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Posted January 13, 2020 by Mike Tyrkus in News
 
 

Box-Office Weekend: 1917 Unseats Star Wars

Apparently a fourth week on top of the box-office weekend wasn’t in the cards for Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker as the film was bested by the new film from director Sam Mendes, 1917. The war epic enjoyed a first weekend in wide-release by claiming first place over the weekend and a $36.5 million weekend gross.

1917 posterThough The Rise of Skywalker lost the top spot this weekend, it did manage to finish in second place and add another $15.1 million, giving it a four-week tally of $478.2 million. Similarly dropping one spot this weekend was Jumanji: The Next Level, which took third place with $14.0 million. The sequel now claims a five-week total of $257.1 million.

The second newcomer to the top ten this past weekend was the comedy Like a Boss, which debuted in fourth place earning $10.0 million. Tied with that was the courtroom drama Just Mercy which finished in fifth, also earning $10.0 million in its first week of wide-release.

Dropping from third to sixth place in its third week of release was the adaptation of Little Women from director Greta Gerwig. The film took in $7.7 million over the weekend to brings its total to $74.0 million. Meanwhile, debuting in the top ten at number seven was the horror/drama Underwater, starring Kristen Stewart which managed to take in $7.0 million.

Falling from the fifth spot last week to eighth this week, was the animated Frozen II, which added $5.8 million to bring its eight-week tally to $459.4 million. Rian Johnson’s Knives Out dropped two spots to finish in ninth place this weekend earning $5.7 million. This gives the film a seven-week total of $139.6 million.

Lastly, the animated Spies in Disguise plummeted from the sixth spot last weekend to the tenth and final spot earning $5.1 million this weekend, lifting its three-week tally to $54.6 million.

Four films departed the top ten weekend box office, including: The Grudge, which grossed a disappointing $17.9 million in its two weeks of release; Uncut Gems, which has made $43.3 million in its first five weeks of release and could enjoy a bit more given awards season is just around the corner; Bombshell now boasts a five-week tally of $27.9 million; and the live-action Cats which now sports a four-week haul of $26.4 million. Next weekend will see some potential heavy hitters arrive in the form of the sequel Bad Boys for Life and the family-friendly Dolittle starring Robert Downey Jr.

Weekend Box Office (January 10th – January 12th)

  1. 1917…$36.5 Million
  2. Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker…$15.1 Million
  3. Jumanji: The Next Level…$14.0 Million
  4. Like a Boss…$10.0 Million
  5. Just Mercy…$10.0 Million
  6. Little Women…$7.7 Million
  7. Underwater…$7.0 Million
  8. Frozen II…$5.8 Million
  9. Knives Out…$5.7 Million
  10. Spies in Disguise…$5.1 Million
Mike Tyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com
An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.