Christmas Day Update: For Christmas Eve business…Today, and onward is what truly counts for exhibition for by tonight, after dinner tables are cleared, moviegoing commences. Despite the rains in LA, multiplexes aren’t cutting back their showtimes.
Christmas Eve, as always, except for when there’s a FOMO movie like Spider-Man: No Way Home on the marquee, was down as expected with an estimated $27.6M for all movies; that includes the $2M previews cash from A24’s Timothee Chalamet period dramedy, Marty Supreme (higher than the actor’s Christmas Eve previews for A Complete Unknown last year at $1.4M, which did a 5-day of $23.2M) and the $2.1M previews from Sony’s Jack Black and Paul Rudd comedy, Anaconda. Focus Features didn’t report previews for their Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson musical, Song Sung Blue, and well, Boo on that. Previews began at 12noon for Anaconda and Marty Supreme. The already six theater NYC and LA portion of the Chalamet film raked in an estimated $88K yesterday.
Yesterday’s business for all titles was down -31% from Tuesday’s near $40M haul. The best Christmas Eve post Covid belongs to 2021, when moviegoers threw their pandemic worries aside and headed to Spider-Man: No Way Home, driving a $31.1M day. This Christmas Eve was +24% from 2022’s when Avatar: Way of Water was on the marquee, however, it fell on a Saturday. Way of Water made $14.8M on Christmas Eve and Avatar: Fire and Ash lead yesterday with $10.7M at 3,800 theaters and a running cume of $129.7M.
Disney’s Zootopia 2 for the third straight weekday in a row has been towering over the new stuff, Lionsgate’s The Housemaid and Angel Studios’ David, with a fourth Wednesday of $3.2M at 3,540 theaters, running cume of $296.1M. Of course, $300M is in the animals’ eyesight by today, maybe Friday.
David at 3,118 locations did an estimated $2.5M in 3rd for the day for a running total of $32.4M, while Housemaid booked at 3,042 did $1.45M in fifth for a running total of $27.5M. Paramount’s SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants was 4th yesterday with an estimated $1.78M at 3,557 sites, and a running cume of $23.7M.
Avatar 3 is expected to do around $75M for the 4-day box office (Dec. 25-Sunday), while Anaconda is hoping to clear $20M, Song Sung Blue is forecasted at $10M-$14M, with all other titles, Housemaid, David, Marty Supreme, and SpongeBob landing in the teens.
