| No | Movie Title | Weekend Gross | Overall Gross | Week # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abominable | $20,850,000 | $20,850,000 | 1 |
| 2 | Downton Abbey | $14,500,000 | $58,509,850 | 2 |
| 3 | Hustlers | $11,470,000 | $80,634,711 | 3 |
| 4 | It: Chapter Two | $10,400,000 | $193,911,049 | 4 |
| 5 | Ad Astra | $10,143,000 | $35,525,600 | 2 |
| 6 | Rambo: Last Blood | $8,575,000 | $33,150,810 | 2 |
| 7 | Judy | $3,091,417 | $3,091,417 | 1 |
| 8 | Good Boys | $2,010,000 | $80,379,855 | 7 |
| 9 | The Lion King | $1,603,000 | $540,025,662 | 11 |
| 10 | Angel Has Fallen | $1,535,000 | $67,184,033 | 6 |
I know we all felt a little uneasy when a group of snooty Brits conquered our North American box office last weekend. So we are all breathing a patriotic sigh of relief because Abominable, an animated feature about a furry, lovable monster, has conquered Downton Abbey and rightfully banished it from the top of the charts. Take it back across the pond, ya punks!
Abominable from Dreamworks did quite well this weekend, bringing in nearly $21 million. While those aren’t Pixar numbers, they’re pretty impressive and give the film a good start before it opens ever wider overseas. It’s a tale set in Asia so it will be relying on China a lot and will probably do quite well over there. It’ll also probably continue to do well stateside, it’s good counter-programming for the crowded, adult-aimed box office. Kids will drag their parents to see it and mom and dad will just be happy they aren’t ponying up cash to see The Lion King for the fifth time.
An interesting and somewhat sad note is that Abominable is only the third original title to launch at the top of the box office in 2019 (the others being Us and Good Boys). It’s no surprise to hear that sequels still rule the day.
The rest of this weekend’s box office was pretty predictable. Downton Abbey continued to bring in solid business and dropped to number two. Hustlers keeps hustling, only losing 32% of its audience in week three. That movie has some serious legs and seems to have been released at the perfect time. The Jennifer Lopez Oscar buzz lives on! It: Chapter Two and Ad Astra are also sticking around for awhile as they duke it out for fourth and fifth place. While It’s $193 million is nothing to sneeze it, it’s down considerably from the $327 million that It: Chapter One scared up a couple years ago. Still, the movie will definitely cross $200 million and that is undeniably impressive, especially for an R-rated horror film. Kudos to It. God bless Stephen King.
The other big story from this week’s box office is the success of Judy, the Judy Garland biopic starring Renee Zellweger. Sure, the movie only raked in a smidge over $3 million but you have to remember it’s only playing on 461 screens. That’s incredibly impressive and confirms that the movie will likely clean up quite well as it continues to expand. The film has been seen as an awards contender for Zellweger and if audiences keep seeking it out in droves then it’s likely that could be true. The Renee Zellweger Oscar buzz lives on!
While this weekend feels fairly quiet, big things are due next week. A little film called Joker opens on the 4th and is sure to put a huge smile on WB’s face. The movie will easily dethrone Abominable, it’s just a question of by how much. Many are speculating that Joker could break $90 million in its opening weekend which is ridiculous for an R-rated movie but you have to remember the buzz surrounding this film. I think it’s more than possible, I think it’s downright likely. Expect to hear loads and loads of fawning reviews of Joaquin Phoenix’s performance in the days ahead. Joker has a chance to be THE most talked-about film of the year. The Joaquin Phoenix Oscar buzz…well, you know.
