Wonder Woman 1984 Sets New COVID-era Record with $16.7 Million Domestic Opening
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
Dec. 28, 2020


For months, all eyes have been on Wonder Woman 1984, the most high-profile film still standing for a 2020 theatrical release.

Well, the wait finally ended over the Christmas holiday weekend and the DC superhero delivered with a muscular $16.7 million domestic debut, far exceeding industry expectations and setting a new COVID-era record at the box office in the process.




While the opening numbers for Wonder Woman 1984 fell far short of the $103.3 million that the first Wonder Woman pulled in at the domestic box office in the summer of 2017, it was a significant improvement over the first-weekend pandemic-era record previously held by Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, which bowed to $9.4 million in North America back in September.

Despite wildly mixed reviews, the latest DC installment did equally robust numbers abroad, where its magical lasso pulled in $68.3 million in 41 additional markets in its first two weeks; it opened a week earlier overseas. The film’s cumulative worldwide tally now stands at $85 million.







Universal’s News of the World, which stars Tom Hanks as a Civil War veteran escorting a young girl on a perilous frontier journey, debuted in the runner-up spot with $2.4 million.

The PG-13-rated Western played in 1,900 theaters and earned a $1,263 per-screen average. Thanks to a window-shortening deal struck between Universal and two of the nation’s biggest theater chains, AMC and Cinemark, the film will be available on VOD in a few weeks.

It has not opened internationally yet.







In third place was Universal and DreamWorks’ animated sequel The Croods: A New Age, which dipped -16.8% in its fifth week, pulling in $1.7 million in North America.

The PG-rated film, which features the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, and Ryan Reynolds, scored a $1,002 per-screen average in 1,726 theaters. It has racked up $30.3 million at the domestic box office to date and another $67.9 million overseas, adding up to an impressive $98.2 million worldwide gross.

This is all the more impressive as A New Age became available on VOD on December 18.







In fourth was Screen Gems’ Monster Hunter, last week’s fleeting box-office champion. The action-packed, PG-13-rated, video game adaptation starring Milla Jovovich earned $1.1 million in its second weekend, scoring a $619 per-screen average in 1,817 theaters.

Monster Hunter has made $4.2 million domestically to date and another $4.8 million internationally, equaling a worldwide box office total of $9 million.







Rounding out the Top 5 was another rookie, Focus Features’ Promising Young Woman, which came out of the gate to $680,000.

A buzzy and controversial hit at Sundance, the R-rated revenge thriller starring Carey Mulligan snagged a $519 per-screen average in 1,310 theaters. It has not opened internationally yet.







The only other newcomer of note in the Top 10 was Roadside Attractions’ Pinocchio, which landed in seventh place with $274,605.

The PG-13-rated spin on the classic children’s tale starring Roberto Benigni as Geppetto scored a $359 per-screen average in 764 theaters. However, the film has played far stronger overseas where Benigni is more of a marquee draw, pulling in $20.5 million to date.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed2423260164/?ref_=bo_hm_hp







December 25-27, 2020: Weekend Estimates:


1. Wonder Woman 1984 $16,700,000
2. News of the World $2,250,430
3. The Croods: A New Age $1,745,605 / $30,362,345
4. Monster Hunter $1,125,000 / $4,216,000
5. Promising Young Woman $719,305
6. Fatale $659,825 / $1,961,347
7. Pinocchio $268,259
8. Elf $115,000 / $1,978,568
9. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation $91,000 / $871,000
10. The War with Grandpa $91,000 / $871,000

Wonder Woman 1984 Loses Some Serious Steam in its Sophomore Weekend with $5.5M at the Domestic Box Office
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
January 4, 2021


Hollywood studios and the nation’s exhibitors weren’t the only ones eager to put 2020 in their rear-view mirrors.

But any hopes that the first weekend of 2021 would mark an instant rebound were quickly dashed when the receipts for the New Year’s holiday weekend were tallied.




