Weekend Box Office: Strange Daze

What a weekend! Although none could topple last week’s Top 2, three of the four new movies performed exceptionally well. On top of that, last week’s releases held over superbly. November is looking up – especially for Disney, the studio that has turned 2016 into a record year.

Doctor Strange‘ managed to hold onto the top spot at the box office for a second week. The superhero adventure dropped 49% in attendance to earn another $43 million. After ten days, Marvel’s latest has brought in $153 million domestically and $339.6 million overseas. Produced on a budget of $165 million, its worldwide total now sits at $492.6 million. With a goose that lays this many golden eggs, it’s no wonder that Disney is sacrificing quality for quantity. If any other studio could whip up a formula for making half a billion dollars in less than two weeks, they’d do the same.

Thanks to a light 25% drop-off and another $35 million gross, DreamWorks Animation’s ‘Trolls‘ also stayed where it was in second place. With a ten-day total of $94 million, this is yet another 2016 family feature on the road to success. Its international numbers are even better. Having grossed $128.2 million overseas, the $125 million animated movie has $222.2 million in the bank.

Of this weekend’s new releases, Denis Villenueve’s first contact film ‘Arrival‘ performed the best. The adult science fiction drama made $24 million and debuted in third place. The $47 million festival acquisition also pulled in $4.6 million from 21 international markets, giving it a $28.6 million worldwide kick-off. The overseas roll-out won’t conclude until mid-February, which just might be a good thing considering the Oscar buzz the movie is generating.

Universal’s $17 million ensemble comedy ‘Almost Christmas‘ landed in fourth place with $15.5 million, and is expected to play well as we move deeper into the holiday season. It’s set to hit theaters in the UK on November 25th.

The Mel Gibson-directed World War II film ‘Hacksaw Ridge‘ had a decent debut last week, but thanks to strong reviews and great word-of-mouth, it held over well enough to lock in the #5 spot this weekend. Falling just 29% percent, the drama grossed another $10.7 million, bringing its ten-day total up to $32.2 million. Its international roll-out is listed as being well underway, but numbers have yet to be reported.

Naomi Watts’ PG-13 horror flick ‘Shut In‘ was the only big new release to perform poorly. From 2,058 screens, the $10 million picture landed in the #7 spot with $3.7 million. International numbers have yet to come in.

In two specialty locations in Los Angeles and New York, the very limited release of Ang Lee’s new $40 million war drama ‘Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk‘ played in 3D 4K at 120 frames-per-second. The movie grossed $120,000 and a per-screen average of $60,000. Reviews are mixed, but patriotic moviegoers are expected to turn out this weekend when it expands to 1,100 screens (mostly in 2D at 24 fps.).

Top 10:

1. ‘Doctor Strange’ (Buena Vista) – $43,032,000

2. ‘Trolls’ (Fox) – $35,050,000

3. ‘Arrival’ (Paramount) – $24,000,000

4. ‘Almost Christmas’ (Universal) – $15,564,000

5. ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ (Lionsgate) – $10,775,000

6. ‘The Accountant’ (Warner Bros.) – $4,570,000

7. ‘Shut In’ (EuropaCorp) – $3,700,000

8. ‘Boo! A Madea Halloween’ (Lionsgate) – $3,550,000

9. ‘Jack Reacher: Never Go Back’ (Paramount) – $3,325,000

10. ‘Inferno’ (Sony) – $3,250,000

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