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 "Raya and the Last Dragon"
collected $5.2 million from 2,261 theaters
through Sunday, representing a scant 5% decline.
Disney can thank the reopening of Los Angeles
movie theaters for the stellar hold in ticket
sales. Cinemas in the City of Angels were given
permission to resume operations on March 12, but
most film exhibitors weren't able to get up and
running until now.
Capacity in Los Angeles area movie theaters will
be capped at 25%, or 100 people per auditorium,
which is double the limit in New York, where its
restricted to 50 people. Even with restrictions,
Los Angeles accounted for nearly 9% of all movie
tickets sold this weekend, according to Comscore.
"This weekend showed solid results from
holdovers, demonstrating the revenue generating
horsepower of opening the biggest box-office
market in North America," said Paul
Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst with
Comscore. "Eager movie fans in Los Angeles
showed up in solid numbers to enjoy the big
screen experience once again."
AMC Theatres, the cinema chain with the biggest
footprint in the country, has reopened 98% of
its locations, including 40 venues in
California, as of March 19. The circuit expects
to reopen even more locations by March 26.
"It was exactly one year ago that we closed all
AMC locations in the United States," said Adam
Aron, the CEO of AMC. "It gives me immense joy
to say that by the end of next week we expect
that 99% of our U.S. locations will have
reopened."
"Raya and the Last Dragon" amassed another $8
million overseas from 29 countries. The film,
which is available to Disney Plus subscribers
for an additional $30, has generated $71 million
globally to date.
Without much in the way of competition, "Raya
and the Last Dragon" was able to easily repeat
No. 1 in North America. Two new movies -- "The
Courier" and "City of Lies" -- opened
theatrically while several awards season
hopefuls got a post-Oscar nomination boost.
"The Courier," a Cold War drama led by Benedict
Cumberbatch and Rachel Brosnahan, landed in
third place with $2 million from 1,433
locations. Directed by Dominic Cooke, the movie
premiered at last year's Sundance Film Festival
(with the title "Ironbark") to mostly positive
reviews. Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate, the
film's backers, reported strong turnout in Salt
Lake City, Orlando and Dallas.
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Meanwhile, Johnny Depp's "City of Lies," a crime
drama about corruption in the LAPD, mostly fell
flat. The poorly reviewed film cinched 11th
place on box office charts, scraping together
$275,049 from 501 screens.
Focus Feature's dark comedy "Promising Young
Woman," which landed five Academy Award
nominations, enjoyed a 117% increase in ticket
sales, with $195,000 over the three days for a
total of $5.7 million. And A24's "Minari," a
heartwarming drama about a Korean American
family that scored six Oscar nods, saw receipts
climb 85%. The film earned $306,000 this
weekend, bringing its tally to $1.3 million.
Sony Pictures Classics' "The Father," the only
best picture nominee to have a traditional
theatrical release, made another $275,000
following nominations, lifting its total sales
to $879,000.
"Raya and the Last Dragon" wasn't the only title
that witnessed a modest decline in ticket sales;
none of the films in the top five dipped more
than 15% from the weekend prior.
Warner Bros.' live-action-animated hybrid "Tom
and Jerry" remained in second place with $3.8
million from 2,508 screens, a 7% drop from last
weekend. The film, which is also playing on HBO
Max for 31 days, has made $33 million at the
domestic box office. Internationally, "Tom and
Jerry" added another $4 million, bringing its
overseas tally to $43.5 million and global haul
to $77.2. million.
At No. 3, Lionsgate's sci-fi thriller "Chaos
Walking" took in $1.9 million from 2,132
theaters, marking a slight 14% fall. After three
weeks of release, the Daisy Ridley and Tom
Holland-led film has made $9.69 million.
Universal's "The Croods: A New Age" rounded out
the top five with $620,000 from 1,411 screens.
The animated family film has made $55 million
since it was released last November. Globally,
"The Croods" sequel has made $160 million.
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