Moana Scores $81.1M Holiday Opening; Allied & Bad Santa 2 Struggle While Beatty's Rules Flops
by Brad Brevet
November 27, 2016


Disney's Moana topped the extended holiday box office with the second largest five-day Thanksgiving opening of all-time and the third largest three-day Thanksgiving opening of all-time, leading a top twelve that grossed a combined $173 million.

Moana was, however, the only real success story among new wide releases as Allied and Bad Santa 2 fell short of expectations and Rules Don't Apply delivered the worst wide opening of 2016.

Other bright spots are to be found, though, in the likes of holdovers such as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Doctor Strange and Arrival as well as a solid expansion for Amazon and Roadside's Manchester by the Sea.







At the top, Disney's latest animated adventure Moana delivered an estimated $55.5 million three-day opening and an estimated $81.1 million five-day opening. As already noted, the five-day opening ranks as the second largest Thanksgiving debut ever behind Disney's Frozen ($93.6m five-day) and just ahead of Toy Story 2 ($80.1m five-day).

As a result, Disney now owns nine of the top ten five-day and three-day Thanksgiving weekend openings with New Line's Four Christmases as the lone non-Disney feature within the top ten on each respective list.

Moana's three-day weekend is also the third largest opening for Walt Disney Animation Studios, behind only Zootopia and Big Hero 6, both of which opened on Friday and should Moana's three-day gross come in $700,000 higher than estimated it would surpass Big Hero 6 on that list.



Moana's demographic breakdown was 45% male vs. 55% female with 34% of the audience coming in 12 years or under, 43% over the age of 25 and 72% of the audience made up of families.

Opening day audiences gave the film an "A" CinemaScore.







In second position for the weekend is WB's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which delivered an excellent $45.1 million three-day and a $65.76 million five-day performance bringing the film's domestic cume to an estimated $156.2 million after ten days in release.

The film's global cume now stands at $473.7 million ranking thirteenth among all of 2016 releases.







Finishing third is another holdover and another film from Disney, this time Marvel's Doctor Strange, which pulled in an estimated $13.36 million three-day weekend and an estimated $18.85 million five-day haul as the film's domestic cume now stands at $205 million.

Doctor Strange is now the tenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to gross over $200 million domestically as it has already surpassed the entire domestic run of Thor, Ant-Man, Captain America: The First Avenger and The Incredible Hulk and is just $1.3 million shy of topping Thor: The Dark World.

Additionally, Doctor Strange currently places ninth among all 2016 domestic releases and with an estimated $9.8 million internationally this weekend its global cume now stands at $615.9 million placing it ninth among all 2016 releases worldwide with a January 2017 opening in Japan still in the offing.







Fourth position is where we find Paramount's Allied, the second of this weekend's new wide releases in the top ten, finishing with an estimated $13 million three-day and $18 million five-day opening.

While this is within industry expectations heading into the weekend, the fact this one wasn't able to top $20 million is a disappointment, especially given the $85 million production budget. For director Robert Zemeckis this is the second disappointment in a row on the heels of The Walk last year, which could only muster $10.1 million domestically and $61.1 million worldwide on a $35 million budget.

The film played to an audience that was 51% male vs 49% female of which 85% were over the age of 25. Opening day audiences gave it a "B" CinemaScore.







Paramount is enjoying greater success with their sci-fi drama Arrival, which dipped just 7.3% in its third weekend, delivering an estimated $11.25 million over the three-day and $15.6 million for the five day as its domestic gross now totals $62.38 million on a $47 million budget.

Internationally Arrival added an estimated $6.2 million this weekend from 36 territories bringing its international total to $30.9 million for a global cume of $93.28 million.







It isn't until eighth position where we find Broadgreen and Miramax's release of Bad Santa 2.

The comedy sequel could only manage an estimated $6.1 million for the three-day and $9 million for the five-day opening in 2,920 theaters.







Debuting in 2,382 theaters, Fox's Rules Don't Apply delivered an estimated $1.57 million three-day weekend and $2.17 million five-day. The three-day result is the worst wide-opening of 2016, averaging just $661 per theater, and the sixth worst opening all-time for a film debuting in 2,000+ theaters.

Truth is, this is just a film that's out of its element in today's marketplace and it didn't have much of a chance in this many theaters. It also doesn't help critics didn't embrace it to the point it earned a 57% rating on RottenTomatoes and with a "B-" CinemaScore it won't be receiving much buzz via word of mouth.

The film played to an audience that was 55% female vs 45% male of which 85% were over the age of 25. Additionally, 71% of the audience was Caucasian, 13% Hispanic and 9% African American.







