Disney has a stranglehold on the box office throughout the year and every film it releases will dominate for at least a week. The same will be true of Dolittle whose only competition is the second week in wide release for 1917, meaning it’s going to dominate and probably for a two or three weeks after that.
Our Highest Rated Films: Weathering with You
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OTHER LIMITED RELEASES
D-Love
Disturbing the Peace
Extracurricular
Speed of Life
The Wave
With three new wide releases, the question is whether Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker can hold on to the top spot for a fourth week or if Like a Boss, Underwater, The Informer (which looks to have been pulled from the release calendar yet again), or one of the expanding releases (1917 or Just Mercy) can swing into the top spot.
There aren’t any other new wide release options, so the number one spot will go to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in its third week. How the latest version of The Grudge performs will depend on a lot of factors, but performing well isn’t likely.
With Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker dominating the box office for a second weekend, the only new wide release that has any chance of topping all other newcomers is Little Women. It seems the perfect family film for Christmas day, though it might be front-loaded mid-week rather than over the weekend.
The second major event of the year, the second historical culmination of a multi-year franchise. Capping Disney’s stranglehold on the U.S. box office this year, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker enters the fray as 2019 comes to a close and will surely send the year off with a bang.
The reign of Frozen II comes to an end this weekend with the sequel to the blockbuster Jumanji, which is sure to storm the box office and defeat everything in its way.
Here’s where Frozen II picks up its third weekend atop the box office as the two new wide releases don’t look like they’ll be more than lackluster performers. The Aeronauts is the kind of movie that might have done well twenty or thirty years ago, but which won’t draw as much interest as the studio is hoping by putting it into wide release instead of platforming it. Playmobil: The Movie on the other hand, is the kind of film that should automatically do well, since it’s animated, but I highly doubt that will happen since the film hasn’t gotten nearly as much press as it should and it looks an attempt to hone in on the Lego Movie game without the underlying power property to back it up. Ultimately, Playmobil will probably end up in second place, but it doesn’t have a prayer of topping Frozen II.
There are two wide releases and neither will top the second weekend of Frozen II, but with the all-star cast of Knives Out, it’s very likely that film will win the weekend among new releases over Queen and Slim.
There will be no competition for first place. Frozen II will annihilate all rivals. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood could be a minor hit, but Frozen II will have a massive debut and top the chart for the next three weekends until Jumanji: the Next Level unseats it on the weekend of December 13.
The two best contenders for a #1 finish this weekend couldn’t be more different. Charlie’s Angels is a reboot of the popular TV show and its successful first adaptation. This one doesn’t have the bigger names like its predecessor film did, but it still has a lot going for it. On the other side of the coin is Ford v Ferrari, a racing drama about the attempts at Ford to stop Ferrari for eternally dominating racing. The two films are targeting vastly different audiences and while I suspect Ford v Ferrari will give the Angels a run for their money, I think, in the end, that Charlie’s Angels will eke out a narrow victory.
This weekend features a mass of new releases with all four having a near-equal chance of topping the box office. Doctor Sleep has the Stephen King aspect, which could bolster its bottom line, though Pet Sematary is probably an example of why that won’t work. Last Christmas is releasing way too early to be of much impact. That leaves Midway and Playing with Fire, both are in genres that have been known to produce strong box office debuts. The big weakness for Midway is that Roland Emmerich hasn’t been a box office draw in years. The big weakness for Playing with Fire is that the concept is a bit too childish to draw traditional comedy fans. In the end, I suspect Midway has the best chance simply because it’s the most bombastic, but I wouldn’t be surprised at any of these taking the top spot.
There are four wide releases coming out this weekend and only one of them has a chance of becoming a blockbuster and that’s because it’s part of a franchise of blockbusters. Terminator: Dark Fate is said to pick up where Terminator 2: Judgement Day left off, ignoring the subsequent sequels of questionable quality. With Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzeneggar back, it’s likely the film will be a much bigger success at the box office than the prior entries, but will the bad taste left by the previous sequels still in the audience’s mouths, it might struggle on opening weekend and only prove a blockbuster on subsequent weekends. Either that or the fans will be forgiving. We’ll have to wait and see.
It’s hard to know how the weekend will go. Maleficent had a much weaker debut than expected, but the new releases this week don’t inspire confidence in success. Black and Blue feels like the latest in a series of genre bombs while Countdown doesn’t seem to have the horror heft most of its ilk do. It’s possible Maleficent stays on top, Joker returns to the top, or one of the new releases manages to surprise. If any film can, Countdown is probably it.
The second weekend of Joker was more popular than expected, but the third weekend will be no match for the follow-up to the 2014 $241 million blockbuster. That film opened to $69 million and this film will probably open not far behind.
There are two films that have a difficult climb to the top of the box office this week against the second week of Joker. Either could do it if the box office winds are with them, but both could ride bad reviews to subpar tallies. The Addams Family is the latest Blue Sky animated feature to make a run at the box office. While Blue Sky isn’t a studio well known for the quality of their output, they do have a pretty decent track record of box office success. If anything, Addams has the best shot at bringing down Joker. That said, Gemini Man could overcome its negative press with a solid box office run if Will Smith can return to the good graces of audiences. Smith has long been out of favor with the public as none of his films have been hits in recent years, at least because of his starring role. Gemini Man is the kind of gimmick that could alleviate his box office woes. The weekend’s other new release, Jexi, is likely to come in fourth for the weekend regardless of how the others play.