Battle at the Box Office 11/27/23
The Hunger Games stayed on top of the box office over the Thanksgiving holiday, holding off Napoleon and the latest from Disney Animation, Wish.
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes took in another $28.8 million over the weekend, dropping only 35% from last weekend’s debut. It now has $98.3 million domestically and $197.2 million worldwide. It’s not going to get close to any of the prior entries in the Hunger Games franchise but it’s a solid performance in its second weekend, especially compared to some of the other movies we’ve seen nosedive recently.
Napoleon took the second place spot with $20.6 million for the weekend and a domestic total so far of $32.7 million since it came out on Wednesday last week along with Wish. Worldwide, it has made $79 million. For Ridley Scott, that opening is between Exodus: Gods and Kings and Kingdom of Heaven, although if you include the entire weekend, it’s between Gladiator and Exodus. It’s Joaquin Phoenix’s fourth-best opening between Walk the Line and We Own the Night, with Joker by far his best opening still at just over $96 million.
Wish debuted in third place with $19.5 million and $31.7 million for the five-day total domestically. It’s another bomb for Disney, who just recently saw The Marvels implode, and an echo of last year’s Thanksgiving when Strange World bombed, although Wish debuted higher. Wish’s opening puts it down in Strange World and Treasure Planet territory while Disney was obviously hoping they would have another Moana, Encanto, or Frozen. The movie did get an A- CinemaScore and there is no direct competition for family audiences (except for Trolls) until Wonka, so it could follow Elemental’s lead and have legs that bring it to a respectable box office. This coming weekend will be the test, if it nosedives then it’s on its way to becoming another costly disaster for Disney. Worldwide, Wish has $49 million.
Trolls Band Together and Thanksgiving rounded out the top 5. Trolls is up to $146.1 million worldwide while Thanksgiving has $29 million.
The Marvels continues to disappoint at the box office, falling out of the top 5 in only its third weekend with $6.4 million and $76.8 million domestically. Worldwide, it has $187 million. It’s on track to be the lowest-grossing film in the history of the MCU, lagging behind even The Incredible Hulk, which was the previous low mark for the blockbuster franchise.
Further down the list, Saltburn expanded wide and took in $1.8 million in 1,566 theaters.
The Per Theater average went to Monster, a Japanese psychological thriller, which took in $12,802 in both of the theaters it played in over the weekend.