 or more theaters - behind two other animated flops, Delgo and The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure. It also only posted a $282 per-theater average. This one is going to be gone quickly - and may hit $1 million.
Doing better, Dark Waters expanded to over 2000 theaters and fell just outside the top five with $4.1 million in sixth place. The grim film follows corporate attorney Robert Bilott (played by Mark Ruffalo) who spends the better part of a decade uncovering the rampant pollution caused by DuPont. The film also co-stars Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins and Bill Pullman among others. Considering how much of a downer this true story is, this result has to be seen as promising, even if it's not likely to stick around.
Next week brings a huge influx of new films. Jumanji: The Next Level looks to be the biggest of the bunch, but we're also getting two big biopics in Bombshell and Richard Jewel, Adam Sandler's return to drama in Uncut Gems and seasonal horror film with Black Christmas. It's going to make for a crowded box office and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top.
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