Broadway Box Office Slips In Pre-Thanksgiving Lull; ‘Jaja’s African Hair Braiding’, Melissa Etheridge Post Gains In Final Weeks

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Ridley Scott’s historical epic “Napoleon” may not have conquered the top spot in North America, but it emerged victorious at the worldwide box office. The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the infamous French ruler, debuted to $78.8 million, including $46.3 million internationally — enough to stave off the competition on global charts.

“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” stayed at No. 1 at the box office on Black Friday, retaining the top spot in its second week on the screens.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” continue to stretch ahead of new releases like Disney’s animated adventure “Wish” and Apple and Sony’s historical epic “Napoleon.” Lionsgate’s young adult drama gobbled up another $11.4 millionon Friday, adding onto the $13.2 million it nabbed across Wednesday and Thursday. “Songbirds and Snakes” is looking to be the foremost beneficiary of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, with rivals projecting a 40% drop over the traditional three-day frame. Things seemed up in the air for “The Hunger Games” prequel after its $44 million opening last weekend.

Brent Lang Executive Editor There’s a good old fashioned box office battle brewing. Disney’s “Wish,” an animated adventure that had been expected to dominate the Thanksgiving holiday is facing off against Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” for the top spot over the five-day stretch. And the dystopian prequel, which is currently in its second week of release, is showing impressive resilience against the family flick.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Hollywood might not be feeling so festive this Thanksgiving. The holiday period is traditionally a busy time for moviegoing, but audiences aren’t turning out in force over Turkey Day, leaving the box office suffering from too much tryptophan. In this drowsy state of play, Disney’s “Wish” earned a lackluster $8.3 million on Wednesday.

UPDATE: The Thanksgiving stretch will see the most amount of moviegoing for this fall after being slowed down by the actors strike.

Jordan Moreau Disney is wishing upon a box office star this Thanksgiving, as its latest animated movie “Wish” takes on Apple’s historical drama “Napoleon.” “Wish” is expected to come out on top this weekend, but “Napoleon” won the first box office battle in previews. “Napoleon” made $3 million in previews, which began on Tuesday due to the Thanksgiving holiday, and “Wish” made $2.3 million. The family friendly animated movie about Disney’s iconic wishing star is expected to make $35 million over the typical weekend.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter It’s become a holiday tradition for Disney to release an animated movie around Thanksgiving, and this year is no different. “Wish,” a musical origin story for the Wishing Star that so many Disney characters have wished upon before, is expected to lead box office charts over the busy weekend. But it won’t be all Disney, all the time, like it was last year when two of the studio’s offerings, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Strange World,” topped the box office.

Disney original animation is looking at a comeback this Thanksgiving. The princess pic Wish is looking at as much as $45M-$50M over five days after the studio suffering a setback over last year’s holiday with Strange World, which did $18.8M.

In a super weekend for specialty, Saltburn had a lofty open on seven screens and The Holdovers a nice $2.7 million in a major week-three expansion that put it at no. 6 at the domestic box office. Actors are once again out promoting their films and indie/original fare continues to benefit from fewer studio releases in the aftermath of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Iman Vellani is sharing how she feels about how The Marvels has performed at the box office over its first week in theaters.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter The odds were ever in favor of “The Hunger Games” prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” which emerged victorious in a busy box office weekend despite opening slightly behind expectations. The film, which brings audiences back to the dystopia of Panem for the first time in nearly a decade, collected $44 million from 3,776 North American theaters in its first weekend of release.

according to Deadline.The Post said the dystopian action film, which is predicted to enjoy a $30-million opening weekend, leaves viewers “hungry for a meatier conclusion.”“Trolls Band Together” which Deadline praised as a “cute psychedelic pop satire,” came in second, raking in close to $9.4 million.The animated musical comedy, also in its theatrical debut Friday, features the voices of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, RuPaul and Amy Schumer. The slasher movie “Thanksgiving,” which also premiered on Friday, landed in third, with just over $3.8 million in sales.Rolling Stone called it a “lazy horror film that strains to be merely mediocre” and said it “can go stuff itself.”“The Marvels,” which was in the No.1 spot last week, fell down to fourth, earning $2.8 million.

EXCLUSIVE: Getting a leg-up here on our Thanksgiving stretch preview, Apple Studios production of Ridley Scott’s Napoleon will invade the global box office via Sony this Wednesday, in what’s shaping up to be a $46M WW global start.

Jordan Moreau Welcome back to the “Hunger Games,” and may the box office odds be ever in your favor. The latest movie in the Lionsgate YA action franchise, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” has made $5.75 million in previews at the box office.

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate‘s prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is looking at a Thursday night between $5.75M-$6M after showtimes that began at 3PM.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Hunger Games” prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is expected to emerge victorious in this weekend’s box office battle royale. It’s competing against two fellow newcomers, Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s threequel “Trolls Band Together” and Sony’s gory thriller “Thanksgiving,” in this crowded pre-Turkey Day corridor.

Broadway began its trek into the lucrative holiday season last week at a steady clip, with the 28 shows grossing a total of $29,163,440 for the week ending November 12. That’s up about 10% over the previous week, though down about the same percentage from last year at this time.

Reviews weren’t strong (62% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and neither was audience reaction. “The Marvels” is only the third MCU release to receive a “B” CinemaScore from moviegoers, following “Eternals” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantamania.”“The Marvels,” which added $63.3 million in overseas ticket sales, may go down as a turning point in the MCU. Over the years, the franchise has collected $33 billion globally — a point Disney noted in reporting its grosses Sunday.But with movie screens and streaming platforms increasingly crowded with superhero films and series, some analysts have detected a new fatigue setting in for audiences.

“abject misery” and the worst entry yet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — the film pulled in $21.5 million in ticket sales, according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.“Five Nights at Freddy’s,” which had taken the top spot the last two Fridays, slipped to second place with ticket sales of $3 million.Concert film sensation “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” took in $1.9 million as it dropped one notch from last week to third place. The film of Swift’s blockbuster summer tour has topped $234 million in worldwide sales since its Oct.