By Chris Kavan - 12/15/21 at 01:07 PM CT
It's time for the double dose of ratings an box office and this week is once again weighed heavily on the box office end as, despite a decent list of films, no wide releases are to be seen on the ratings side of things. That being said, there's a fair bit to digest on the box office side, led by the disappointing opening of Steven Spielberg's well-received West Side Story.
Like so many other films that wound up attracting a distinctively adult audience, West Side Story opened well below expectations over the weekend. With predictions in the $20-$25 million range, West Side Story enjoyed some of the best critical reviews of the year (93% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a hit director in Spielberg - but landed with a thud, just clearing $10 million once with a $10.5 million weekend. Adults have shown they are just not ready to return to theaters as they're younger counterparts with films like The Last Duel, The Green Knight and Spencer finding plenty of love with critics, but not much attention from audiences. With a reported $100 million budget, that opening is pretty dismal and if you were thinking maybe international audiences would help - they didn't as West Side Story only took in $4.4 million for a worldwide total of just under $15 million. Now, West Side Story could pull a Greatest Showman - but if the performance of In the Heights is anything to go by... more likely it will play quietly for a few weeks before ungracefully exiting theaters. Time will tell but with excitement building for Spider-Man: No Way Home (which is expected to open to huge numbers next weekend) - I don't know if holiday audiences are going to save this one at all.
The rest of the box office looks unsurprisingly familiar. After two weeks at the top spot, Disney's Encanto settled in to the second-place spot with a nearly $10 million weekend (down a hair over 24%), which gives the animated film a total of just below $72 million, solidifying its place at the year's highest-grossing animated film. It has also added a tidy $80.5 million from overseas giving it a worldwide total of just over $150 million. If any film is poised to do well over the coming weeks (before it arrives on Disney+), Encanto seems like a solid family choice for when the kids get out of school.
In the third-place position, Ghostbusters: Afterlife dipped 31.4% to bring in $7.1 million for a new total of $112 million. Adding in the additional $52.7 million from international audiences and the nostalgic sequel has brought in nearly $165 million worldwide.
In fourth place we find the rare adult drama that has managed to buck the trend with House of Gucci falling 41.3% for a $4.1 million weekend and a new $41 million total. With $52 million overseas the R-rated affair is nearing $100 million worldwide, with a $93 million to date.
Rounding out the top five The Eternals dipped 24.3% and added another $3.1 million for a domestic total of $161.2 million. Adding on the $234.1 from foreign markets, Eternals sits at nearly $400 million worldwide at this point.
The only other new wide release was the sports drama National Champions starring
Alexander Ludwig, J.K. Simmons and Timothy Olyphant. The film didn't attract any attention whatsoever, opening way down in 13th place with just $301,028 in 1,197 for and fumbled with a $251 per-theater average - the worst in the top 20.
In limited release, Red Rocket, starring Simon Rex as a former porn star who returns to his hometown in Texas only to find more trouble, had a nice $96,593 from just six theaters for a solid $16,098 per-theater average. Licorice Pizza continues to be the indie leader, however, scoring a $43,123 average from still just four theaters - why they aren't expanding yet ahead of its Christmas Day wide release is anyone's guess.
Speaking of buzz, Spider-Man: No Way Home is getting almost universally the good kind ahead of its debut and is looking like it's going to amount to a monster opening.
As I said, sadly for this week, despite a long list of new ratings, none of the films involved are of the wide release variety or even a decent specialty streaming option. Thus, I will leave you with but a list once again and hope the future brings better news.
AMERICAN SIEGE
Rated R for violence, language throughout and some drug content.
DOWNFALL: THE CASE AGAINST BOEING
Rated PG-13 for some strong language.
THE DREAMLIFE OF GEORGIE STONE
Rated PG for thematic content.
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Rated R for some violence, sexual material and language.
FOR UNTO US
Rated PG for thematic elements and some violence.
HUDA'S SALON
Rated R for disturbing violent content and graphic nudity.
INVICIBLE
Rated R for violence, language throughout and brief nudity.
THE LEDGE
Rated R for strong violence, crude sexual references, language and some drug use.
MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON
Rated PG for some suggestive material and thematic elements.
PINOCCHIO: A TRUE STORY
Rated PG for brief violence, some peril and brief language.
PUPPY LOVE
Rated R for strong sexual content and drug abuse throughout, nudity, violence including a sexual assault and pervasive language.
PURSUIT
Rated R for violence, disturbing images, language and some drug content.
THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE
Rated PG-13 for language, sexual references and drug use.
WOLF HOUND
Rated R for violence.
