‘Freaky’ Leads Pandemic Box Office With Just $3.7 Million

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItalian cinemas are set to stay closed over the holidays after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte extended Italy’s soft lockdown until early January. The widely expected move comes as the country contends with a flare up of the pandemic.

Warner Bros. is plotting a sweeping response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has shuttered movie theaters around the country.

plan for a global theatrical roll-out of sequel “Wonder Woman 1984” ahead of a U.S. launch on HBO Max is a mixed blessing for cinema operators in Europe, where national lockdowns have tempered enthusiasm for a tentpole release amid the pandemic.“Releasing ‘Wonder Woman’ in December is sheer madness; it’s insanity,” said one exhibition boss who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Universal's The Croods: A New Age was the decisive winner of a competitive three-way race at China's box office over the weekend, topping both holdover local hit Caught in Time and the latest release from venerated Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou. Croods 2 opened in China to a healthy $19.2 million, which was $5 million more than its five-day holiday start in North America.

Despite the most challenged Thanksgiving box office in modern times, The Croods: A New Age managed to come in ahead of projections with a five-day holiday debut of $14.2 million, including $9.7 million for the weekend. Overseas, the family film launched in seven markets to $20.8 million — led by $19.2 million in China — for a global bow of $35 million.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentThe period action animation “Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train” has passed “Titanic” at the Japanese box office to become the territory’s number two all-time hit, according to figures announced on Monday by distributor Aniplex.Based on Gotoge Koyoharu’s hit comic that has sold more than 100 copies in all formats, including digital, the film had earned $264 million from 20.5 million admissions as of Nov. 29, some 45 days since its opening on Oct.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe box office outlook in South Korea, which last year was the world’s fourth largest theatrical market, turned from bad to worse.

The Croods: A New Age earned $3.9 million on Black Friday for a better-than-expected five-day debut of $14 million-plus in North America if projections hold. That includes a three-day weekend tally of $9.7 million, as strong as Tenet.

As states and cities start new stay-at-home orders — specifically Los Angeles county — it is only expected that box office will continue to struggle. This applies even more to the specialty box office.

The Croods: A New Age is on top at movie theaters.

Refresh for latest…: DreamWorks Animation/Universal’s The Croods: A New Age led the weekend in China with a $19.2M debut, outpacing local titles One Second and Caught In Time. This is the third best bow for a studio movie in the Middle Kingdom during the pandemic era (behind Tenet and Mulan).

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterThanksgiving is traditionally one of the most popular times to go to the movies.

Universal’s release of DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age stayed on target from what we saw yesterday with an opening Wednesday of $1.85M in a very broken exhibition landscape where there’s only 2,650 theaters open right now out of national footprint of 5,5K. Croods 2 is booked at 2,211 theaters.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorJapan’s runaway smash Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train continued its reign at the top of the local charts this weekend, despite the release of Stand By Me Doraemon 2. Monday is a holiday in Japan, so full official weekend figures are not expected to be reported until Tuesday.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefHong Kong-produced “Caught in Time” gave fresh life to the mainland China box office over its opening weekend.The fantasy crime thriller about a cop chasing a gang through different eras earned $30.3 million. Produced by Emperor Motion Picture, the film stars the popular Daniel Wu and Wang Qianyuan, and was directed by Lau Ho-leung.It edged aside patriotic war film “Sacrifice” which had held the top spot for the previous three weekends.

Dave McNary Film ReporterBody-swap horror comedy “Freaky” repeated as the winner of a seriously subdued U.S. box office with $1.2 million at 2,057 locations in North America during the Friday-Sunday weekend.The Universal and Blumhouse Productions’ movie stars Vince Vaughn as a serial killer and Kathryn Newton as a low-profile high schooler who inadvertently switch bodies on Friday the 13th.

Freaky is on top of the box office.

Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office EditorSUNDAY AM UPDATE, refresh for chart and more analysis: The weekend before Thanksgiving is one of the most lucrative ones on the calendar, last year bringing in $204.9M off the opening of Disney’s Frozen II which posted November’s fifth best domestic opening of all-time at $130.3M.Who would ever think that the domestic box office would sink to such an atrocious level as this weekend.