Weekend Actuals: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Rocks to $51.0M; ‘Nutcracker’ Soft w/ $20.3M, ‘Nobody’s Fool’ Counter-Programs to $13.7M

Monday Update: Queen was the king this weekend, as Fox’s musical drama Bohemian Rhapsody came in above pre-release expectations, saying “can’t stop me now” with a first place start $51.0M.

Not only was that opening higher than almost anybody expected, but if its box office longevity proves to be in league with fellow recent musical dramas like A Star Is Born and The Greatest Showman, the film’s final haul could be quite impressive indeed — topping $150M and possibly even topping $200M, an outcome few thought possible.

Disney’s holiday fantasy The Nutcracker and the Four Realms started in second place with $20.3M. That’s in line with pre-release expectations, although the movie hopes to make the bulk of its box office over the next two months as Christmas approaches — which may be challenging as it faces The Grinch opening next week.

Elsewhere at the box office:

  • Paramount’s comedy Nobody’s Fool debuted in third place with $13.7M, about in line with pre-release expectations.
  • After leading for the past two weekends, Universal’s horror sequel Halloween plummeted -66% to fifth place and $10.8M, as should have been expected with the film’s namesake holiday now in the rearview mirror.
  • The weekend’s highest per-theater average was Focus Features’ drama Boy Erased with $207,057 on five screens, or $41,411 average.

Comparisons

Total box office this weekend was $145.4M.

That’s +39.5% above last weekend but -19.3% below this same weekend last year, when Thor: Ragnarok led with $122.7M.

Year-to-date box office stands at $9.87B. That’s +11.1% ahead of this same date last year, down from +11.3% after last weekend.

Demographics

Bohemian Rhapsody audience was 50.4% male, 16.6% under age 25, and 56.6% over age 50.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms audience was 54.3% female, 40.9% under age 25, and 36.8% over age 50.

Audience demographics from Vertigo for Nobody’s Fool were not immediately available, although Lionsgate has provided their own studio estimates.

The most male audience in this weekend’s top 10 was Venom at 66.8%, while the most female audience was The Hate U Give at 62.4%. (Lionsgate estimate Nobody’s Fool had a 61% female audience.)

The most under-25 audience in this weekend’s top 10 was Smallfoot at 60.7%, while the most over-25 audience was Hunter Killer at 93.4%.

A full demographic breakdown of the top 30 movies this weekend, courtesy of BoxofficeProfile by Vertigo, is included below:

Our full table of weekend actuals is below, followed by our Sunday update featuring fuller analysis.


Monday’s Weekend Actuals (Domestic)

FRI, NOV. 2 – SUN, NOV. 4

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Bohemian Rhapsody $51,061,119 4,000 $12,765 $51,061,119 1 20th Century Fox
2 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms $20,352,491 3,766 $5,404 $20,352,491 1 Walt Disney Pictures
3 Nobody’s Fool $13,743,111 2,468 $5,569 $13,743,111 1 Paramount
4 A Star is Born $11,003,083 -22% 3,431 -473 $3,207 $165,537,649 5 Warner Bros.
5 Halloween (2018) $10,830,865 -66% 3,775 -215 $2,869 $150,224,570 3 Universal Pictures
6 Venom $7,877,174 -26% 3,067 -500 $2,568 $198,690,522 5 Sony / Columbia
7 Smallfoot $3,861,672 -19% 2,002 -660 $1,929 $77,540,973 6 Warner Bros.
8 Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween $3,773,720 -48% 2,828 -895 $1,334 $43,906,036 4 Sony
9 Hunter Killer $3,528,129 -47% 2,720 -8 $1,297 $12,968,245 2 Lionsgate / Summit
10 The Hate U Give $3,353,422 -34% 1,507 -868 $2,225 $23,414,346 5 20th Century Fox
11 First Man $2,184,385 -55% 1,712 -1247 $1,276 $41,974,255 4 Universal
12 Night School $1,990,285 -38% 1,271 -720 $1,566 $74,385,500 6 Universal
13 Mid90s $1,330,523 -55% 1,091 -115 $1,220 $5,791,489 3 A24

