The feast at the 2018 movie box office continued over the Thanksgiving week as a pair of sequels — Ralph Breaks the Internet and Creed II — powered record holiday revenue, not accounting for yearly inflated ticket prices, in North America.
Ralph Breaks the Internet topped the Wednesday-Sunday chart with a hefty $84.5 million from 4,017 theaters, the second-best opening of all time for the five-day corridor behind fellow Disney Animation Studios’ 2013 blockbuster Frozen ($93.6 million), not adjusted for inflation.
Creed II took to the ring with a potent five-day opening of $55.8 million from 3,441 locations, the top Thanksgiving debut of all time for a live-action film. (The 2008 rom-com Four Christmases was the previous champ with $46.1 million.) Fueled by a diverse audience, the boxing drama further cements the revival of the Rocky franchise, as well as Michael B. Jordan’s star power.
Total ticket sales for the Wednesday-Sunday holiday corridor hit $314 million, eclipsing the record set in 2013 with $295 million. At this rate, 2018 domestic box office revenue is almost certain to set a new record, again, not accounting for inflated ticket prices.
Disney’s animation empire has become synonymous with Thanksgiving: Last year, Pixar’s Coco collected $72.9 million, and Disney Animation’s Moana took in $82.1 million in 2016. Overall, however, the five-day holiday crown still belongs to Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), which grossed $109 million over the five-day corridor after debuting the weekend before Thanksgiving in 2013.
Ralph Breaks the Internet’s tally compares to a $49 million debut for the original Wreck-It Ralph over the Nov. 2-4 weekend in 2012. The critically acclaimed follow-up sees John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman returning to lead the voice cast, while newcomers include Gal Gadot and Taraji P. Henson. The family film, directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston, received an A- CinemaScore and a majority of positive reviews. Families made up 76 percent of ticket buyers.
Creed II opened well ahead of Ryan Coogler’s Creed, which took in $42 million over the five-day Thanksgiving frame in 2015. MGM once again partnered with New Line on the sequel, although this time, MGM handled distribution.
The well-received follow-up features stars Tessa Thompson and Sylvester Stallone returning alongside Jordan, with Steven Caple Jr. directing. The movie cost a reported $50 million to produce and nabbed an A CinemaScore. White people made up 38 percent of ticket buyers, followed by blacks (29 percent), Hispanics (22 percent) and Asian/Other (11 percent), according to MGM.
Among holdovers, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald came in narrowly at #3 for the five days with $43 million for a 10-day domestic tally of $117.1 million. However, it was edged out of that same three-day weekend spot to The Grinch ($29.7 million versus $30.2 million).
Bohemian Rhapsody continued to sing loudly in its fourth weekend, grossing nearly $20 million for the five days in North America and bringing its domestic total to $152 million. The Queen biopic amassed another $38 million offshore for a stunning foreign total of $328.2 million and $472.2 million globally. (Another music-themed pic, A Star Is Born, celebrated crossing $350 million worldwide over the weekend.)
Paramount’s Instant Family followed at #6 in North America with a holiday outing of $17.4 million to finish Sunday with a 10-day domestic gross of $35.8 million.
However, not everyone found a place at the holiday table.
Lionsgate’s big-budget Robin Hood bombed, earning $14.2 million from 2,857 theaters for the five days to rank #7 against a $100 million budget. The three-day weekend portion was $9.1 million. On the awards front, The Front Runner likewise bombed, while Green Book struggled badly, getting a semi-wide release, when Universal should have stuck with a platform release through awards season.
Director Peter Farrelly’s awards hopeful Green Book, the best movie of 2018, to date, according to Wild About Movies publisher, Tim Nasson, expanded Wednesday into 1,062 theaters for a disappointing five-day gross of $7.4 million. The film stars Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen as a black classical pianist and Italian bouncer/driver, respectively, who embark on a road trip through the segregated South in the 1960s.
Boy Erased also bombed as it upped its theater count to 672 sites. The gay conversion-therapy drama grossed $2.3 million for the five days for a $4.5 million gross.
At the specialty box office, Fox Searchlight’s The Favourite stole the crown upon debuting Friday in four theaters in New York York and Los Angeles. The period drama, which was directed by Yargos Lanthimos and stars Olivia Coleman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz, posted a location average of $105,500 — the best showing since La La Land ($176,221) almost two years ago.
Check out the Top 10 at the movie box office, Wednesday 21 November – Sunday 25 November
1 NEW Ralph Breaks the Internet $84,472,000
2 Creed II NEW $55,806,000
3 Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch $40,210,000 Gross $180,442,250
4 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald $35,650,000 Gross $117,117,238
5 Bohemian Rhapsody $20,855,000 Gross $152,014,253
6 Instant Family $16,500,000 Gross $35,751,508
7 Robin Hood (2018) NEW $14,220,000
8 Widows $10,955,000 Gross $25,585,819
9 Green Book $7,043,000 Gross $7,800,401
10 A Star is Born (2018) $6,005,000 Gross $191,005,173
Ralph Breaks the Box Office with an $84 Million Debut.