Elsewhere, Universal's Almost Christmas enjoyed a nice weekend as the only film in the top ten to show a positive change from last weekend, delivering an estimated $7.6 million three-day, up 5% from last weekend as its cume now stands at $36.7 million on a $17 million budget.

Finishing ninth, Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge dropped 18.3% for an estimated $5.45 million three-day, bringing its domestic cume to $52.2 million.







Outside the top ten, Focus' Loving brought in an estimated $1.69 million from 421 theaters (+284) bringing the film's cume to just over $4 million as it continues its expansion.

Manchester by the Sea delivered an estimated $1.25 million as it expanded into 48 theaters (+4) for a $26,048 per theater average and a cume that now stands at $1.65 million.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4245&p=.htm









November 25-27, 2016 Weekend Studio Estimates:


1. Moana $55,523,000 / $81,108,000
2. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them $45,100,000 / $156,228,123
3. Doctor Strange $13,369,000 / $205,093,475
4. Allied $13,000,000 / $18,022,000
5. Arrival $11,250,000 / $62,387,300
6. Trolls $10,340,000 / $135,136,662
7. Almost Christmas $7,610,000 / $36,688,865
8. Bad Santa 2 $6,106,658 / $9,031,191
9. Hacksaw Ridge $5,450,000 / $52,248,382
10. The Edge of Seventeen $2,960,000 / $10,273,770

I have started to become obsessed with Disney's Moana and from what I've heard about Disney's Moana the scenery is beautiful and Moana herself is very pretty. But my favorite character in Disney's Moana is Maui because he's tough but also has a funny side to him as well
Bestie

Moana Repeats at #1, Topping Slow Post-Thanksgiving Weekend
by Brad Brevet
December 4, 2016


In a repeat of last weekend, Disney's Moana finished atop the weekend box office for a second week in a row followed by the third weekend of WB's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Overall the weekend played pretty much as expected with a few over-performers here and there along with the weekend's widest new release Incarnate falling short of its meager expectations.







Moana dropped 50% from its three-day opening weekend, finishing #1 with an estimated $28.37 million bringing the animated feature's domestic cume to just under $120 million.

Internationally Moana added another $32 million from 30 territories as its international gross now stands at $57.5 million for a worldwide haul topping $177 million.







In second place, WB's Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them dropped 59% compared to last weekend, bringing in an estimated $18.5 million for a domestic cume that now totals $183.5 million, tenth largest among all 2016 releases.

Added to that, Beasts brought in an impressive $60.4 million internationally this weekend from 67 markets. It's overseas total now totals $424.4 million for a worldwide gross topping $607 million making it the tenth largest worldwide release of 2016 so far.







Arrival took third place with an estimated $7.3 million, dropping an impressive 36% from last weekend as its domestic cume now totals $73 million.

Paramount also found itself in fourth position with Allied, which out-performed Mojo's forecast, delivering an estimated $7 million weekend, dropping 44.5% from its three-day opening weekend for a domestic cume that now stands at $28.9 million.

Overseas, Allied added an estimated $12.1 million bringing its international cume to $24.8 million for a worldwide gross topping $53 million.







Disney and Marvel's Doctor Strange rounds out the weekend top five with an estimated $6.48 million bringing its domestic gross to $215.3 million. This makes it the ninth largest domestic release in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Added to that, with a $3.7 million weekend in 51 markets, Doctor Strange's international cume now climbs to nearly $420 million as it passes Iron Man 2 to become the eighth largest worldwide release in the MCU.







Further down the list we come to BH Tilt's Incarnate, a new PG-13 thriller that fell short of its target $4-5 million opening, bringing in an estimated $2.6 million from 1,737 theaters.

Also opening this weekend was moderate-sized release of Smith Global Media's Believe, which debuted in 639 theaters and finished outside the top ten with an estimated $602,519.







Elsewhere, Roadside Attractions and Amazon's Manchester by the Sea finished just outside the top ten as it expanded into 156 theaters (+108) and brought in an estimated $2.6 million ($15,151 per theater average).

The film recently won Best Film from the National Board of Review, was nominated for eight Critics Choice Awards and saw Casey Affleck win Best Actor at the Gotham Awards as it is hoping for Oscar glory over the next couple months.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4247&p=.htm









December 2-4, 2016 Weekend Studio Estimates:


1. Moana $28,373,000 / $119,888,330
2. Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them $18,545,000 / $183,507,403
3. Arrival $7,300,000 / $73,078,514
4. Allied $7,050,000 / $28,927,432'
5. Doctor Strange $6,486,000 / $215,309,177
6. Trolls $4,600,000 / $141,371,445
7. Hacksaw Ridge $3,400,000 / $57,264,956
8. Bad Santa 2 $3,288,699 / $14,289,743
9. Incarnate $2,659,000
10. Almost Christmas $2,500,350 / $38,147,500

Moana Threepeats at #1, La La Land Opens Big in Limited Release
by Brad Brevet
December 11, 2016


Disney's Moana was able to fend off Paramount's Office Christmas Party to secure a third weekend at #1 as all films prepare to make way next weekend for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and a tidal wave of anticipated holiday releases over the coming weeks.

