Posted in: Box Office, Movies | Tagged: Avatar: The Way Of Water, black panther, Violent Night, Weekend Box Office
Black Panther Wins Box Office Again, With Avatar Looming Next Week
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever won the weekend box office for the fifth week in a row, adding $11.1 million, passing the $400 million threshold in the process. It becomes only the third film domestically to reach that number this year, after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Top Gun: Maverick. It should pass Strange this week to become the second-place domestic earner of 2022. That also means that the six of the top ten domestic earners this year are superhero films. So much for that fatigue, everyone is always talking about.
Black Panther Had A Nice Run. Now, Avatar's Turn.
Overall, this was the second worst weekend of the year at the box office, as the total gross for all releases was only $38 million. Ouch. Second place again went to Violent Night, with a modest drop of -40% to $8.7 million. That makes its two-week total $26.7 million, which is not too bad so far. Third place was Strange World, with $3.6 million. Fourth, The Menu with $2.7 million, and rounding out the top five was Devotion with $2 million. Those are some low totals and proves that people just are not going to the theater right now unless there is an event, and they are going right away. More on that in a second.
The Weekend Box Office Top 5 for December 9th:
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever- $11.1 million
- Violent Night: $8.7 million
- Strange World- $3.6 million
- The Menu- $2.7 million
- Devotion- $2 million
Next week, people will be coming out for an event film, maybe one of the most anticipated of the year? Who knows, but Avatar: The Way of Water is finally a real movie, and people can start seeing it Thursday night. It is hard to gauge how much actual interest this film has, as most preview responses at events like D23 were very muted, and merch is already piled up on shelves. But, the spectacle should bring in some big crowds, as they know that the best way to see this film will be on the big screen. After weeks of winning, Black Panther will slide to second place. Some tracking has Avatar above $200 million, but I don't see it. My guess is $155 million, right in the range with other big films this year, where the number is huge but a tad underwhelming in the grand scheme of things.