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Beautiful Boy $1,345,727 106% 540 350 $2,492 $3,148,969 4 Amazon
2 Johnny English Strikes Again $1,037,230 -37% 552 8 $1,879 $3,253,995 2 Universal Pictures
3 Can You Ever Forgive Me? $1,032,318 190% 180 155 $5,735 $1,752,458 3 Fox Searchlight
4 The Old Man & The Gun $1,015,902 -42% 765 -277 $1,328 $9,186,589 6 Fox Searchlight
5 Suspiria $979,882 432% 309 307 $3,171 $1,230,739 2 Amazon Studios
6 Indivisible $760,846 -49% 742 -88 $1,025 $2,890,719 2 Pure Flix
7 The House With A Clock In Its Walls $526,900 -50% 510 -532 $1,033 $67,349,050 7 Universal Pictures
8 Bad Times At The El Royale $296,514 -78% 322 -1476 $921 $17,474,616 4 20th Century Fox
9 Crazy Rich Asians $244,843 -30% 208 -73 $1,177 $173,206,603 12 Warner Bros.
10 Colette $178,357 -46% 130 -105 $1,372 $4,783,042 7 Bleecker Street
11 Incredibles 2 $168,949 22% 150 -10 $1,126 $608,109,517 21 Disney
12 Gosnell: The Trial Of America’s Biggest Serial Killer $144,714 -63% 267 -200 $542 $3,546,622 4 GVN Releasing
13 Disney’s Christopher Robin $139,933 50% 165 17 $848 $99,010,982 14 Disney
14 The Nun $128,890 -25% 211 -124 $611 $117,277,020 9 Warner Bros.
15 The Happy Prince $86,296 8% 277 206 $312 $356,790 4 Sony Pictures Classics
16 The Sisters Brothers $66,665 -76% 146 -628 $457 $3,004,912 7 Annapurna Pictures
17 A Simple Favor $65,631 -56% 102 -120 $643 $53,362,121 8 Lionsgate
18 Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation $56,849 -34% 104 -71 $547 $167,401,329 19 Sony / Columbia

