Box Office Round-Up ~ 12/5/22

By: [email protected] on

All was too calm and not much was bright as December began with another slow weekend for movie theaters. Returning movies all saw big drops from their Thanksgiving numbers, and only one new release cracked the top five (and not at number one). The top spot once again belongs to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, though it dropped 61% in its fourth weekend for just $17.5 million. Its overall numbers are strong (that 61% drop is a bit of an illusion thanks to coming off a three-day weekend), and the sequel is on pace to become the 7th highest grossing film in the MCU.
Second place went to new release Violent Night. The R-rated “Die Hard-meets-Santa Claus” actioner debuted with a respectable $13.3 million, and solid word-of-mouth and a lack of adult counterprogramming may sustain it through the rest of the holiday season. If it doesn’t hit too hard of a sophomore slump, it will likely clear its $20 million budget by Christmas.
The rest of the top five saw three returning titles with varying levels of success. In third place was Disney’s Strange World, which continued to disappoint with a mere $5 million in its second weekend. Following its underwhelming Thanksgiving debut, the animated feature has only grossed $25.5 million domestically. Considering its $130 million budget, it’s unlikely to rebound from such a weak start.
Fourth and fifth place saw the same two movies as last week, but flipped. The Menu moved up to fourth place with $3.4 million, while Devotion rounded out the five with $2.7 million. Next weekend will likely belong to Black Panther once again, as other tentpoles avoid getting caught up in the likely box office wave that is Avatar: The Way of Water on December 16.

1. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($17.5 MM)
Director: Ryan Coogler (WME)
Writers: Ryan Coogler (WME), Joe Robert Cole (Circle of Confusion)
Cast: Letitia Wright (3.16)
         Lupita Nyong’o (CAA)
         Danai Gurira (UTA)

2. Violent Night ($13.4 MM)
Director: Tommy Wirkola (CAA)
Writers: Pat Casey (APA), Josh Miller (APA)
Cast: David Harbour (WME)
         John Leguizamo (UTA)
         Alex Hassell (Gersh)

3. Strange World ($5 MM)
Director: Don Hall, Qui Nguyen (Paradigm)
Writers: Qui Nguyen (Paradigm)
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal (WME)
         Dennis Quaid (UTA)
         Jaboukie Young-White (WME)

4. The Menu ($3.4 MM)
Director: Mark Mylod (WME)
Writers: Seth Reiss (UTA), Will Tracy (WME)
Cast: Ralph Fiennes (42)
         Anya Taylor-Joy (CAA)
         Nicholas Hoult (UTA)

5. Devotion ($2.7 MM)
Director: J.D. Dillard (CAA)
Writers: Jake Crane (CAA), Jonathan Stewart
Cast: Jonathan Majors (WME)
         Glen Powell (CAA)
         Christina Jackson (Paradigm)

Source: Box Office Mojo, The Numbers