This weekend also saw a couple of major awards season contenders in Manchester by the Sea and La La Land deliver terrific performances along with the strong expansion of Focus' Nocturnal Animals as well as the not-so-strong expansion of EuropaCorp's Miss Sloane.







With an estimated $18.8 million, Disney's Moana finished #1 for the third weekend straight as its domestic cume now stands at $145 million.

Internationally the animated title brought in an estimated $23.5 million as its overseas gross grows to $93.8 million for a global cume of $238.8 million.







Coming in second position, and ahead of Paramount's conservative estimates heading into the weekend is the ensemble comedy Office Christmas Party with an estimated $17.5 million.

Opening day audiences gave the film a "B" CinemaScore, which is on par with last year's R-rated December comedy Sisters, a comparison used in our weekend preview, but don't expect this one to have the same kind of legs that film had.



While the holiday season will likely help its performance along the way, this opening is on par with previous 2016 R-rated comedy releases such as How to be Single and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, both of which went on to finish their domestic runs just over $46 million.

Office Christmas Party played to an audience that was 56% male vs. 44% female, of which 83% were over the age of 25.







In third position, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them dropped 40% in its fourth weekend, bringing in an estimated $10.78 million as its domestic gross now stands at $199.3 million.

Internationally, the film brought in an estimated $33.1 million from 67 territories, bringing its international cume to $480.7 million and a worldwide total that tops $680 million.







Paramount's Arrival continues to draw in audiences, dropping just 23% in its fifth weekend in release. The sci-fi feature brought in an estimated $5.6 million this weekend from 3,115 theaters (+200) as its domestic cume climbs to $81.4 million.

Internationally the film added an estimated $5.76 million from 45 territories as its global cume is now just shy of $130 million.







Disney and Marvel's Doctor Strange rounds out the top five with an estimated $4.6 million bringing its domestic total to $222.3 million. I

Doctor Strange's worldwide total stands at $645.7 million, making it the seventh largest worldwide release in the Marvel Cinematic Universe having now passed Thor: The Dark World ($644.6m).







Moving to seventh position, Focus' expanded release of Nocturnal Animals brought in an estimated $3.19 million from 1,262 theaters (+1,135) bringing the film's cume to $6.2 million domestically.

The film also brought in an estimated $1.2 million from 28 international markets, bringing its worldwide total to $16.2 million.







Coming in just behind Nocturnal Animals by just $38k, Roadside's distribution of Amazon's Oscar hopeful Manchester by the Sea had a strong weekend, bringing in an estimated $3.15 million from just 366 theaters as its cume now climbs to $8.3 million domestically.

The film will expand nationwide next weekend into approximately 1,200 theaters.







Unable to secure a spot in the top ten, Europacorp's Miss Sloane expanded into 1,648 theaters (+1,644) and could only manage to score an estimated $1.9 million, bringing the film's cume to just over $2 million.







Another strong awards season contender did incredibly well this weekend was Lionsgate's La La Land debuted in just five theaters and delivered an estimated $855,000 for a $171,000 per theater average, the tenth-largest opening per theater average of all-time (third largest for a live action film) and the best opening theater average of 2016.

The film played to an audience that was 48% male vs. 52% female, of which 53% were 30-years old and over. La La Land will expand to 200 locations next weekend and even further on December 25th.







Continuing the awards season theme, Fox Searchlight's Jackie expanded into 26 theaters (+21) this weekend and brought in an estimated $495,000.

The film is looking to add another 14 markets next weekend, bringing its overall theater count to ~70 locations, followed by a continued expansion the following weekend into 250-300 theaters over the Christmas holiday.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4249&p=.htm









December 9-11, 2016 Weekend Studio Estimates:


1. Moana $18,842,000 / $145,008,593
2. Office Christmas Party $17,500,000
3. Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them $10,785,000 / $199,310,903
4. Arrival $5,600,000 / $81,451,708
5. Doctor Strange $4,631,000 / $222,362,446
6. Allied $4,000,000 / $35,633,452
7. Nocturnal Animals $3,193,685 / $6,219,813
8. Manchester by the Sea $3,155,330 / $8,325,531
9. Trolls $3,110,000 / $145,490,004
10. Hacksaw Ridge $2,300,000 / $60,862,448