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Boy Erased $207,057 5 $41,411 $207,057 1 Focus Features
2 Wildlife $116,645 8% 55 37 $2,121 $408,324 3 IFC Films
3 Rampant $70,878 287% 29 27 $2,444 $102,432 2 Well Go USA Entertainment
4 Andhadhun $66,524 -33% 62 0 $1,073 $1,193,049 5 Eros Entertainment
5 A Private War $60,491 4 $15,123 $60,491 1 Aviron Pictures
6 Tea With the Dames $58,066 -27% 51 -18 $1,139 $689,116 7 IFC Films
7 Border $54,295 -26% 12 5 $4,525 $163,056 2 Neon
8 Burning $54,234 108% 6 4 $9,039 $93,983 2 Well Go USA Entertainment
9 Bodied $53,000 14 $3,786 $53,000 1
10 The Wife $40,441 -49% 49 -33 $825 $7,691,644 12 Sony Pictures Classics
11 What They Had $40,103 -34% 37 12 $1,084 $161,794 3 Bleecker Street
12 In Search of Greatness $32,952 16 $2,060 $32,952 1 Art of Sport
13 The Predator $31,689 -32% 72 -36 $440 $50,971,245 8 Fox
14 Alpha $28,362 -10% 41 -24 $692 $35,799,576 12 Sony / Columbia
15 Searching $27,323 280% 52 27 $525 $25,989,373 11 Sony Pictures
16 Viper Club $26,544 87% 70 67 $379 $44,859 2 Roadside Attractions
17 Hell Fest $25,615 -85% 92 -815 $278 $11,099,771 6 Lionsgate / CBS Films
18 The Guilty $20,136 -50% 17 -3 $1,184 $167,909 3 Magnolia Pictures
19 The Price of Everything $15,589 -18% 7 -1 $2,227 $73,476 3 HBO Films
20 Museo $12,685 911% 5 1 $2,537 $148,505 8 Vitagraph Films
21 White Boy Rick $12,331 -57% 38 -26 $325 $24,004,833 8 Sony / Studio 8
22 Studio 54 $9,810 -50% 7 -7 $1,401 $150,870 5 Zeitgeist Films
23 Little Women (2018) $8,632 90% 36 26 $240 $1,368,624 6 Pinnacle Peak
24 Mandy $7,292 5 $1,458 $1,214,525 8 RLJE Films
25 Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. $7,212 -36% 5 -1 $1,442 $209,354 6 Abramorama
26 1945 $5,973 -30% 6 -3 $996 $995,578 53 Menemsha Films
27 Wings of Desire (2018 re-release) $4,600 -34% 2 1 $2,300 $44,119 3 Janus Films
28 Bye Bye Germany $4,088 1 $4,088 $72,365 30 Film Movement
29 Senso $3,711 -7% 1 0 $3,711 $11,947 2 Rialto Pictures
30 Kusama – Infinity $3,297 -31% 6 -1 $550 $336,610 9 Magnolia Pictures
31 I Am Not a Witch $2,971 431% 5 -2 $594 $49,405 9 Film Movement
32 Pick of the Litter $2,598 -4% 4 -7 $650 $522,878 10 IFC Films
33 Horn from the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story $2,472 71% 1 -1 $2,472 $8,462 3 Abramorama
34 Love, Gilda $2,227 -72% 9 -9 $247 $619,076 7 Magnolia Pictures
35 London Fields $2,144 -99% 32 -581 $67 $249,796 2 GVN Releasing
36 The Cakemaker $2,109 -5% 2 0 $1,055 $874,584 19 Strand Releasing
37 Life and Nothing More $1,840 -72% 2 -4 $920 $11,900 2 CFI Releasing
38 Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco $1,615 -35% 4 -1 $404 $40,650 8 Film Movement
39 God Bless the Broken Road $1,545 -36% 5 -5 $309 $2,844,548 9 Freestyle Releasing
40 Blaze $1,355 -24% 6 -6 $226 $688,332 12 IFC Films / Sundance Selects
41 A Paris Education $1,355 2 $678 $19,568 10 Kino Lorber
42 The Rider $1,213 323% 3 1 $404 $2,404,646 30 Sony Pictures Classics
43 Weed the People $1,177 2 $589 $7,290 2 Mangurama
44 All About Nina $1,042 -49% 5 -3 $208 $100,537 6 The Orchard
45 Operation Finale $793 -7% 3 -5 $264 $17,611,017 10 MGM
46 Puzzle $686 -82% 2 -6 $343 $2,028,346 15 Sony Pictures Classics
47 Memoir of War $587 1 $587 $96,540 12 Music Box Films
48 Namaste England $474 -93% 71 0 $7 $104,079 3 Eros Entertainment
49 The Apparition $471 1 $471 $26,802 9 Music Box Films
50 The Captain $430 2 $215 $108,612 15 Music Box Films
51 Stella’s Last Weekend $369 310% 1 -1 $369 $4,180 4 Paladin
52 Helicopter Eela $123 108% 70 0 $2 $71,971 4 Eros International
53 Black ’47 $116 -85% 2 -1 $58 $47,817 6 IFC Films
54 Liyana $90 -78% 2 1 $45 $9,184 4 Abramorama

 


Sunday Update: In the spirit of its larger-than-life subject Freddie Mercury, Bohemian Rhapsody rocketed its way to the top of the charts this weekend, bringing in an estimated $50 million in its opening frame. Elsewhere, Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms debuted soft, while Nobody’s Fool gave another box office win to director/producer Tyler Perry and star Tiffany Haddish.

