The holiday box office continued to roll along yesterday as the Wednesday openers continued to be relatively steady and Thursday night previews for Pitch Perfect 3 also saw solid results.
Universal Pictures announced that Pitch Perfect 3 pulled in $2.1 million from Thursday night previews which began at 7:00 PM in most locations. That’s a solid start for the film as it begins its marathon of box office earnings through December.
Downsizing and Father Figures also began previews last night but the results weren’t as strong. Downsizing grossed $425,000 in previews last night at 1,900 sites. The Alexander Payne-directed comedy carries a 53% Rotten Tomatoes score. Pitch Perfect 3 has a lower score of 27% Rotten, but it will likely have zero effect on ticket sales given the franchise skews young and its fanbase makes it pretty critic-proof. Alcon/Warner Bros.’ Father Figures also held previews last night but the numbers aren’t available as of this writing. That film carries a 14% Rotten Tomatoes scores so it will need some solid word of mouth to keep up with the competition. Downsizing and Father Figures should rebound as they open wider today and the older-skewing audience heads out to the movies.
Yesterday early estimates had Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle at about $6.4 million for Thursday but it’s being reported today that the film surged to $7.55 million. That’s up from the $7.1 million of its Wednesday launch and brings its total to $16.6 million all before what should be even bigger business today. Word of mouth is strong for this one and it’s holding up well against Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi continued to lead the pack with about $17.9 million on Thursday. That brought its domestic total to $296.6 million which means it is hitting $300 million today as of this writing. It’s running about 24% behind the business that The Force Awakens was doing during this period in 2015 but about 34% ahead of Rogue One.
The Greatest Showman grossed $2.1 million on Thursday which dipped 12% from its Wednesday launch but it’s still relatively steady and not too much of a concern. Word of mouth seems to be positive so we will have to see how this one plays out since musicals don’t generally appeal to the masses.
Check back tomorrow as the holiday box office heats up with the big Friday numbers!
