Two family films dominated the holiday box office this week, with winning the three-day weekend over by a blue hair.
Paramount's Sonic movie earned $38 million, while 鈥淢耻蹿补蝉补鈥� brought in $37.1 million from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. On a normal weekend counting Friday, Saturday and Sunday ticket purchases, the winner would be somewhat clear. But when the Christmas holiday falls on a Wednesday as it did this year, the studios look at two sets of numbers: The five-day earnings and the three-day weekend earnings. With the five-day tally, The Walt Disney Co.'s 鈥淢耻蹿补蝉补鈥� had the edge, bringing in $63.8 million.
It all adds up to a rather robust theatrical landscape, helped by the continued success of and which are on their sixth and fifth weekends, respectively.
The vampire horror also debuted fairly triumphantly. Robert Eggers鈥� modern reimagining of a 1922 silent film starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily-Rose Depp rose to the top of a starry batch of Christmas Day newcomers, which included the Bob Dylan biopic with Timoth茅e Chalamet; the erotic drama with Nicole Kidman; and about boxer Claressa Shields.
鈥淣辞蝉蹿别谤补迟耻鈥� landed in third place with $21.2 million from the weekend and $40.3 million from its first five days. Not accounting for inflation, it had the best Christmas Day opening ever for a genre film, with $11.6 million (besting 鈥淭he Faculty's鈥� $4.4 million in 1998). Focus Features released the R-rated film in 2,992 theaters.
The Bob Dylan movie, directed by James Mangold, also got off to a bright start with $11.6 million over the weekend and $23.2 million since Christmas. The 5-day total is a record for Searchlight Pictures since . It's been well received by both critics (96% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (A on CinemaScore) and will likely get more of a boost from the awards race.
鈥淏abygirl,鈥� an A24 release from filmmaker Halina Reijn, played on 2115 screens, earning $4.4 million over the weekend and $7.2 million since Christmas. The film stars Kidman as a married, buttoned-up CEO who begins an affair with a young intern at the company, played by . Kidman won the at the Venice Film Festival.
鈥淭he Fire Inside,鈥� from Amazon MGM Studios, meanwhile got a bit lost in the mix despite strong reviews. It has earned a total of $4.3 million, with $2 million coming from weekend showings where it played in 2006 theaters.
Thanksgiving releases continued to perform well through the Christmas timeframe. Fourth place went to which earned another $19.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $424.2 million. On Tuesday, the lavish movie musical will also be available to rent or purchase at home. It鈥檚 a move that has drawn some critics who believe making it available at home after only 40 days in theaters will cannibalize profits.
鈥淢oana 2鈥� rounded out the top five films this weekend with $18.2 million. The Disney movie has made $882.5 million globally and is closing in on $400 million domestically.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