Despite a troubled production history and so-so reviews (it currently stands at 59% on Rotten Tomatoes), Bohemian Rhapsody blasted past expectations this weekend on the strength of rock band Queen’s enduring popularity and buzz around Rami Malek’s acclaimed performance as frontman Mercury. It didn’t hurt that the studio’s marketing department pulled out all the stops for the film (it scored highly on our Trailer Impact surveys over the last few weeks, particularly in the Recall metric) and that Malek has been a highly visible presence on late-night talk shows and other promotional venues in the lead-up to release, which has given the title supreme visibility. The film also seems to have drummed up much organic interest thanks to the lasting popularity of both Mercury and the group itself, who minted such culture-defining hits as the title track and “We Will Rock You,” which has been a staple anthem at sporting events for decades. IMAX sales also helped pad the opening weekend numbers, with Rhapsody bringing in $6.2 million from 401 screens in the premium format.

Compared with similar titles as of late, Bohemian Rhapsody‘s debut came in 14% higher than the Lady Gaga-Bradley Cooper blockbuster A Star Is Born ($42.9 million opening) and 30% above Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, which opened to $34.9 million back in July. Though less-than-stellar critical notices might ordinarily point to a frontloaded performance for a fall biopic, the Fox release also received an encouraging “A” Cinemascore from opening day audiences and boasts a Flixster audience score of 94%, suggesting it may well enjoy the kind of word-of-mouth that will help it play strongly over the coming weeks, particularly with what is sure to be a full-court-press Oscar campaign for Malek.

Coming in second place was Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, which debuted with a somewhat underwhelming $20 million in its opening frame. The big-budget production was heavily marketed to family audiences looking for a holiday-centric diversion, but despite a recognizable supporting cast and a fantasy premise engineered for this time of year, poor reviews (its Rotten Tomatoes score is just 35%) and a non-franchise title helped dash its hopes of opening higher this weekend.

It’s worth noting that Nutcracker is the second PG-rated fantasy to debut lower than expected for the Mouse House this year. Back in March, A Wrinkle in Time debuted to a relatively decent $33.1 million but managed to just barely cross $100 million by the end of its run. With a much slower start than that title – not to mention a lower first-weekend total than the much more modestly-budgeted Christopher Robin ($24.5 million opening) – Nutcracker will need to boast incredibly strong legs in the weeks ahead, though its path to doing so could be hampered considerably by next weekend’s release of Dr. Suess’ The Grinch, which with its iconic title character and holiday-geared premise will no gobble up a large share of the family audience. Nevertheless, with the holiday season now in full swing it’s certainly possible that Nutcracker will hold better than expected in the coming weeks, as this time of year has accommodated multiple family-friendly titles many times in the past.

In third place was the weekend’s other new wide release Nobody’s Fool, which managed an estimated $14 million opening for director/producer Tyler Perry and star Tiffany Haddish. That’s a slower start than for Perry’s Acrimony from earlier this year ($17.1 million), but still a healthy total for a film with a reported budget of just $19 million. For Haddish, the debut came in lower than the $27.2 million opening of September’s Night School, though that film benefitted from the added starpower of Kevin Hart, so it’s not really a fair comparison. While Fool‘s Rotten Tomatoes score of 25% is rather dismal, the box office performances of Perry’s films have never been reliant on critics. Indeed, it’s worth noting that while none of the films he’s directed have ever managed a “Fresh” rating on the review aggregator, almost all of them have been hits, and that trend shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. The Cinemascore for the film is “A-.”

A Star Is Born boasted another strong hold in its fifth weekend with an estimated $11.1 million, giving the Warner Bros. musical drama a powerful $165.6 million in fourth place. That’s a drop of just 21% from last weekend, a surprisingly strong hold given the presence of Bohemian Rhapsody in the marketplace and yet another indicator that word-of-mouth (and no doubt repeat business) continues to be strong for the Lady Gaga-Bradley Cooper romance.

