Weekend Box Office (November 15 - 17, 2019)
THIS WEEKEND Star power and rave reviews can still deliver a potent one-two punch at the box office as evidenced by the strong launch for the Matt Damon-Christian Bale drama Ford v Ferrari which debuted at number one with an estimated $31M marking the largest opening of any of the 11 new wide releases launching this month so far. The Fox hit averaged a sturdy $8,797 from 3,528 locations.
The road ahead looks very promising. Not only did a large crowd turn up on the first weekend (something very difficult to do these days with original stories) but the audience reaction was fantastic as Ford earned a glowing A+ grade from CinemaScore. Add in the Thanksgiving holiday coming up later this month and this PG-13 entry could easily join the $100M club. Demos for the weekend were 62% male and 55% over 35.
Last week's number one film Midway fell 51% in its second weekend to an estimated $8.8M taking the runner up spot for the weekend. Lionsgate has collected $35.1M to date.
Close behind was one of the year's biggest action misfires. Sony's reboot of Charlie's Angels tanked taking in an estimated $8.6M on opening weekend from 3,452 theaters for a dismal $2,491 average. The PG-13 film's budget was kept at a reasonable $50M level, however domestic returns will not be enough to recoup the marketing costs let alone the production costs. Reviews were mixed and not terrible, but audience demand was never there to begin with. Nobody asked for this one. The first Angels film from November 2000 grossed more in its first two days than this new version will take in during its entire domestic run.
The family comedy Playing With Fire slipped only 33% this weekend to an estimated $8.6M putting Paramount at $25.5M. The romantic comedy Last Christmas grossed an estimated $6.7M, down 41%, for $22.6M overall for Universal. Warner Bros. saw its horror entry Doctor Sleep fall 56% to an estimated $6.2M for a disappointing cume of $25M.
The Good Liar starring Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen generated little interest from moviegoers opening to an estimated $5.7M from 2,439 locations for a weak $2,319 average. Reviews were generally fine for the R-rated con man pic but few takers were there to pay top dollar.
Breaking the one billion dollar mark this weekend at the global box office was Joker which remained in the domestic top ten for a seventh weekend with an estimated $5.6M. The decline of 39% was larger than in recent weeks as former Batman Christian Bale entered the marketplace with his own successful drama playing to older males. Warner Bros. has now banked an incredible $322.6M in North America, $694M overseas, and $1.017 billion worldwide. This is a phenomenal performance for an R-rated film with a moderate budget with no China release.
The Disney sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil followed with an estimated $5.2M, down 38%, for new totals of $106M domestic and $458.9M worldwide. Harriet rounded out the top ten declining 35% to an estimated $4.8M giving Focus $31.9M to date.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $91.1M which was down a sharp 44% from last year when Fantastic Beasts: Grindelwald opened at number one with $62.2M; and down a disturbing 53% from 2017 when Justice League debuted on top with $93.8M.
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| # | Title | Nov 15 - 17 | Nov 8 - 10 | % Chg. | Theaters | Weeks | AVG | Cumulative | Distributor |
| 1 | Ford v Ferrari | $ 31,474,958 | 3,528 | 1 | $ 8,921 | $ 31,474,958 | Fox | ||
| 2 | Midway | 8,505,531 | 17,897,419 | -52.5 | 3,242 | 2 | 2,624 | 34,896,304 | Lionsgate |
| 3 | Charlie's Angels | 8,351,109 | 3,452 | 1 | 2,419 | 8,351,109 | Sony | ||
| 4 | Playing With Fire | 8,332,607 | 12,723,781 | -34.5 | 3,185 | 2 | 2,616 | 25,280,431 | Paramount |
| 5 | Last Christmas | 6,493,930 | 11,441,055 | -43.2 | 3,454 | 2 | 1,880 | 22,369,695 | Universal |
| 6 | Doctor Sleep | 6,006,949 | 14,114,124 | -57.4 | 3,855 | 2 | 1,558 | 24,865,108 | Warner Bros. |
| 7 | The Good Liar | 5,605,051 | 2,439 | 1 | 2,298 | 5,605,051 | Warner Bros. | ||
| 8 | Joker | 5,338,389 | 9,221,303 | -42.1 | 2,337 | 7 | 2,284 | 322,302,982 | Warner Bros. |
| 9 | Maleficent: Mistress of Evil | 4,900,000 | 8,414,186 | -41.8 | 2,549 | 5 | 1,922 | 105,693,384 | Disney |
| 10 | Harriet | 4,590,540 | 7,406,790 | -38.0 | 2,011 | 3 | 2,283 | 31,693,530 | Focus |
| 11 | Terminator: Dark Fate | 4,326,526 | 10,808,236 | -60.0 | 2,477 | 3 | 1,747 | 56,836,603 | Paramount |
| 12 | Jojo Rabbit | 2,760,252 | 3,952,157 | -30.2 | 995 | 5 | 2,774 | 13,539,750 | Fox Searchlight |
| 13 | Zombieland: Double Tap | 1,932,300 | 4,303,498 | -55.1 | 1,407 | 5 | 1,373 | 70,315,547 | Sony |
| 14 | Parasite | 1,861,256 | 2,591,765 | -28.2 | 620 | 6 | 3,002 | 14,419,619 | Neon |
| 15 | The Addams Family | 1,745,661 | 4,160,262 | -58.0 | 1,835 | 6 | 951 | 94,695,902 | UA |
| 16 | Countdown | 1,181,106 | 2,882,160 | -59.0 | 946 | 4 | 1,249 | 24,331,355 | STX |
| 17 | Black and Blue | 920,026 | 1,876,606 | -51.0 | 558 | 4 | 1,649 | 20,753,830 | Sony |
| 18 | Motherless Brooklyn | 501,116 | 2,170,353 | -76.9 | 611 | 3 | 820 | 8,815,712 | Warner Bros. |
| 19 | The Lighthouse | 385,585 | 918,630 | -58.0 | 290 | 5 | 1,330 | 9,784,498 | A24 |
| 20 | Abominable | 337,960 | 449,920 | -24.9 | 299 | 8 | 1,130 | 59,737,050 | Universal |
| Top 5 | $ 63,158,135 | $ 66,984,615 | -5.7 | ||||||
| Top 10 | 89,599,064 | 100,490,654 | -10.8 | ||||||
| Top 20 | 105,550,852 | 118,393,072 | -10.8 | ||||||
| Top 20 vs. 2018 | 105,550,852 | 169,414,538 | -37.7 |
Last Updated: November 17, 2019 at 12:25PM ET
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