New movies like 鈥淧lane鈥� and 鈥淗ouse Party鈥� were no match for 鈥淎vatar: The Way of Water鈥� and the killer doll horror 鈥淢3GAN鈥� at the box office this weekend. The two holdovers topped the charts again according to studio estimates Sunday.
In first place for the fifth weekend in a row was James Cameron鈥檚 鈥淎vatar鈥� sequel, which added an estimated $31.1 million through Sunday. That total will likely balloon to $38.5 million by the end of Monday鈥檚 Martin Luther King holiday. As of Sunday, the film鈥檚 domestic total now rests at $562.9 million (the 13th biggest of all time) and its global total is $1.89 billion. 鈥淎vatar 2鈥� needs to pass $1.92 billion to trump 鈥淪pider-Man: No Way Home,鈥� which is currently the sixth highest grossing film of all time globally.
鈥淭here were such huge expectations and a lot of naysayers that opening weekend,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淏ut 鈥楢vatar,鈥� for a James Cameron movie, is moving at lightning speed up the domestic and global box office chart. I think he always knew this would be a $2 billion movie.鈥�
Second place went to Universal and Blumhouse鈥檚 鈥淢3GAN鈥� which in its second weekend in theaters added $17.9 million through Sunday and an estimated $21.2 million including Monday. The modestly budgeted thriller that cost a reported $12 million to produce has made $59.8 million in North America.
Horror movies typically have very steep second weekend drop offs in ticket sales, but 鈥淢3GAN鈥� only fell 41%. Dergarabedian said that鈥檚 almost unheard of for a horror picture and shows 鈥渨orld class staying power.鈥�
Universal also claimed the third place spot, with 鈥淧uss in Boots: The Last Wish,鈥� which audiences continued to seek out in theaters even though it鈥檚 currently available to rent at home. The family-friendly animated film added $13.4 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $110.3 million.
鈥淎 Man Called Otto,鈥� from Columbia Pictures, expanded to 3,802 theaters this weekend, adding $12.7 million through Sunday, and $15 million including Monday, to take fourth place. Directed by Marc Forster, the adaptation of 鈥淎 Man Called Ove鈥� starring Tom Hanks is proving to be something of a rarity in the theatrical marketplace as an adult-targeted drama that is doing well.
The Gerard Butler action pic 鈥淧lane,鈥� a Lionsgate acquisition for release in North America, rounded out the top five with a better-than-expected $10 million in its first three days. In the film, Butler plays a pilot whose crash landing on an island is only the first of his troubles. On the island, most of the passengers are taken hostage. 鈥淧lane鈥� got better-than-average reviews with 75% positive from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Sixth place went to the second major new offering this weekend, 鈥淗ouse Party,鈥� a reboot of Reginald Hudlin鈥檚 1990 hit that spawned several spinoffs. The film, which made $3.9 million through Sunday from 1,400 locations, was originally intended as a straight-to-HBO Max property but Warner Bros. pivoted to a theatrical release as a gesture to audiences and exhibitors hungry for new films. The R-rated, youth-oriented comedy did not score well with critics.
Overall, the three-day box office total is going to net out around $100 million, which is not quite at pre-pandemic levels, but still up some 44% from the same weekend last year.
鈥淛anuary is not going to be the slow month we thought. It鈥檚 a great combination of films out there that鈥檚 not just dominated by 鈥楢vatar: The Way of Water,鈥欌�� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淭heaters need movies and the studios are supplying those.鈥�
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore, with Wednesday through Sunday in parentheses. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淎vatar: The Way of Water,鈥� $31.1 million.
2. 鈥淢3GAN,鈥� $17.9 million.
3. 鈥淧uss in Boots: The Last Wish,鈥� $13.4 million.
4. 鈥淎 Man Called Otto,鈥� $12.7 million.
5. 鈥淧lane,鈥� $10 million.
6. 鈥淗ouse Party,鈥� $3.9 million.
7. 鈥淏lack Panther: Wakanda Forever,鈥� $2.2 million.
8. 鈥淭he Whale,鈥� $1.5 million.
9. 鈥淚 Wanna Dance With Somebody,鈥� $1.2 million.
10. 鈥淲altair Veeraya,鈥� 905,000.
鈥�-
Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
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