Box Office Report for the Week of December 24

This weekend, which is the long Christmas weekend, usually a hugely profitable time at the box office, is looking to be a muted one. Leading the way, yet opening with a disappointing, if expected number, is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The end of the DCEU is looking at a $28.1 million opening, which will likely turn into about $40 million when Christmas is factored in. Is superhero fatigue truly here, or is it just that the DC product doesn’t inspire audiences to come out? Perhaps both.

Wonka dropped down to number two this weekend in its second frame, taking in $17.7 million more. Look for that film to play very well on Christmas Day, potentially to the tune of $30 million. Crossing the $100 million mark for the musical prequel should not be too far off.

Debuting at number three is the animated Migration, which is looking at $12.3 million. That should translate into about $17.2 million or so after tomorrow, which is not bad, but certainly not what animation in this part of the year has done in the past.

Fourth place went to the romantic comedy Anyone But You, with about $6.2 million for the three day weekend, upping it to maybe $8.8 million or so for the four day. Fifth place is the Indian action epic Salaar, which surprised by having not just a $5.4 million haul, but cracking the top five. It’s especially impressive considering it was only in 802 theaters.

In sixth we have The Iron Claw, with a shade over $5 million. It’s playing ahead of tracking, perhaps in part due to the A- CinemaScore, or it just being the more interesting of the adult male skewing releases, but getting to around $8 for the long weekend seems about right.

Looking at the limited releases, All of Us Strangers began on four screens with $132K, good for one of the best specialty releases of the year so far. Other platform beginnings this weekend include Freud’s Last Session making $45K on five screens, as well as Memory making about $36K on just two screens.

Here is the full list of the ten highest-grossing films of the weekend:

1. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Warner Bros): $28.1M – 3,706 theaters
2. Wonka (Warner Bros): $17.7M (-54.6%) – 4,213 theaters
3. Migration (Universal): $12.3M – 3,761 theaters
4. Anyone But You (Columbia): $6.2M – 3,055 theaters
5. Salaar (N/A): $5.4M – 3,157 theatres
6. The Iron Claw (A24): $5.0M – 2,774 theaters
7. The Boy and the Heron (GKIDS): $3.1M (-42.8%) – 1,580 theaters
8. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Lionsgate): $3.1M (-45.9%) – 2,509 theaters
9. Godzilla Minus One (Toho): $2.7M (-45.6%) – 1,965 theaters
10. Poor Things (Disney): $2.1M (+64.6%) – 800 theaters

Source: Box Office Mojo