While Thanksgiving used to be a busy time for movie-going, this year wasn’t the case, even with the appearance of new releases.
In its first full day on Wednesday, Disney’s animated “Wish” earned just $8.3 million.
Their projections for the five-day Thanksgiving holiday have now been revised, with the films now tracking above $37 million and $30 million, respectively — while “Wish” projections have dipped while “Napoleon” has increased.
Not only did both films receive mixed reviews from critics, but both films were eye-popping $200 million budgets. Audiences were relatively happy with “Wish,” which received an A-cinema score in the exit polls, but “Napoleon” was not well received with a B-score.
Worldwide, “Napoleon” is on track to take in about $65 million by Sunday’s end — a solid number for an R-rated 2.5-hour biopic about a military leader, but that expensive budget gives pause — even if it’s coming from Apple. Trillion dollar market cap.
Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” earned $7.3 million on Wednesday, bringing its domestic total to $63.6 million following its opening last Friday.
In fact, the film is estimated to make around $40 million for its five-day run. An added bonus is that it costs half that of its competition, and with both tax credits and lucrative foreign sales already covering a large portion of its production budget, it’s in a much healthier position.
Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “Trolls Band Together” finished fourth with $5.1 million and is on track to earn $27 million in five days. Eli Roth’s horror film “Thanksgiving” is fifth with $1.8 million on Wednesday and an expected five-day haul of $10.1 million. “The Marvels” took in just $1.5 million on Wednesday.
Source: Variety
