Studio Weekend Estimates: ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ Levels Up w/ $55.7M 3-Day/$84.5M 5-Day; ‘Creed II’ Scores Knockout $35.2M 3-Day/$55.8M 5-Day; ‘Robin Hood’ Misses Mark w/ $9.1M 3-Day/$14.2 5-Day

In a competitive Thanksgiving weekend frame featuring three wide newcomers and several heavyweight holdovers, Ralph Breaks the Internet easily won the box office crown with an incredible $55.7 million three-day gross and a whopping $84.5 million over the five-day period. Elsewhere, Creed II more than lived up to the hype generated by its powerhouse predecessor while the latest version of Robin Hood faltered out of the gate.

Boasting the widest Thanksgiving weekend release ever, Disney minted another holiday-season hit with Ralph Breaks the Internet, the sequel to 2012’s beloved animated comedy Wreck-It Ralph. Debuting in 4,017 theaters, the follow-up bested Toy Story 2‘s $57.38 million 3-day gross over Thanksgiving weekend 1999 and also topped the five-day Thanksgiving record of $82.08 million boasted by 2016’s Moana, making it the second-highest Thanksgiving weekend debut ever behind Disney’s Frozen, which grossed $67.3 million over the 3-day and $93.5 million over the 5-day. Incidentally, both of those films were also released by Disney, which now boasts nine out of ten titles on the list of highest 3-day Thanksgiving weekend openers and eight out of the top ten films in the 5-day category (notably, Hunger Games: Catching Fire still holds the overall record with its second-weekend gross of $74.1 million over the 3-day and $109.9 million over the 5-day).

Despite six years passing since the release of Wreck-It Ralph, fans were clearly clamoring for more from the reformed arcade villain. The first film opened to $49 million in early November and boasted sturdy legs in the ensuing weeks thanks to strong word-of-mouth, ultimately finishing its run with a fantastic $189.4 million in North America. Both films benefitted from fantastic reviews, scoring nearly identically on both Rotten Tomatoes (87% and 86%) and Metacritic (72 vs. 71). Audiences also rated both installments highly, with Wreck-It Ralph garnering an “A” Cinemascore and Ralph Breaks the Internet nabbing an “A-.” Clearly goodwill from the first film kept audiences excited for a sequel, and the relative quality of the follow-up made good on that promise, leading to fantastic word-of-mouth through the weekend and a total that came in substantially higher than many had predicted despite heavy competition from the still-strong likes of The Grinch and Fantastic Beasts.

Down in second place, Creed II scored a knockout debut with $35.2 million over the three-day period and $55.8 million over the five-day, besting the first Creed, which brought in $29.6 million over the three-day Thanksgiving weekend in 2015 and $42.1 million over the five-day. Like Ralph Breaks the Internet, this seems to be another case of goodwill generated from the first film carrying over to its follow-up, combined with a strong critical and audience response (Creed II has an 81% “Certified Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an “A” Cinemascore). We’re expecting this to play well through the holiday season just like its predecessor, which finished its run with an impressive $109.7 million in North America and also nabbed a supporting Oscar nod for star Sylvester Stallone, who returned for the sequel.

In third place, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch continued its strong run with an estimated $30.2 million 3-day/$42 million five-day in its third weekend. That’s a drop of just 21% from last weekend’s total over the three-day period, giving the animated comedy a stellar $180.4 million total after 17 days of release. Thanks to its Yuletide themes, expect the Universal release to continue strong through the end of the year, particularly with kids out of school on their holiday break.

Fourth place went to the second weekend of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, which nabbed $29.6 million in its sophomore frame over the 3-day period and $42.8 million over the 5-day (notably, when taking into account 5-day figures Beasts actually slips into third place ahead of The Grinch). For the three-day frame, that’s a drop of 52% from its $62.1 million debut last weekend, giving the Wizarding World franchise entry a good $117.1 million after ten days of release. It’s worth noting that that’s a significantly steeper second-week drop than that of the first Fantastic Beasts, which also debuted the weekend before Thanksgiving and dropped 39% in its sophomore frame. With $117.1 million in the bank so far, Grindelwald is now running roughly 25% behind the pace of its predecessor, which notably also went up against a major Disney animated release in its sophomore frame, that time in the form of Moana.

