| 1 | - | Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom | $28,100,000 | - | 3,706 | - | $7,582 | $28,100,000 | 1 | Warner Bros. |
| 2 | 1 | Wonka | $17,700,000 | -54.6% | 4,213 | +10 | $4,201 | $75,202,717 | 2 | Warner Bros. |
| 3 | - | Migration | $12,310,000 | - | 3,761 | - | $3,273 | $12,310,000 | 1 | Universal Pictures |
| 4 | - | Anyone But You | $6,235,000 | - | 3,055 | - | $2,040 | $6,235,000 | 1 | Columbia Pictures |
| 5 | - | Salaar | $5,481,000 | - | 802 | - | $6,834 | $5,481,000 | 1 | N/A |
| 6 | - | The Iron Claw | $5,059,776 | - | 2,774 | - | $1,824 | $5,059,776 | 1 | A24 |
| 7 | 3 | The Boy and the Heron | $3,154,405 | -42.8% | 1,580 | -745 | $1,996 | $30,581,661 | 3 | GKIDS |
| 8 | 2 | The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes | $3,150,000 | -45.9% | 2,509 | -782 | $1,255 | $149,323,590 | 6 | Lions Gate Films |
| 9 | 4 | Godzilla Minus One | $2,740,000 | -45.6% | 1,965 | -657 | $1,394 | $40,357,817 | 4 | - |
| 10 | 9 | Poor Things | $2,110,000 | +64.6% | 800 | +718 | $2,637 | $5,050,219 | 3 | Searchlight Pictures |
| 11 | 5 | Trolls Band Together | $1,890,000 | -52.1% | 2,225 | -932 | $849 | $93,038,760 | 6 | Universal Pictures |
| 12 | 6 | Wish | $1,143,000 | -63.8% | 1,740 | -1,360 | $656 | $57,486,918 | 5 | Walt Disney Studios |
Ouch for "Aquaman". "Migration"...I feel like with some exceptions ("Trolls", "Spiderverse" and "Elemental") family animated movies have been suffering (it's not just a Disney thing), probably because families usually wait for them to be on demand since it's a cheaper option than spending money on tickets.
Good for "The Iron Claw",
I find late December to usually be pretty soft (unless you're a Star Wars Movie)... so I'm not putting a
ton of stock in Aquaman's opening numbers this weekend but I don't think it's a great sign either.
2019 was buoyed by Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opening to $177.38 Million. Cats was a colossal flop at just $6 Million and Jumanji: The Next Level barely cleared $26 Million in its 2nd Week.
2018 saw Aquaman open to $67 Million [the equivalent of $88.83 Million in 2023] with Mary Poppins Returns (does anybody remember this?!?) and Bumblebee clearing $21 Million
2017 was buoyed by Stars Wars: The Last Jedi raking in $71.5 Million after opening with a monstrous $220 Million the weekend before. Jumanji: Welcome to the Next Level outdid expectations IIRC with $36 Million, Pitch Perfect 3 almost hit $20 Million, but The Greatest Showman underwhelmed at just $8.8 Million
I agree that streaming, for good and bad, has entirely changed the movie theater landscape. There will be exceptions such as
Barbie and
Super Mario Bros. but I don't think it's a coincidence that both of those movies are very kid-friendly and can tap into that repeat demographic. I only saw
Poor Things because I'd been waiting 8 months for it to release to theaters otherwise I would've happily waited for it to hit streaming.
One other thing that's I think under the radar is the ability to rent/buy at a much cheaper cost. You can "rent" a movie for $5.99 at home after 2-3 weeks when it becomes available to streaming and say you get a box of theater candy or popcorn, that's still way cheaper than seeing the movie solo let alone with a family. Tie in the lack of parking, driving + gas $$, dealing with people on their phones or talking, being able to watch it captioned if so desired, etc.
