Doctor Strange enjoyed two weeks at the top of the box office but has been replaced by the Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The film delivered a solid $75 million opening weekend. This is the lowest in the Harry Potter/J.K. Rowling Wizarding World franchises but positive reviews from critics should help the film have a very impressive box office run reporting Box Office Mojo.
Doctor Strange only fell to second place and brought in $17.7 million and is closing in on $200 million domestically. Trolls came in third with $17.5 and brought its total domestic gross to $116 million. Arrival came in fourth after a 51% drop and brought in $11.8 million. Almost Christmas rounded out the top five with $7 million.
The other two new releases of the week had much quieter openings. The Edge of Seventeen came in seventh with $4.8 million. Bleed for This came in eighth with $2.4 million. Both have received excellent reviews from critics as they hope that will lead to increases in box office performance. The Accountant is still in the top ten after 38 days. It brought in $2.1 million and crossed $80 million domestically.
I predict Fantastic Beasts will retain the top spot next weekend. We get four new releases this Wednesday for the five-day Thanksgiving weekend including the war drama Allied and the comedy sequel Bad Santa 2.
Weekend Gross by Distributor:
Warner Bros.: $77.1 million (+72.5 percent)
20th Century Fox: $18.1 million (-18.7 percent)
Disney: $17.9 million (-25.7 percent)
Paramount Pictures: $12.8 million (-14.5 percent)
Lionsgate: $8.2 million (-6.9 percent)
Universal: $8.1 million (-11.4 percent)
STX Entertainment: $4.8 million (n/a)
Open Road: $2.4 million (n/a)
EuropaCorp.: $1.6 million (-2.1 percent)
This week’s openings (Wednesday November 23rd): Allied, Bad Santa 2, Moana, Rules Don’t Apply