Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon Debuts at #1 with $8.6M in North America as NYC Theaters Finally Reopen
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
March 7, 2021


If there’s one thing that the past year’s pandemic has taught the movie business, it’s that kid-friendly titles have become the new industry heavyweights.

Hard on the heels of box-office perennial, The Croods: A New Age, and last weekend’s newly-crowned champ, Tom and Jerry, a new animated film once again claimed the top spot — Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon — which debuted at No. 1 in North American theaters this weekend with $8.6 million.




The debut was well-timed, as theaters in several major cities, including Chicago, San Francisco, and New York City, re-opened their long-shuttered doors for business (albeit in limited capacity) for the first time in nearly a year.

But even the addition of those new venues couldn’t single-handedly pull the domestic box office out of its doldrums, hinting at a recovery that could take months instead of weeks.




Still, let’s give credit where it’s due. Raya and the Last Dragon, a big-budget computer-animated adventure that was also available via the Disney Plus streaming platform for a $30 premium fee, bowed in 2,045 theaters over the weekend, which was good enough for a $4,205 per-screen average.

The PG-rated film, which features the voices of Kelly Marie Tran and Awkwafina, fared even better overseas, where it pulled in $17.6 million, putting its one-week worldwide total at $26.2 million.

The biggest international territory was China, which accounted for $8.4 million of that total. Raya was also a hit with critics, who have given the movie a 95% fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.







Dropping one spot in its second week was Warner Bros.’ Tom and Jerry. The PG-rated ‘toon starring the iconic, squabbling cat-and-mouse team (as well as human actors Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Pena, and Colin Jost) landed in second place with $6.6 million.

Tom and Jerry slid 53.2% from the previous frame and scored a $2,575 per-screen average in 2,563 theaters. Its two-week domestic total now stands at $23 million. Overseas, the film has added $34.3 million to date, bringing its cumulative worldwide haul to $57.3 million.







In third place was another new title, Lionsgate’s Chaos Walking, which racked up $3.8 million in its first weekend.

The PG-13-rated dystopian sci-fi thriller starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley bowed in 1,980 theaters, which translated to a $1,931 per-screen average. Despite poor reviews, the film managed to tack on another $2.6 million overseas, bringing its total worldwide gross to $6.4 million.







In fourth place was the weekend’s only other debut to break the Top 10, Focus Features’ Boogie, which bowed to $1.2 million in North America.

The R-rated coming-of-age drama about a basketball phenom in Queens starring Taylor Takahashi opened in 1,252 locations with a $958 per-screen average. It has not yet opened internationally.







Rounding out the Top 5 was Universal and DreamWorks’ The Croods: A New Age, which continued to hang around and add another $780,000 in its fifteenth(!) week.

The PG-rated perennial dipped -37.8% from the previous session and scored a $486 per-screen average in 1,604 theaters. Its North American total is now $53.6 million. So far, it has added slightly more than $104 million from international markets, putting its worldwide total at $157.7 million.







In other recent box-office news, several major studios looked to the hopeful signs on the COVID front and bullishly decided to push up the release dates for some of their bigger titles.

Sony bumped its sequel Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway from June to May 14, and Paramount shuffled the release of A Quiet Place Part II from September 17 to May 28.

It will be interesting to see if other studios are as hopeful about a busier summer-season turnout and end up following their lead in the coming weeks.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed1701839876/?ref_=bo_hm_hp







March 5-7, 2021: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Raya and the Last Dragon $8,502,498
2. Tom and Jerry $6,600,000 / $23,000,000
3. Chaos Walking $3,775,350
4. Boogie $1,200,165
5. The Croods: A New Age $788,290 / $53,619,735
6. The Little Things $550,000 / $13,700,000
7. Wonder Woman 1984 $511,000 / $44,400,000
8. The Marksman $498,729 / $13,001,238
9. Judas and the Black Messiah $282,000 / $4,500,000
10. Monster Hunter $250,864 / $14,387,490

I love Raya And The Last Dragon since I heard so much about it and although I haven't seen it yet because i'm waiting for it to be free on Disney+ my favorite character is Sisu because I love dragons and I find her wonderful. It's great to see Disney movies do well in theaters again and Raya might be the start to Disney's miracle year
Bestie

Raya and the Last Dragon Repeats at #1 with $5.5M as L.A. Theaters get Green Light to Re-open; Avatar Retakes All-Time Box-Office Champ Title
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
March 14, 2021


It was a very good weekend for the Mouse House.

