Dec. 26 Update on Christmas Day business: Yes, Virginia, it was a great Christmas with all titles raking in an estimated $68.4M, the best the post-Covid period has ever seen for the holiday.
Christmas Day outstripped that of 2023’s, the previous high, which fell on a Monday and minted $62.3M. That’s when the holiday was led by Warner Bros’ The Color Purple ($18.1M which was bolstered by preview cash). The post-Covid Christmas Days in 2022’s (Sunday) and 2021 (Saturday) fell on weekends, hence the reason why their daily grosses were lower. Last Christmas made $62M, this year’s being +10% form that figure.
20th Century Studios’ Avatar: Fire and Ash led Christmas Day with $24M, which though -18% off from Avatar: Way of Water‘s Christmas ($29.1M), does rank as the threequel’s fourth highest grossing day to date in its run after its Friday/previews of $36.4M, Saturday of $28.4M and Sunday of $24.2M. Running cume for the James Cameron directed movie is $153.6M.
Timothée Chalamet in ‘Marty Supreme‘
A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
No. 2 for the day at 2,668 theaters was A24’s Marty Supreme with an amazing $9.5M (besting the first Christmas Day take of Timothee Chalamet’s A Complete Unknown last year which did $7.2M). Running cume is $10.7M. It would not be shocking if the 4-day on this Josh Safdie directed and co-written movie with frequent collaborator Ronald Bronstein clears $20M+ over 4-days. It’s gotta. Marty Supreme gets a B+ CinemaScore; A Complete Unknown notched an A. The movie cost around $65M before P&A.
Sony’s Christmas Day gross for Anaconda, landed at $9.1M at 3,509 sites. B CinemaScore here. The comedy cost net $45M. The last Sony Christmas comedy in memory was 2018’s Holmes & Watson starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. That posted a Christmas Day of $6.4M (Tuesday) and six-day gross of $19.6M and was considered a dud at the time ending its run at $30.5M off a $42M production cost before P&A and a D+ CinemaScore. This Anaconda is significantly better, and complete 180 from that, with a 4-day outlook of $22M-$24M. That will be the best opening for a comedy (not counting Deadpool & Wolverine) in quite some time, higher than summer’s Naked Gun bow ($16.8M). The original movie, a Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Eric Stoltz and Jon Voight adventure thriller, opened to $16.6M (unadjusted for inflation) back in April 1997.
Disney’s Zootopia 2 was fourth for the day with $5.3M at 3,540 which got it past the three-century mark with $301.4M. The sequel has another $40M to go before it overtakes the original domestic take of the 2016 movie ($341.2M).
Angel Studios’ David ranked fifth with $4.56M at 3,118 theaters and a running cume of $37M. Pic’s first week is 32% ahead of Angel Studios’ previous family animated title King of Kings ($28M) which ended its run at $60.2M.
Universal Pictures International / Everett Collection
Focus Features’ Craig Brewer directed Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman Neil Diamond tribute band movie, Song Sung Blue landed an A CinemaScore and a $4.425M first day at 2,578, that number includes previews. The four-day outlook is $12M.
Lionsgate’s The Housemaid was 7th at 3,042 sites with a $3.5M Christmas Day and a running cume of $31M. Because the movie was stronger out of the gate than the previous Sydney Sweeney Christmas movie, Anyone But You, the running cume here in its first week is +94% higher versus that romcom which co-starred Glen Powell; that pic finaling at $88.3M domestic.
Paramount’s SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants at 3,557 sites made an estimated $3.2M for a first week of $26.9M.
Spots nine and ten belonged to Universal respectively with Wicked: For Good ($1.4M, total $326.3M) and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 ($1M, $114.5M).
Christmas Day with Christmas Eve business: Today and onward is what truly counts for exhibition — for by tonight, after dinner tables are cleared, moviegoing commences. Despite the rains in L.A., multiplexes aren’t cutting back their showtimes, and there’s a way that water actually will drive business.
Christmas Eve, as always — except for when there’s a FOMO movie like Spider-Man: No Way Home on the marquee — was down as expected with an estimated $27.6M for all movies. That includes the $2M previews cash from A24’s Timothée Chalamet period dramedy Marty Supreme (higher than the actor’s Christmas Eve previews for A Complete Unknown last year at $1.4M, which did a 5-day of $23.2M) and the $2.1M previews from Sony’s Jack Black-Paul Rudd comedy Anaconda. Previews began at noon for Anaconda and Marty Supreme. The six-theater NYC and LA portion of the Chalamet film raked in an estimated $88K Wednesday for a running total of $1.2M.
Focus Features didn’t report previews for its Hugh Jackman-Kate Hudson musical Song Sung Blue, and well, boo on that.
Yesterday’s business for all titles was down 31% from Tuesday’s near-$40M haul. The best Christmas Eve post-Covid belongs to 2021, when moviegoers threw their pandemic worries aside and headed to Spider-Man: No Way Home, driving a $31.1M day. This Christmas Eve was up 24% from 2022, when Avatar: The Way of Water was on the marquee, however, it fell on a Saturday. Way of Water made $14.8M on Christmas Eve, and Avatar: Fire and Ash led yesterday with $10.7M at 3,800 theaters and a running cume of $129.7M.
Disney’s Zootopia 2 for the third weekday in a row towered over the new stuff, Lionsgate’s The Housemaid and Angel Studios’ David, with a fourth Wednesday of $3.2M at 3,540 theaters, running cume of $296.1M. Of course, $300M is in the animals’ eyesight by today, maybe Friday.
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David at 3,118 locations did an estimated $2.5M in third place for the day for a running total of $32.4M, while Housemaid was booked at 3,042 and did $1.45M in fifth for a running total of $27.5M. Paramount’s The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants was fourth yesterday with an estimated $1.78M at 3,557 sites, and a running cume of $23.7M.
Avatar 3 is expected to do around $75M for the 4-day box office (Dec. 25-Sunday), while Anaconda is hoping to clear $20M, Song Sung Blue is forecast at $10M-$14M and all the other titles — Housemaid, David, Marty Supreme, and SpongeBob — landing in the teens.
Rotten Tomatoes audience score on Marty Supreme is 86% to its critical score of 95% certified fresh. No audience score on Anaconda, but critics are meh on it at 49% rotten. Song Sung Blue also has no audience score, but critics enjoy it at 76% certified fresh.