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Milla fights to first place
A new release took over the top spot at the shriveling box office this weekend as the action movie MONSTER HUNTER led the list with an estimated opening of $2.2 million.
Based on the popular Capcom videogame, the adaptation from director Paul W.S. Anderson (RESIDENT EVIL, DEATH RACE) also has a worldwide total of $11 million. The movie suffered controversy in China after an offensive joke caused backlash that halted its release there.
The PG-13 movie, with Milla Jovovich and martial arts whirlwind Tony Jaa battling various gigantic creatures in another world, cost a reported $60 million. Also featured in the cast are Meagan Good, Tip “T.I.” Harris and Ron Perlman.
The Sony release has bounced around the calender a few times during the pandemic, first planned back in September, then moved to next April, then scheduled for December 30 and finally settling on 1700 screens this weekend. (Almost hard to believe this same time last year saw a new STAR WARS movie arrive in 4400 theaters…)
Critics weren’t exactly captivated by the conflict with deadly leviathans, giving the movie an average of 48% on Rotten Tomatoes (still a higher rating than any of Anderson’s RESIDENT EVIL movies!) and a Metacritic score of 42. Trudge through the sands to the JoBlo review HERE.
Moving to second place after ruling the chart since Thanksgiving was the DreamWorks animated sequel THE CROODS: A NEW AGE with $2 million. Universal’s $65 million family movie has a domestic total of $27 million and $84.5 million worldwide (it also just became available for home viewing through premium VOD).
In third place was the new R-rated psychological thriller FATALE, released on 1500 screens for $925,000 over the weekend. The Lionsgate movie about a police detective trapping an unwitting man in an investigation stars Hilary Swank, Michael Ealy and “Luke Cage” star Mike Colter.
The Will Ferrell Christmas comedy ELF was in fourth place on its sixth weekend in re-release, followed by Universal’s Spanish-language comedy HALF BROTHERS in fifth place.
More holiday reissues filled in the sixth and seventh place positions with Robert Zemeckis’ animated THE POLAR EXPRESS and the Griswold family gathering in NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION.
The Robert De Niro comedy THE WAR WITH GRANDPA and the Blumhouse horror-comedy FREAKY circled eighth and ninth place, while another Christmas catalog title emerged at the bottom as Jim Carrey’s live-action HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS made $130,000 for its return, adding to the $260 million domestic total that the Dr. Seuss adaptation earned since its 2000 release.
As Warner Bros. prepares its sequel WONDER WOMAN 1984 for next weekend’s domestic Christmas Day release (simultaneously in theaters and on streaming serivce HBO Max), Gal Gadot’s lasso-twirling superhero has already made an appearance for international audiences and snared $38.5 million so far.
Joining Diana of Themiscyra’s second adventure next weekend is the Tom Hanks Western drama NEWS OF THE WORLD, while subscribers to Disney+ will be able to check out Pixar’s new movie SOUL for their Christmas enjoyment.
What 2021 movie are you most excited for? VOTE HERE!
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