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| 7 Reasons Why 'Doctor Strange' and 'Arrival' Dominated the Box Office Posted:
"Arrival," a cerebral movie about aliens starring Amy Adams, was not expected to beat Benedict Cumberbatch's "Doctor Strange" in its second weekend. The Marvel sorcerer's film held on remarkably well, declining less than 50 percent to finish with an estimated $43.0 million. And last week's other new hit, "Trolls," had even better staying power, losing less than 25 percent of last week's business and holding on to second place with an estimated $35.1 million. That is very good (and rare) for an animated film. "Arrival" opened at No. 3 with a stronger-than-expected $24.0 million, according to studio estimates, which amounts to a very good $10,358 per screen. Maybe Paramount is kicking itself right now for releasing "Arrival" in only a modest 2,317 theaters; another thousand, and it could have beaten "Trolls" for second place. Nonetheless, this was a good weekend for nearly everyone at the multiplex, with an overall gross of about $157 million. Here's who, besides Cumberbatch and Marvel, came out on top. 1. Disney and Marvel 2. IMAX 3. Fox Knows Kids Movies 4. Amy Adams That bodes well for her thriller "Nocturnal Animals," opening next weekend, unless audiences feel Adamsed-out. 5. Paramount Still, it spent just $20 million to acquire "Arrival," and if the movie finishes around $80 million in North America, that modest investment will be money well spent. 6. Will Packer The holiday-themed family-reunion comedy opened in fourth place with an estimated $15.6 million, about what was predicted. That's not "Strange" money, but with a budget of just $17 million, and with Christmas on viewers' minds for the next few weeks, the film looks like a profitable hit in the making. It's certainly a crowd-pleaser, judging by the healthy A- it earned from ticket buyers surveyed by CinemaScore. 7. Grown-ups The 25+ audience made up 60 percent of "Almost Christmas" viewers. And of course, it's also older viewers who've been coming out to see World War II drama "Hacksaw Ridge," in fifth place in its second weekend with an estimated $10.8 million (down just 22 percent from a week ago) and a total so far of $32.2 million. The grown-ups are out there; they just didn't much care for Hollywood's offerings this fall, until now. One movie that did not benefit from the weekend? Naomi Watts' new thriller, "Shut In." It premiered in seventh place with a poor $3.7 million. This is one movie grown-ups didn't flock to see, maybe because the critics found it more laughable than thrilling. Paying customers seemed to agree, judging by the film's dismal C grade at CinemaScore. Still, some pundits were predicting that the much-ridiculed "Shut In" would open as low as $1 million, yet it did nearly four times as well as expected. So it's a victory of sorts for Watts. A cup of holiday cheer for everyone! This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Box Office: 'Doctor Strange' Stays No. 1 With $43M, 'Arrival' Impresses Posted:
LOS ANGELES, Nov 13 (Variety.com) - Alien invasion thriller "Arrival" capitalized on strong reviews to score an impressive debut, while Marvel's "Doctor Strange" topped the box office for the second consecutive weekend. The superhero adventure picked up $43 million to bring its domestic total to $153 million. DreamWorks Animation's "Trolls," another holdover, came in second, earning $35 million to bring its stateside haul to $94 million after two weeks of release. "Arrival" took third, easily outpacing pre-release tracking with a debut of $24 million. Heading into the weekend, the film was expected to launch to $16 million. "Arrival" was directed by Denis Villeneuve, who has built a steady following with the likes of "Prisoners" and "Sicario." It focuses on a linguist (Amy Adams) who is recruited to try to communicate with alien visitors. Paramount picked up domestic rights to the film for $20 million. FilmNation, Lava Bear and 21 Laps financed the $47 million production. "Arrival's" strong box office result is a shot in the arm for Paramount, which has weathered a string of flops such as "Zoolander 2," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows," and "Ben-Hur." The instability starts at the top. Viacom, Paramount's corporate parent, was engulfed in an internecine war for much of the past year, as Shari Redstone, the daughter of founder Sumner Redstone, successfully worked to oust Philippe Dauman from his perch as the company's CEO. Paramount chief Brad Grey is trying to convince Shari Redstone that he has the vision to lead the company out of its doldrums, and has pointed to films like "Arrival" as proof that the studio's slate is improving. Universal's "Almost Christmas" debuted to a solid $15.6 million across 2,376 locations for a fourth place finish. The comedy about a dysfunctional family gathering for the holidays after their mother dies was economical to produce and carries a $17 million budget. It stars Danny Glover, Gabrielle Union, Kimberly Elise, and Jessie Usher. Liongate's "Hacksaw Ridge" rounded out the top five, earning $10.8 million to bring the war drama's total to $32.3 million. Among the weekend's other wide releases, EuropaCorp's "Shut In" stumbled out of the gate, kicking off to a paltry $3.7 million from 2,058 locations. Sony bowed "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" on two screens where it made $120,300. The Iraq War drama is shot at an accelerated framerate, but few theaters will be able to exhibit the film at that speed. The limited release did exhibit the picture in the immersive format that director Ang Lee has pushed theaters to incorporate. It was screened in 4K, 3D, and at 120 frames per second. "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" will expand next weekend on to more than 800 theaters. In limited release, Sony Pictures Classics debuted "Elle" on two screens where it earned $56,012. The thriller stars Isabelle Huppert as a woman who plots revenge against the man who raped her. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
This weekend, it was a showdown between Marvel's newest Avenger, aliens, and trolls. And all three won. 
On Saturday, Marvel's step-parent company announced it has beaten its own domestic record and sold $2.3 billion worth of movie tickets in North America this year. (Disney is also having a record year in international ticket sales.) "Strange" is a major contributor to that total, with $153 million earned stateside so far and a global take of $493 million.
She's an acclaimed actress, but she doesn't usually sell movie tickets unless she's part of an ensemble ("
The producer of seemingly every hit African-American ensemble comedy in recent years that didn't feature 
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