On the domestic front, Disney’s computer-animated adventure Raya and the Last Dragon repeated as the No. 1 movie in North America for the second straight week, pulling in $5.5 million in its sophomore frame.

Meanwhile, overseas, the studio re-released a film from the other major it acquired, 20th Century Fox, and its 2009 mega-blockbuster, Avatar. That lured enough ticket buyers in China to help push it past Avengers: Endgame and reclaim its crown as the highest-grossing movie of all time.







First, let’s take a look at Raya. Although the big-budget film dipped -35.3% from the previous weekend, it easily snagged first place at the North American box office despite being available on the Disney+ streaming platform for a $30 fee.

Just a week after theaters in Chicago, San Francisco, and New York City re-opened — and just days after the all-important Los Angeles market was finally given the green light to return to business for the first time in nearly a year — the PG-rated film earned a $2,542 per-screen average in 2,163 theaters.

Its domestic total now stands at $15.8 million and it fared even better overseas, where it has pulled in $36.8 million so far. Its cumulative worldwide haul after two weeks is $52.6 million.







As for the rest of the Top 5, the line-up remained unchanged from the previous weekend.

In the runner-up spot was Warner Bros.’ Tom and Jerry, which raked in $4.1 million in its third week of release. The PG-rated ‘toon starring the iconic, squabbling cat-and-mouse team slid -37.9% from the previous session and scored a $1,670 per-screen average in 2,454 theaters.

Its three-week domestic total is now $28.2 million. Abroad, the film has added $38.7 million thus far, bringing its worldwide tally to $66.9 million.







In third place was Lionsgate’s Chaos Walking, which added $2.3 million in its second weekend. The PG-13-rated dystopian sci-fi thriller starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley fell -40.4% from last weekend, unspooling in 1,995 theaters, which translated to a $1,127 per-screen average.

Despite lackluster reviews, the film has scored $6.9 million in the first two weeks of its domestic run. Chaos has pulled in $5 million from foreign markets, putting its worldwide cume at $11.9 million.







In fourth place once again was Focus Features’ Boogie, which earned $730,000 in its second frame.

The R-rated coming-of-age drama, about a basketball phenom in Queens starring Taylor Takahashi, shed -39.2% from the previous weekend, scoring a $573 per-screen average in 1,272 locations. It has not yet opened internationally.







Rounding out the Top 5 was Universal and DreamWorks’ The Croods: A New Age, which refuses to disappear after sixteen weeks in theaters.

The PG-rated ‘toon tacked on another $520,000 in North America, ticking down -34% from last weekend. The Croods scored a $361 per-screen average in 1,440 theaters.

Its domestic box-office total is now $54.3 million. It has added $104.4 million from foreign territories, putting its worldwide total at $158.7 million.







The only other new release of note in the Top 10 this weekend was Sony Picture Classics’ The Father.

The PG-13-rated drama about a man (Anthony Hopkins) suffering from dementia took in $390,000 in what is technically its third week in theaters. However, this was its first weekend in wide release, and the awards-hopeful may soon get a bounce at the box-office after Oscar nominations are announced on Monday.

The film, which debuted at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, earned a $433 per-screen average in 900 theaters this weekend.







Finally, James Cameron’s sci-fi spectacular, Avatar, worked its way back into the record books this weekend. The film, which currently has several sequels in the works, was re-released in China over the weekend, where it took in $12 million and counting.

The new box-office infusion pushed Cameron’s film past Avengers: Endgame (yes, another Disney title), making it the top-grossing films of all-time.

At press time, Avatar’s global total stands at a little over $2.8 billion.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed1651508228/?ref_=bo_hm_hp







March 12-14, 2021: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Raya and the Last Dragon $5,706,633 / $16,043,798
2. Tom and Jerry $4,100,000 / $28,200,000
3. Chaos Walking $2,248,332 / $6,909,739
4. Boogie $778,080 / $2,325,740
5. The Croods: A New Age $540,820 / $54,324,545
6. Jathi Ratnalu $470,000
7. The Marksman $452,238 / $13,589,354
8. The Father $433,611 / $390,000
9. The Little Things $400,000 / $14,231,000
10. Wonder Woman 1984 $400,000 / $44,953,000

Raya and the Last Dragon Three-peats at Weekend Box Office with $5.2M in its Third Weekend as L.A. Theater Re-Openings Goose Ticket Sales
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
March 21, 2021


The old saying that the rising tide lifts all boats was certainly true this weekend as the re-opening of Los Angeles’ movie houses goosed ticket sales across the board, sparking hopes that a theatrical rebound may finally be on the horizon.

