Outline:
LOS ANGELES – “Avatar: Fire and Ash” continues to be thetop-grossing movieearning an additional $13.3 million at the box office over the weekend, it remained the top film in North America during its fifth week, as reported by industry estimates on Sunday.
The third movie in director James Cameron’s science fiction franchise has generated more than $1.3 billion worldwide, a notable figure but not as high as the success of its groundbreaking predecessors. The initial “Avatar,” which came out in 2009, still holds the title of the top-grossing film ever, with over $2.9 billion in global box office earnings. The first sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water” from 2022, ranks third with more than $2.3 billion in revenue.
Second place over the weekend was claimed by “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” which debuted with $13 million, according to Comscore.
“Zootopia 2″continued its strong performance, earning $8.7 million during its eighth weekend in theaters.
“The Housemaid” earned $8.5 million over Friday to Sunday during its fifth weekend, placing it in fourth position, while “Marty Supreme” made $5.4 million in its fifth week.
The horror movie “Primate” ranked sixth, earning $5 million during its second weekend.
A re-release of director Peter Jackson’s 2001 epic, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” secured seventh position with $3.5 million in revenue.
Fathom Entertainment re-released all three movies from Jackson’s acclaimed “Rings” trilogy this weekend, with 2002’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” ranking 10th with $2.4 million in sales. “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” which came out in 2003 and won the Academy Award for best picture, was scheduled for its re-release on Sunday.
Additionally, over the weekend, “Greenland 2: Migration” ranked eighth with $3.3 million during its second week, closely followed by “Anaconda,” which earned $3.2 million in its fourth week.
The three-day box office revenue for this weekend was projected to be $84.9 million. The total for the year so far stands at $447.7 million — a 20% increase compared to the number at the same point last year, as reported by Comscore.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” received positive reviews from critics, but a slightly larger number of moviegoers opted to watch “Avatar: Fire and Ash” over the holiday weekend.
The Walt Disney Company also marked another success when their Thanksgiving film “Zootopia 2” surpassed all previous animated releases to become the top-grossing motion picture from the Motion Picture Association.
In the meantime, “The Bone Temple,” directed by Nia DaCosta, secured second position with $13 million by Sunday. By the end of Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, it is anticipated to reach $15 million, yet it will still be behind “Avatar’s” estimated $17.2 million.
The movie, distributed by Sony Pictures and featuring Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell, had a broad release this weekend across 3,506 theaters, fueled by excitement and favorable critiques. It currently holds a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and 72% of viewers in a PostTrak survey stated they would “definitely suggest” the film.
Being part of the horror genre and released in January, a time when many lower-quality films are often released, “The Bone Temple” could have performed better. Globally, it earned $16.2 million across 61 markets.
However, in a situation where the sequel arrived less than a year after the last film, “28 Years Later,” which debuted with $30 million in June. As the weekend approached, “The Bone Temple” was anticipated to generate at least $20 million by Monday. Given a production cost of $63 million, not including marketing and promotion, it still has a significant path to reach profitability.
It’s one of those puzzling situations,” said Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Comscore. “There could be some confusion among viewers. However, word-of-mouth could keep it going in this market, similar to what we witnessed with ‘The Housemaid’ and ‘Zootopia 2.’ Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, the creators behind ’28 Days Later,’ which was released in 2002, are also developing a third film in the series.
The third position was claimed by “Zootopia 2,” which earned $8.8 million during its eighth week. As of now, the film’s worldwide earnings have reached $1.7 billion, making it the top-grossing MPA animated release ever. The MPA status indicates that the Chinese film “Ne Zha 2,” which has generated more than $2.2 billion, is not part of these rankings.
“Zootopia 2” is now also the ninth highest-grossing global release ever. “The Housemaid,” another major blockbuster, ranked fourth with $8.5 million. Produced for just $35 million, the Lionsgate film has earned almost $250 million worldwide.
Completing the top five was “Marty Supreme,” which marked A24’s most successful North American release with a cumulative gross of $79.7 million, surpassing “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Josh Safdie’s mid-century high-octane film could see an additional boost once the Oscar nominations are revealed on Thursday.
“Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers” returned to cinemas over the weekend, both ranking in the top 10, with earnings of $3.6 million and $2.4 million respectively.
Beyond the top 10, Focus Features’ “Hamnet,” which received best drama and best female actor awards for Jessie Buckley at the Golden Globes over the weekend and is seen as a leading Oscar hopeful, broadened its release to 718 venues this weekend, generating $1.3 million by Sunday.(With CNS and AP updates)