Game Of Box Offices: “Aquaman” emerges with the crown

Jason Momoa and “Aquaman” accept their crowns as the Box Office champion this holiday weekend, bringing in $67.4 million, towering over the competition. Fellow newcomers “Mary Poppins Returns” and “Bumblebee” each follow up with second and third place, earning $23.5 million and $21.6 million respectively. Last weekend’s Number One, “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” earned $16.6 million, coming in at Number Four while the runner-up from last weekend, “The Mule,” rounds out the Top Five with $9.5 million. “The Grinch” continues to outpace “Ralph Breaks The Internet,” coming in at Number 6 with another $8.4 million. The Jennifer Lopez new release, “Second Act,” landed at Number 7 with a $6.4 million debut. “Welcome To Marwen,” the latest from Robert Zemeckis and starring Steve Carell, had a disappointing debut of $2.3 million and is said to be tracking to lose $50 million or more for Universal, who also just had the even more disappointing “Mortal Engines” debut and track for a loss of  $100-$150 million. “Mary Queen Of Scots” held onto the GOLDEN PERCENTAGE AWARD, increasing another +225.5% in its third weekend, rounding out the Top Ten.

Also holding onto the the POPCORN AWARD, “If Beale Street Could Talk” made another week winning average of $21,853 per five screens, barely cracking the Top 25 at the very last position. Bollywood film “Zero” also debuted at Number 16 with $1 million. In its fifth weekend, “Shoplifters,” an Oscar buzzing foreign language film shot up from Number 30 to Number 23, while “The Favourite” jumped up a spot and “Ben Is Back” jumped up four. There were two BOMBs this weekend, with “Instant Family” and “Widows” both dropping eleven spot in their sixth weekends. The biggest percentage decrease, however, was “Robin Hood,” which fell completely off the List with a -92.6% drop. Also falling off the List was “Kedernath” and “Racetime,” to no one’s surprise. Oscar hopefuls “Free Solo” and “At Eternity’s Gate” both fell off in their seventh weeks while “Vox Lux” fell off in its third weekend and “The Possession Of Hannah Grace” fell off in its fourth.

Next weekend, “Aquaman” should be able to easily defend his crown, with very small fish joining the pond. Instead, the battle will be over second and third place, with “Holmes & Watson” eyeing a debut of $12 million (possibly lower with the terrible word-of-mouth) and “Vice” eyeing a modest $9 million opening (possibly more with all the awards buzz), which is the same range that “Mary Poppins Returns” and “Bumblebee” will be eyeing in their second weekends. Also, expect the Ruth Bader Ginsburg film “On The Basis Of Sex” to find a spot on the List, just hitting limited release over the holiday week. Fellow new releases “Destroyer,” starring Nicole Kidman, and “Stan & Ollie,” starring Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly (who will be in three of Top 25 films, including “Holmes & Watson” and “Ralph Breaks The Internet”) will also likely find spots on the List while in limited release. Making room for these titles will likely be “Widows” and “Instant Family,” both of which BOMBed this weekend. “Shoplifters” could prove to be a one and done contender, as films like “If Beale Street Could Talk” will continue to rise. “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” has been steadily falling for the past few weeks and could see its demise following the Christmas holiday. And the new release this week, “Zero,” will likely have a short shelf-life on the List.

BOX OFFICE KING: “Aquaman”
BOX OFFICE QUEEN: “Mary Poppins Returns”
POPCORN AWARD*: “If Beale Street Could Talk”
GOLDEN PERCENTAGE AWARD**: “Mary Queen of Scots”

#	Title	Weekend	Total	Budget	Week	LW	CH
1	Aquaman (WB)	$67,873,522	($72,573,522)	$200m*	1st	N
2	Mary Poppins Returns (BV)	$23,523,121	($32,337,792)	$130m*	1st	N
3	Bumblebee (Par)	$21,654,047	($21,654,047)	$135m	1st	N
4	Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (Sony)	$16,463,662	($64,563,725)	$90m	2nd	#1
5	The Mule (WB)	$9,500,985	($35,204,450)	$50m	2nd	#2
6	The Grinch (Uni)	$8,458,030	($253,498,005)	$75m	7th	#3
7	Second Act (STX)	$6,489,983	($6,489,983)	$16m	1st	N
8	Ralph Breaks the Internet (BV)	$4,702,425	($162,197,355)	$175m	5th	#4
9	Welcome to Marwen (Uni)	$2,354,205	($2,354,205)	$39m	1st	N
10	Mary Queen of Scots (Focus)	$2,277,820	($3,581,575)	$25m*	3rd	#17
11	The Favourite (FoxS)	$2,085,123	($10,112,263)	$15m*	5th	#12
12	Bohemian Rhapsody (Fox)	$1,961,208	($184,793,006)	$52m	8th	#7
13	Mortal Engines (Uni)	$1,751,605	($12,016,565)	$100m	2nd	#5
14	Creed II (MGM)	$1,546,782	($108,733,399)	$50m*	5th	#6
15	Green Book (Uni)	$1,388,905	($27,512,876)	$23m	6th	#10
16	Zero (Yash)	$1,035,388	($1,035,388)	$28m*	1st	N
17	Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (WB)	$900,784	($154,493,497)	$200m	6th	#9
18	Once Upon a Deadpool (Fox)	$800,213	($5,764,470)	**	2nd	#11
19	Instant Family (Par)	$648,695	($62,490,761)	$48m	6th	#8
20	Ben Is Back (RAtt)	$398,908	($718,712)	$13m*	3rd	#24
21	A Star Is Born (WB)	$347,756	($200,069,483)	$36m	12th	#16
22	The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (BV)	$205,819	($54,164,249)	$120m	8th	#18
23	Shoplifters (Mag)	$163,788	($795,064)	**	5th	#30
24	Widows (Fox)	$134,008	($41,600,017)	$42m	6th	#13
25	If Beale Street Could Talk (AP)	$109,264	($422,412)	$12m*	2nd	#20

<<<ALL DOMESTIC NUMBERS FROM BOX OFFICE MOJO>>>>

OFF THE CHARTS THIS WEEK

(OFFICIALLY CLOSED)

*POPCORN AWARD goes to the highest per theater average within the Top 25 List
**GOLDEN PERCENTAGE AWARD goes to the highest increase within the Top 25 List