Weekend Estimates: Frozen II ($35M) and Knives Out ($14M+) Lead Again as Dark Waters Expands with $4.5M

Saturday Report: Disney’s Frozen II added another $7.84 million on Friday, beginning its third weekend of domestic play with an estimated $310.8 million 15-day running cume. The blockbuster animated sequel will again win the weekend for a third time with what’s estimated at $35 million currently.

Knives Out is holding up very well to begin its second weekend, registering $4.138 million on Friday and giving it a 10-day domestic tally of $53.5 million thus far. The Rian Johnson film is targeting a sophomore frame of $14.2 million as strong word of mouth continues to propel it.

Queen & Slim posted $1.93 million in third place on Friday, bringing its own 10-day domestic haul to a healthy $22.3 million. The prestige title from director Melina Matsoukas continues to generate positive word of mouth as a counter-programming option for adult audiences. We’re projecting a second weekend around $6.4 million.

Ford v Ferrari wasn’t far behind in fourth place yesterday, tacking on another $1.871 million and bringing its domestic cume to $86.4 million through 22 days. Weekend estimates stand around $6.6 million currently.

As far as this weekend’s openers are concerned, Dark Waters expanded from 94 to 2,011 locations yesterday. The film took in $1.39 million on Friday and looks to be heading for a $4.5 million weekend.

Meanwhile, Playmobil: The Movie bowed to $167,000 from 2,337 locations. Opening weekend looks to register around $750K based on our current projections.

Early Weekend Estimates (Domestic)
FRI, DEC. 6 – SUN, DEC. 8

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Frozen II $35,000,000 -59% 4,348 -92 $8,050 $337,924,901 3 Disney
2 Knives Out $14,200,000 -47% 3,461 0 $4,103 $63,536,491 2 Lionsgate
3 Ford v. Ferrari $6,600,000 -50% 3,746 300 $1,762 $91,173,353 4 20th Century Fox
4 Queen & Slim $6,400,000 -46% 1,715 25 $3,732 $26,764,005 2 Universal Pictures
5 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood $6,000,000 -49% 3,491 256 $1,719 $43,920,415 3 Sony Pictures
6 Dark Waters $4,500,000 625% 2,012 1918 $2,237 $5,684,749 3 Focus Features
7 21 Bridges $2,700,000 -52% 2,465 -200 $1,095 $23,752,696 3 STX Entertainment
8 Midway $2,000,000 -49% 2,100 -275 $952 $53,462,471 5 Lionsgate
9 Playing with Fire $2,000,000 -53% 2,253 -426 $888 $41,982,325 5 Paramount Pictures
10 Last Christmas $1,100,000 -45% 1,262 -590 $872 $33,537,175 5 Universal Pictures
11 Harriet $900,000 -51% 1,000 -84 $900 $40,941,550 6 Focus Features
12 Playmobil: The Movie $750,000 2,337 $321 $750,000 1 STX Entertainment

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Joker $1,000,000 -49% 956 -190 $1,046 $332,101,623 10 Warner Bros.
2 Jojo Rabbit $560,000 -54% 579 -129 $967 $19,294,823 8 Fox Searchlight
3 Maleficent: Mistress of Evil $540,000 -59% 728 -263 $742 $112,378,846 8 Disney
4 The Good Liar $540,000 -65% 787 -1216 $686 $16,196,751 4 Warner Bros.
5 Terminator: Dark Fate $290,000 -67% 431 -351 $673 $61,760,666 6 Paramount
6 Charlie’s Angels $220,000 -83% 703 -2453 $313 $17,509,006 4 Sony Pictures
7 En Brazos de un Asesino $200,000 160 $1,250 $200,000 1 Lionsgate / Pantelion Films
8 Abominable $120,000 -19% 174 -21 $690 $60,327,080 11 Universal Pictures
9 Downton Abbey $52,000 -36% 117 -26 $444 $96,783,350 12 Focus Features

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Ad Astra $11,000 -30% 33 15 $333 $50,189,350 12 20th Century Fox