Even though its early critical reception was less than warm, Disney/Lucasfilm’sStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerhad a heck of an opening weekend. The final film in the Skywalker saga had a promising Friday box office performance with $90 million earned, including more than $40 million in early showings. As theJ.J. Abrams-directed flick moves into its first theatrical week — and it’ll be a prime week with the Christmas holidays encouraging bigger-than-normal crowds over the next five days — it will benefit from the heat of crossing the $100 million domestic mark from its opening weekend.
So, how didThe Rise of Skywalkerdo this weekend? The Lucasfilm flick hit $176 million domestically and, overseas, it racked up a whopping $198 million. Together, this putsThe Rise of Skywalker’s global total at $374 million. With its $174 million opening,The Rise of Skywalkeris now the third biggest December opening of all time and it has the third biggest opening of 2019 after fellow Disney picsAvengers: EndgameandThe Lion King. From its 4,406 locations, the final chapter in the epic space opera averaged a truly jaw-dropping $39,832 per theater. A closer look at the demographic figures for this B+ CinemaScore-rated movie shows us audiences were mostly male (59%) with adults making up a majority (71%) and families also making a decent showing (20%). Even thoughThe Rise of Skywalker’s criticalRotten Tomatoes scoreis sitting at 57%, audiences have shunned that negativity and set its audience RT score at 86%.
On its own,The Rise of Skywalkeris off to a great start at the box office and will no doubt see even better returns over this upcoming holiday moviegoing period. However, the flick still has a big hill to climb if it wants to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with previousStar Warsentries. If we just compare to the previous sequel trilogy entries,Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force AwakensandStar Wars: The Last Jedi,The Rise of Skywalkerhas to buckle down and do some work. Back in 2015,The Force Awakenswas a record-breaker of a movie with a domestic opening weekend of $248 million. In 2017,The Last Jedisaw a domestic opening weekend of $220 million. WhenThe Force AwakensandThe Last Jedileft theaters, they had $2.1 billion and $1.3 billion in global sales, respectively, in their pockets not to mention both had A CinemaScores.
And whileThe Rise of Skywalkeris off to a good start at the box office, fellow newcomerCatsis landing with a big thud. The star-studded new musical adaptation fromTom Hooperis officially whiffing as it exits its opening weekend with $6.5 million in domestic sales. Mind you, this movie’s budget allegedly hovers somewhere in the $95 million range which means the folks behind this one are going to be sweaty as it chugs and slogs through its theatrical run. Sitting at number four,Catsaveraged $1,923 per theater with 3,380 theaters total. Overseas,Catsopened with $4.4 million, a combined total of earnings in the UK and Ireland.
This opening weekend might also be the nudge Hooper, a much-fêted director, needs in reconsidering bringing musicals to the screen since it follows 2012’sLes Misérables, which earned a fairly slim $27.2 million domestic in its opening weekend. Between the very low opening and the universal revulsion expressed by critics, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the C+ CinemaScore-ratedCatstriumphs financially before it leaves theaters. Sure, we’ve seen movie musicals likeThe Greatest Showmanstart out with “Bomb” slapped on its forehead (it had an $8.8 million domestic opening weekend) before it slowly gained steam and exited theaters with Oscar nominations, tons of success with audiences, and $174 million in total domestic sales. But — and this is a big “but” —The Greatest Showmandidn’t have to sell us on digital fur technology or try to make sense of an utterly nonsensical plot, which are two of the many thingsCatshas to do now.
Also hanging out in the top five this weekend isJumanji: The Next Levelat number two but hit with a 56% dip as $26.1 million is added to its domestic total, now sits at $102 million. Number three picFrozen IIearned $12.3 million domestically. The Disney sequel only dipped 36% from last week, a telling sign there is still plenty of excitement about the picture even though we’re a month out from its premiere. Number five isKnives Outand it brought in $6.1 million domestically and, after a month in theaters, now has a domestic total of $90 million.
As for the rest of the chart, we have a mix of box office regulars and relative newbies. Number six movieBombshelldidn’t quite pull through despite a winning trio of stars inNicole Kidman,Charlize Theron, andMargot Robbie. The Lionsgate release hit the adjusted expectations of $5.1 million this weekend following a $1.83 million domestic performance on Friday. It also added 1,476 theaters, boosting its per theater average up to $3,429. At number seven isClint Eastwood’sRichard Jewell, now in its second week with $2.6 million earned domestically. This brings the movie’s domestic total, which has been mired in controversy since it opened, up to a very grim $9 million. Number eight’sQueen & Slimadded $1.85 million to its domestic earnings while number nine’sBlack Christmasbrought in $1.8 million domestic. And, at number 10, isFord v. Ferrariand it also earned $1.8 million this weekend.
Make sure you check out our reviews forStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,Cats, andBombshellbefore you head to the movies this weekend to help you decide what to spend your money on.
Star Wars/Rise of Skywalker
$175,500,000
Jumanji: The Next Level
$26,125,000
$101,936,365
$12,300,000
$386,533,961
$6,500,000
Knives Out
$6,125,000
$89,573,909
$5,075,000
$5,484,281
Richard Jewell
$2,565,000
$9,517,518
Queen & Slim
$1,850,000
$36,598,765
Black Christmas
$1,800,000
$7,248,650
Ford v. Ferrari
$101,961,608
