Aquaman rang in 2019 as the box champion as it closed out 2018 at number one and began the first day of 2019 in the same fashion.
Aquaman grossed $10.1 million on New Year’s Eve and $16.78 million on New Year’s Day which brings its domestic haul to $216.2 million. In terms of its New Year’s Day gross, the film outpaced Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle ($16.2 million) and Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($14.2 million) from last year. Aquaman will also benefit from a lack of true competition until the release of Glass on January 18 which should allow the DC effort to see $300 million by the end of MLK weekend. Aquaman also continues to be a beast overseas where it has grossed $606.6 million. This brings its worldwide total to $822.9 million and it looks like $1 billion worldwide is still very much in play. Its biggest market continues to be China where it has grossed $275.5 million to date.
Mary Poppins Returns remained in second place on New Year’s Eve & Day, grossing $6.6 million and $8.6 million respectively. The film has brought its domestic total to $114.5 million and is currently 110% ahead of the pace of The Greatest Showman from last year. Mary Poppins has also grossed $200 million globally and should continue to play well, especially if it gets some Oscar love in major categories.
Bumblebee remained seated in third place with $4.2 million and $7.2 million on the two days and brought its domestic total to $78.6 million. Moviegoers are still discovering Bumblebee as there is a bit of fanboy clutter with Aquaman & Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse so there is a lot of competition but I think positive word of mouth and the great reviews will continue to push it through MLK weekend.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse stayed put in fourth place with $4 million on New Year’s Eve and $6.2 million on New Year’s Day. The well-received comic book adventure has grossed $114.2 million for Sony but on the opposite end of the spectrum for the studio is Holmes and Watson, which has steadily declined since opening on Christmas Day. The comedic misfire grossed $2.1 million on New Year’s Day, up 46% from New Year’s Eve and has a running total of $23.3 million.
Vice continued to perform steadily with a gross of $2.2 million on New Year’s Day, up 5% from New Year’s Eve. The film has averaged about $2.4 million since opening Christmas Day which isn’t too bad for the divisive Oscar contender. Vice has grossed $21.97 million to date but it will need some Golden Globe wins and significant Oscar nominations if it wishes to still be a contender at the box office.
Second Act, starring Jennifer Lopez, grossed $2.42 million on New Year’s Day, up 49% from New Year’s Eve. The romantic comedy has grossed $25.96 million and proves that the holiday box office rush can benefit even lesser films. With a budget of $16 million, Second Act is headed for a likely $35-40 million final tally which will be a decent sized hit for the studio.
The news continues to be bad for Welcome to Marwen which grossed $788,000 on New Year’s Day, up 35% from New Year’s Eve. The film has grossed $9.1 million to date and will soon be a distant memory at the box office. Universal Pictures released Welcome to Marwen and is likely to lose $50-60 million on the project but they can celebrate the success of The Grinch which grossed $1.1 million on New Year’s Day and brought its domestic total to $267.4 million. The animated Grinch has now outgrossed the 2000 live-action version which starred Jim Carry and tapped out at $260 million.