With Halloween the holiday now in the past, Halloween the movie dropped rather sharply this weekend, falling 64% to fifth place with an estimated $11 million in its third weekend. That gives the Universal title $150.4 million after 17 days of release, a total that places  it in the Top 4 R-rated horror releases of all time not adjusting for inflation, below only It ($327.8 million), The Exorcist ($232.9 million) and Get Out ($176 million).

In sixth, Venom took in an estimated $7.8 million in its fifth weekend of release, giving the superhero title a $198.6 million cume. The Sony release will cross the $200 million mark by next weekend.

Seventh place went to Smallfoot, which took in an estimated $3.8 million for a total of $77.4 million after six weeks of release, while Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween brought in an estimated $3.7 million in eighth for a $43.8 million total after four weeks.

Hunter Killer fell to eighth place with $3.5 million, representing a 46% drop from its soft $6.6 million debut. With just $12.9 million so far, the submarine actioner will is looking to finish its run as star Gerard Butler’s lowest-grossing release since 2012’s Playing for Keeps ($13.1 million).

Ninth and tenth went to Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween and The Hate U Give, which brought in an estimated $3.7 million and $3.4 million, respectively. Goosebumps has $43.8 million after four weeks of release, while Hate has a healthy $23.4 million tally after five weeks.

Outside the Top 10, Amazon Studios expanded Beautiful Boy to 540 theaters after three weekends of limited release and brought in an estimated $1.4 million, good for a per-screen average of $2,620. Additionally, the distributor took Suspiria semi-wide and grossed an estimated $964K from 311 locations, for a per-screen average of $3,102. The horror remake now has $1.2 million in the bank after releasing in just two theaters last weekend.

Limited Release:

Boy Erased brought in an estimated $220K from just five screens, giving the Focus drama a very good $44K per-screen average. The drama, which was directed by Joel Edgerton and stars Lucas Hedges as a gay teen sent to a gay conversion camp, has received mainly positive reviews and will certainly expand wider next weekend. 

Aviron released A Private War in four theaters and took in an estimated $72K, giving the Rosamund Pike drama a per-screen average of $18K. The film about a war journalist was well-received by critics, boasting an 88% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Expanding to 180 locations, Fox Searchlight’s Can You Ever Forgive Me? brought in a decent $1.08 million, giving it a per-screen average of $6,000. The cume for the Melissa McCarthy vehicle now stands at $1.8 million.

Overseas Update:

Bohemian Rhapsody powered its way to $72.5 million in overseas markets this weekend, bringing its international total to $91.7 million (it was released early in the band’s native U.K.) and its global to cume to a sensational $141.7 million. Totals this weekend included $7.7 million in France, $7.3 million in the U.K. ($26.5 million total), $5.8 million in Mexico, $5.7 million in Germany, $5.7 million in South Korea, and $5.4 million in Australia.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms debuted to $38.5 million overseas this weekend, bringing its global debut total to $58.5 million. The international total includes $12 million in China and $5.5 million in Italy. 

Halloween took in an estimated $18.3 million from 66 territories, bringing the horror reboot’s international total to $79.2 million and its global cume to $229.6 million.

Venom brought in an estimated $15.6 million from 65 markets, bringing its international total to $342.9 million and its global cume to $541.9 million. The Sony title is slated to open in China next weekend.

A Star Is Born grossed an estimated $13.9 million from 73 markets, boosting its international cume to $128.3 million and its global tally to $293.9 million.


Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates (Domestic)

FRI, NOV. 2 – SUN, NOV. 4

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Bohemian Rhapsody $50,000,000 4,000 $12,500 $50,000,000 1 20th Century Fox
2 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms $20,000,000 3,766 $5,311 $20,000,000 1 Walt Disney Pictures
3 Nobody’s Fool $14,000,000 2,468 $5,673 $14,000,000 1 Paramount
4 A Star is Born $11,100,000 -21% 3,431 -473 $3,235 $165,634,566 5 Warner Bros.
5 Halloween (2018) $11,020,000 -65% 3,775 -215 $2,919 $150,413,705 3 Universal Pictures
6 Venom $7,850,000 -26% 3,067 -500 $2,560 $198,663,348 5 Sony / Columbia
7 Smallfoot $3,805,000 -20% 2,002 -660 $1,901 $77,484,301 6 Warner Bros.
8 Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween $3,700,000 -49% 2,828 -895 $1,308 $43,832,316 4 Sony
9 Hunter Killer $3,525,000 -47% 2,720 -8 $1,296 $12,965,116 2 Lionsgate / Summit
10 The Hate U Give $3,400,000 -33% 1,507 -868 $2,256 $23,460,924 5 20th Century Fox
11 First Man $2,270,000 -53% 1,712 -1247 $1,326 $42,059,870 4 Universal
12 Night School $2,017,000 -38% 1,271 -720 $1,587 $74,412,215 6 Universal
13 Mid90s $1,360,000 -54% 1,091 -115 $1,247 $5,820,966 3 A24

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Beautiful Boy $1,414,800 116% 540 350 $2,620 $3,218,042 4 Amazon
2 Can You Ever Forgive Me? $1,080,000 203% 180 155 $6,000 $1,800,140 3 Fox Searchlight
3 Johnny English Strikes Again $1,047,000 -36% 552 8 $1,897 $3,263,765 2 Universal Pictures
4 Free Solo $1,034,878 -9% 363 -29 $2,851 $6,866,591 6 National Geographic Entertainment
5 The Old Man & The Gun $1,000,000 -43% 765 -277 $1,307 $9,170,687 6 Fox Searchlight
6 Suspiria $964,722 424% 311 309 $3,102 $1,215,579 2 Amazon Studios
7 Indivisible $752,000 -50% 742 -88 $1,013 $2,881,873 2 Pure Flix
8 Incredibles 2 $173,000 25% 150 -10 $1,153 $608,113,568 21 Disney
9 Colette $167,612 -49% 130 -105 $1,289 $4,772,297 7 Bleecker Street
10 Disney’s Christopher Robin $134,000 44% 165 17 $812 $99,005,049 14 Disney
11 The Happy Prince $90,283 12% 277 206 $326 $360,777 4 Sony Pictures Classics
12 A Simple Favor $68,000 -55% 102 -120 $667 $53,364,490 8 Lionsgate
13 The Sisters Brothers $67,427 -76% 146 -628 $462 $3,005,674 7 Annapurna Pictures

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Boy Erased $220,000 5 $44,000 $220,000 1 Focus Features
2 Wildlife $128,712 20% 55 37 $2,340 $420,391 3 IFC Films
3 A Private War $72,000 4 $18,000 $72,000 1 Aviron Pictures
4 Tea With the Dames $61,156 -23% 56 -13 $1,092 $692,206 7 IFC Films
5 Burning $57,550 120% 6 4 $9,592 $97,299 2 Well Go USA Entertainment
6 Border $51,729 -30% 12 5 $4,311 $160,490 2 Neon
7 Bodied $50,528 14 $3,609 $50,528 1
8 The Wife $49,304 -37% 49 -33 $1,006 $7,700,507 12 Sony Pictures Classics
9 What They Had $37,520 -38% 37 12 $1,014 $159,211 3 Bleecker Street
10 Hell Fest $26,000 -85% 92 -815 $283 $11,100,156 6 Lionsgate / CBS Films
11 Monrovia, Indiana $13,950 170% 10 9 $1,395 $21,930 2 Zipporah Films
12 Science Fair $7,814 8 $977 $250,306 8 National Geographic Documentary Films

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