When we talk about 2019 box office success stories, the Downton Abbey movie will be one that many will mention. Coming off a very successful television run, the film opened to a very impressive $31 million five weeks ago and now it has crossed a milestone for its label, Focus Features.
With a gross of $3.1 million over the weekend, Downton Abbey has now earned $88.6 million at the domestic box office. This means the film has topped the $83.5 million made by Brokeback Mountain to become the biggest release for Focus Features. Brokeback Mountain has held that record for Focus Features for 13 years. Worldwide, the $20 million film has grossed $164.3 million which puts it behind Brokeback Mountain on that front as Ang Lee’s critically acclaimed film made $178 million at the worldwide box office.
Downton Abbey proved that older moviegoers, particularly older female moviegoers, should not be ignored at the box office. While the film had a big opening, Downton Abbey also saw strong midweek business each week which means the target audience either went back for multiple viewings or those who didn’t feel the need to rush out on opening weekend took their time to see it. Whatever the case may be, studios should look at this film as an example when murmurs start about how the older crowd isn’t going to see movies.
In my box office breakdown last week, I suggested that Downton Abbey didn’t have enough gas to make it to the $100 million mark at the domestic box office but I’m starting to think there is a slight chance it can if it holds on to a good amount of its screens for a couple of more weeks. It’s certainly going to be close but if it doesn’t, it’s still a true success story nonetheless.