Fifth place went to Bohemian Rhapsody, which brought in an estimated $13.8 million over the 3-day and $19.3 million over the 5-day. Dropping a mere 13% from the 3-day period last weekend, the Freddie Mercury biopic now has an incredible $152 million through Sunday. Like last year’s surprise hit The Greatest Showman, the crowd-pleasing musical has captured audiences despite a lukewarm critical reception and seems destined to perform well through the end of the year.

The Rose Byrne-Mark Wahlberg dramedy Instant Family took sixth place in its sophomore frame, grossing an estimated $12.5 million 3-day/$17.4 million 5-day. That’s a drop of just 13% from its $14.5 million three-day opening, an incredibly strong hold that suggests the film has been garnering strong word-of-mouth from audiences. With $35.7 million after ten days, the warm-and-fuzzy Paramount release looks to continue its strong run through the holidays.

Seventh place went to Robin Hood, which stumbled in its debut with an estimated $9.1 million over the 3-day period and $14.2 million over the five-day. In a season with multiple critically-acclaimed mainstream releases on the slate, the film’s dismal 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes may well have killed its chances of capturing a bigger audience this weekend. Notably, the Lionsgate release is the second Robin Hood adaptation to hit screens over the past decade, with the somewhat better-received Russell Crowe-Ridley Scott version debuting to a far more lively $36 million in May of 2010.

In eighth place, Widows took in an estimated $7.9 million 3-day/$10.5 million 5-day in its sophomore frame, bringing the total for the Fox release to $25.5 million in its first ten days. That’s a drop of just 35% over the 3-day period for the Viola Davis heist thriller, which has benefitted from strong critical notices and awards-season buzz thanks to a heavyweight cast and the work of Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen.

Following its limited release on just 25 screens last weekend, Green Book expanded to 1,063 theaters and brought in an estimated $5.4 million 3-day/$7.4 million 5-day in ninth place, a decent total that brings the cume for the Universal title to $7.8 million. The Mahershala Ali-Viggo Mortensen drama has been reasonably (if not ecstatically) well-reviewed, and audiences seem to be enjoying it even better, as it currently boasts a Flixster audience rating of 93%. Whether that will translate into a robust performance for the feel-good film as we move further into the holiday season remains to be seen. As things stand right now, this could potentially go either way.

Rounding out the Top 10 is Warner Bros.’ A Star Is Born, which grossed an estimated $3 million over the 3-day period and $4 million over the 5-day. That gives the Lady Gaga-Bradley Cooper blockbuster a total of $191 million so far.

Limited Release:

Fox Searchlight released The Favourite into just four theaters and brought in a fantastic $420K, which represents a sizzling per-screen average of $105K, the highest of the year to date. Starring Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, and Olivia Colman and directed by The Lobster helmer Yorgos Lanthimos, the R-rated palace intrigue satire has benefitted from very strong reviews (it has a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a healthy dose of awards-season buzz. Look for the film to expand wider next weekend.

Overseas Update:

Ralph Breaks the Internet took in $41.5 million in its international debut, leading to a global opening weekend of $97.2 million over the 3-day period. Opening grosses included $19.5 million in China and $6.3 million in Mexico. Its global cume through Sunday stands at $126 million.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald crossed the $400 million mark globally this weekend, grossing an estimated $83.7 million in 80 markets. The international total now stands at $322.6 million while the global cume is a whopping $439.7 million. Totals include $51.9 million in China, $28.3 million in the UK, $23.2 million in Germany, and $19.8 million in France.

The post Studio Weekend Estimates: ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ Levels Up w/ $55.7M 3-Day/$84.5M 5-Day; ‘Creed II’ Scores Knockout $35.2M 3-Day/$55.8M 5-Day; ‘Robin Hood’ Misses Mark w/ $9.1M 3-Day/$14.2 5-Day appeared first on BoxOffice Pro.

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