When it was all said and done, Warner Bros.’ blockbuster hopeful Wonder Woman 1984 lost some serious steam in its sophomore weekend in theaters, pulling in just $5.5 million and nose-diving -67.1% from its relatively muscular Christmas weekend bow where it was the biggest domestic debut of the COVID-19 era since Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.

The film's two-week domestic total now stands at $28.5 million.




The PG-13-rated movie’s lackluster second-week performance was no doubt impacted by the studio’s decision to release the film simultaneously on its HBO Max streaming service.

Still, without Warner Bros.’ transparency regarding the reporting of hard data on the number of at-home subscribers who watched Wonder Woman 1984 in their living rooms instead of multiplexes, it’s difficult to say just how much of a dent streaming has made on the film’s modest theatrical performance to date.




The good news is that it continues to fare somewhat better overseas, where it has pulled in $90 million after three weeks (it opened in theaters a week earlier abroad), bringing its worldwide cumulative box office to $118.5 million.

However, that figure is still a far cry from the movie’s reported $200 million budget — and the original Wonder Woman’s $822 million global haul back in 2017.







Elsewhere, Universal and DreamWorks’ animated sequel The Croods: A New Age got a +24.9% bounce in its sixth week, pulling in $2.2 million in North America and rising to a second-place finish.

The PG-rated film scored a $1,245 per-screen average in 1,751 theaters. It has racked up $34.5 million at the domestic box office to date and another $80.4 million overseas, adding up to an impressive $115 million worldwide gross.







In third place was Universal’s News of the World with $1.7 million in its second weekend.

The PG-13-rated Western, starring Tom Hanks as a Civil War veteran escorting a young girl on a perilous frontier journey, dipped -24.9% from its opening session, earning a $876 per-screen average in 1,928 theaters. The film has pulled in $5.4 million at the domestic box office so far.

It has not opened internationally yet.







In fourth was Screen Gems’ Monster Hunter, which managed $1.3 million in its third weekend.

The action-packed, PG-13-rated video game adaptation starring Milla Jovovich saw a +11.1% pop in ticket sales from the previous weekend, scoring a $691 per-screen average in 1,807 theaters.

Monster Hunter has made $5.5 million domestically to date and another $4.8 million internationally, equaling a worldwide box office total of $10.3 million.







Rounding out the Top 5 was the Lionsgate infidelity thriller Fatale with $700,000 in its third weekend. The R-rated film starring Hilary Swank and Michael Ealy got a +6.1% boost from the prior frame and snagged a $591 per-screen average in 1,183 theaters.

The film’s total domestic gross now sits at $3.1 million. It has not opened internationally yet.







Meanwhile, in just its second weekend, Focus Features’ Promising Young Woman, which is earning awards buzz for star Carey Mulligan, dropped out of the Top 5 in its second weekend, landing in sixth place with $660,000.

A buzzy and controversial hit at Sundance, the R-rated revenge thriller earned a $495 per-screen average in 1,333 theaters. It has not opened internationally yet.







The only other newcomer to land in the Top 10 this weekend was Disney’s re-release of Ridley Scott’s visionary 1979 sci-fi thriller Alien, which added $75,000 to the $81.8 million domestic gross-to-date since its original run four decades ago.

The R-rated classic, one of the crown jewels of the 20th Century Fox library, had a $148 per-screen average in 505 theaters.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed2674918404/?ref_=bo_hm_hp







January 1-3, 2021: Weekend Estimates:

1. Wonder Woman 1984 $5,500,000 / $28,500,000
2. Sonic the Hedgehog $3,220,753 / $148,974,665
3. The Croods: A New Age $2,224,435 / $34,558,715
4. News of the World $1,690,180 / $5,407,350
5. Monster Hunter $1,263,978 / $6,282,381
6. Fatale $701,561 / $3,089,694
7. Promising Young Woman $687,900 / $1,896,080
8. Pinocchio $288,208 / $777,046
9. The War with Grandpa $112,835 /$18,666,540
10. Alien $75,000