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 Heading into the weekend, Warner Bros.' Stephen King adaptation
"Doctor Sleep" was widely expected to take the top prize, but
the R-rated sequel to 1980's "The Shining" debuted at No. 2 with
a slumbering $14.1 million from 3,855 venues, nearly half of
studio projections. With lackluster ticket sales across domestic
box office charts, ticket sales were down over 26% from the same
weekend last year, according to Comscore.
Though "Midway" arrived ahead of tracking, the film carries a
massive $100 million price tag and still has a long and arduous
journey ahead to achieve profitability. Lionsgate, the studio
distributing the movie, positioned its release to take advantage
of Veterans Day and expects "Midway" to collect $20.05 million
from 3,242 North American locations through its first four days
in theaters. Emmerich's tale enlisted Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson,
Luke Evans and Nick Jonas to bring the Battle of Midway to the
big screen for a new generation. Older males represented 60% of
ticket buyers for "Midway," a demographic that doesn't typically
turn out in force on opening weekend.
"Roland Emmerich is a visionary filmmaker, and audiences loved
the movie," said David Spitz, Lionsgate's president of domestic
distribution. "What's really terrific about the results is it
sets us up to play throughout the holidays, knowing that the
older demo doesn't rush out."
Audiences who did rush out lived mostly in the Heartland, where
"Midway" overperformed in Dallas and Salt Lake City, as well as
Arizona and Seattle. "Midway" landed an A CinemaScore from
moviegoers, the best result among new releases "Doctor Sleep"
(B+), Paramount's family film "Playing With Fire" (B+) and
Universal's rom-com "Last Christmas" (B-).
"Doctor Sleep" was more favored among critics (it holds a 73%
average on Rotten Tomatoes compared to "Midway's" 41%),
suggesting moviegoers were less familiar with the source
material and thus less inclined to rush out on opening weekend.
Set decades after the events in the "The Shining," which debuted
almost 40 years ago, "Doctor Sleep" sees Ewan McGregor take on
the role of Danny Torrance, a man with psychic abilities who
struggles with childhood trauma. Mike Flanagan (Netflix's "The
Haunting of Hill House") wrote and directed the film.
In another box office upset, "Playing With Fire" launched ahead
of "Last Christmas" on domestic charts. "Playing With Fire"
scored third place, arriving ahead of expectations with $12.8
million from 3,125 venues. The PG-film stars John Cena as an
elite firefighter who prepares his crew for their most
challenging job yet: babysitting.
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Meanwhile "Last Christmas," in an attempt to usher in the holiday
season early, landed at No. 4 with $11.6 million from 3,448 screens.
Both films cost a modest $30 million to produce, which should pave a
path out of the red. Paul Feig ("Bridesmaids," "A Simple Favor")
directed "Last Christmas," a feel-good film inspired by George
Michael's music and starring Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding and Emma
Thompson.
"It's difficult to open original titles -- and romantic comedies
aren't an exception. But we have a phenomenal director in Paul Feig
and a charming cast with Emilla Clarke and Henry Golding, so I see
quite a good run at the domestic box office," said Jim Orr,
Universal's president of domestic distribution.
Paramount and Skydance's "Terminator: Dark Fate" rounded out the top
five with $10.5 million, a huge 64% decline from its inaugural
outing. The sixth "Terminator" installment has earned a bleak $48
million at the domestic box office to date.
At the specialty box office, Amazon Studios' "Honey Boy" pulled in
$288,824 from four locations, averaging out to a strong $72,206 per
location. Shia LaBeouf wrote the film, loosely based on his
childhood, and portrays his father on screen. Lucas Hedges and Noah
Jupe play older and younger versions of LaBeouf. Alma Har'el
directed "Honey Boy," which has received rave reviews since its
Sundance Film Festival premiere.
"This weekend's tremendous per screen opening is very encouraging
and shows 'Honey Boy' has the legs and potential to find a wider
audience in the weeks to follow," said Julie Rapaport, Amazon's
co-head of movies. "The awards buzz garnered out of our successful
Toronto Film Festival screenings has also furthered the positive
word of mouth, which we hope will continue to push audiences to seek
out the film as we steadily roll out over the next month."
Another indie release, Fox Searchlight's "Jojo Rabbit" expanded to
802 theaters, where it generated $3.9 million. After four weeks in
limited release, Taika Waititi's Hitler satire has earned $9.1
million.
Elsewhere, Neon's "Parasite," a dark social thriller from director
Bong Joon Ho, hit $11.2 million in ticket sales, making it the
highest-grossing foreign-language film of the year in the U.S.
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