According to studio estimates released on Sunday, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” extended its dominance at the box office in its second week of release with $67 million in ticket sales over the weekend, while “She Said,” a film about the journalistic investigation into Harvey Weinstein, struggled in wide release.
The “Black Panther” sequel by Ryan Coogler dropped 63% in its second quarter after earning $180 million at opening. The first “Black Panther” held up remarkably well on its route to more than $1.3 billion in ticket sales, down only 44.7% in its second weekend in 2018. But comparable or somewhat worse decreases have been recorded in the majority of recent Marvel films. The second weekend saw a 68% drop for “Thor: Love and Thunder,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” and “Black Widow.”
Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, and Tenoch Huerta are the stars of “Wakanda Forever,” a movie created in the aftermath of T’Challa actor Chadwick Boseman’s passing. It has so far generated $546 million internationally and is expected to keep boosting sales throughout the next Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
The top new film of the week was “The Menu,” a high-cuisine comedy from Searchlight Pictures starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes as a disgruntled celebrity chef. In 3,100 theatres, “The Menu,” which was helmed by “Succession” veteran Mark Mylod, brought in $9 million. The well-reviewed R-rated thriller is luring enough Taylor-Joy fans to outperform most edgier arthouse fare, with a 90% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The $2.3 million failure of Universal’s “She Said” in 2,022 theatres. The movie, which starred Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as the New York Times’ Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, served as Hollywood’s interpretation of Harvey Weinstein’s demise on the big screen. “She Said,” which had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival in October, received an “A” CinemaScore from critics and viewers alike. The $30 million Maria Schrader-directed movie never had particularly high box office expectations, but it received a lot of praise for how it handled the infamous #MeToo scandal.
Prior to the release of “She Said,” Weinstein’s attorneys claimed that his Los Angeles trial should have been delayed. The judge rejected it. Weinstein is on trial for allegedly raping two women and assaulting two more women sexually. After 44 witnesses testified for nearly four weeks, the prosecution decided to rest their case on Thursday.
The biggest surprise of the weekend was a streaming series on Jesus’ life that was crowdfunded. The first two episodes of Fathom Events’ third season of “The Chosen” brought in $8.2 million from 2,009 theatres. AMC Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, and Regal Cinemas collectively own Fathom Events, which specialises in alternative programming with limited theatrical runs. Fathom discovered a significant following in the religious series with “The Chosen.” “Christmas with the Chosen: The Messengers,” which earned $13 million, is the distributor’s biggest hit and was released by Fathom last year.
Taylor Russell and Timothee Chalamet play juvenile cannibals in Luca Guadagnino’s “Bones and All,” which made its debut in five theatres before going nationally on Wednesday. The critically praised MGM film had a $120,000 opening weekend gross and an average of $23,983 per screen. Elegance Bratton’s autobiographical play, “The Inspection,” concerning his enlistment in the Marines during the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” era, also debuted in five New York and Los Angeles venues. The per-screen average for the A24 film was $13,188.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” $67.3 million.
2. “The Menu,” $9 million.
3. “The Chosen,” $8.2 million.
4. “Black Adam,” $4.5 million.
5. “Ticket to Paradise,” $3.2 million.
6. “She Said,” $2.3 million.
7. “Lyle, Lyle Crocodile,” $1.9 million.8. “Smile,” $1.2 million.
9. “Drishyam 2,” $1 million.
10. “Prey for the Devil,” $935,000.