Leading the pack for the third straight weekend was Disney’s computer-animated adventure Raya and the Last Dragon, which added another $5.2 million to its domestic box office haul. Despite being available as a premium access title on the Disney+ streaming platform for a $30 fee, the three-week-old title slipped just -9.8% from the previous frame.

The PG-rated film earned a $2,277 per-screen average in 2,261 theaters, bringing its domestic box office total to $23.4 million. Raya, meanwhile, has racked up $37.2 million overseas to date, pushing its cumulative worldwide total after three weeks to $60.6 million.







Theaters in Los Angeles, the biggest movie-going market in the country, were finally given permission to re-open back on March 12. But it wasn’t until this weekend that their impact was truly felt since it took time for many exhibitors to get up and running.

Even with capacity limited at 25%, the city’s re-lit screens reportedly accounted for 9% of all tickets sold in North America this weekend. The mega-chain AMC, which shuttered all of its locations exactly a year ago, predicted that 99% of its locations would be open for business by the end of March.

That's just in time to welcome a pair of big-ticket titles scheduled for release next weekend: Warner Bros.’ mega-monster smackdown Godzilla Vs. Kong and Universal’s Nobody — an eagerly-awaited action flick starring Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk

(Nobody grossed $2.6 million this weekend from four overseas markets).







Finishing in second place (again) was Warner Bros.’ Tom and Jerry, which pulled in $3.8 million in its fourth week of release. The PG-rated ‘toon starring the iconic, squabbling cat-and-mouse team slid a mere -7.3% from last weekend and scored a $1,515 per-screen average in 2,508 locations.

Its four-week domestic total is now $33.7 million. Abroad, the film has added $43.5 million thus far, bringing its worldwide tally to $77.2 million.







In third was the weekend’s top newcomer, Roadside Attractions’ The Courier. The Cold War thriller revolving around the Cuban Missile Crisis and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Rachel Brosnahan debuted to $2 million.

The PG-13-rated rookie earned a $1,404 per-screen average in 1,433 theaters. It has not yet opened overseas.







Just below, in fourth place, was Lionsgate’s Chaos Walking, which tacked on $1.9 million in its third session. The PG-13-rated dystopian sci-fi thriller starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley dropped off -14.4% from the prior weekend, unspooling in 2,132 theaters, which translated to a $902 per-screen average.

The film has snagged $9.7 million at the North American box office so far, with another $5 million from foreign markets, putting its worldwide cume at $14.7 million.







In fifth place was Universal and DreamWorks’ The Croods: A New Age, which refuses to budge from the Top 5 after seventeen weeks in theaters. The PG-rated ‘toon tacked on another $620,000 domestically—a +14.6 boost in business from the previous weekend.

The Croods had a $439 per-screen average in 1,411 theaters. Its domestic box-office total now stands at $55.2 million, and has added $104.8 million from foreign territories, putting its worldwide total at $160 million.







The only other new release of note (and it was a flat note) was Saban Films’ City of Lies. The speculative crime drama about the murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. starring Johnny Depp couldn’t seem to overcome poor reviews or its leading man’s offscreen scandals.

The R-rated film debuted in twelfth place, scraping up just $275,049.







Still, there was some upbeat news for a handful of prestige films that got a boost from last week’s Oscar nomination:

A24’s Minari, which grabbed six nods, saw a +131.4% bump in business.

Warner Bros. Judas and the Black Messiah, which got five nominations, was up +48.8%.

Focus Features’ Promising Young Woman, which also got five nods, got a +117.8% boost.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed1634731012/?ref_=bo_hm_hp







March 19-21, 2021: Weekend Studio Estimates:

1. Raya and the Last Dragon $5,129,473 / $23,412,079
2. Tom and Jerry $3,800,000 / $33,700,000
3. Chaos Walking $1,923,097 / $9,691,730
4. The Courier $1,882,089
5. The Croods: A New Age $625,995 / $55,250,573
6. Boogie $595,150 / $3,257,625
7. The Marksman $468,408 / $14,256,855
8. Wonder Woman 1984 $460,000 / $45,560,000
9. The Little Things $340,000 / $14,708,000
10. The Father $311,227 / $959,166