The first weekend in November is over, and the month is gearing up to be a spectacular one!
Even with two other high-profile films competing against it, Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph easily triumphed, taking first place with a phenomenal $49 million. Though not record-breaking, it did top the openings of non-Pixar animated films Chicken Little ($40.1 million) and Tangled ($48.8 million in 5-days). Ralph‘s broad appeal, great reviews, and wonderful word-of-mouth were all key in its success, and could very well land a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards.
Flight, Robert Zemeckis’ first live-action film since 2000’s Cast Away, debuted in second place with $24.9 million. Perhaps not as impressive as Wreck-It Ralph‘s total on the surface, but Flight opened in about half the theaters Ralph did, making the to figures an unfair comparison. With Flight’s $13,217 per-theater average being more than Ralph‘s $13,070 per-theater average, it’s safe to say Flight held its own. Given its strong word-of-mouth and early Oscar buzz, it’s possible Flight will be the next Argo and stick around, even with other big high-profile movies coming out in the upcoming weeks.
Speaking of Argo, the Ben Affleck-directed thriller eased slightly into third place with a $10.2 million total, giving it a respectable end total thus far of $75.9 million. Argo is still performing strong every week despite its competition, and should have no problem beating The Town’s $92.2 million final total.
Ultra-violent martial arts movie The Man With the Iron Fists, this week’s final debut, bowed in fourth place with $7.9 million. Though that’s on the low end of expectations from Universal Pictures, and a bit disappointing early on, the film will undoubtedly do well overseas, even though it will more than likely get crushed by Skyfall next weekend. However, it’s not all bad news. RZA’s debut film only cost a paltry $15 million to make, despite it’s amazing visuals, and should have little to no problem turning a profit in the weeks to come.
Unfortunately, that wraps up the good news.
This weekend was certainly not kind to Cloud Atlas and Paranormal Activity 4. While it’s tagline is “Everything is Connected”, Cloud Atlas still could not connect with audiences, slipping down to sixth place with a sorrowful $5.4 million. With its current 10-day total at $18.4 million, it’s highly unlikely Atlas will unearth more than $30 million in its entire run. Now that Halloween has come and gone, the demand for Paranormal Activity 4 has crossed over into the light. The fourth film in the franchise landed in eighth place this weekend with $4.2 million, bringing its total to $49.5 million, which guarantees this installment will be the new lowest grossing film in the franchise.
