411 Box Office Report: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Reigns For Fifth Week, Violent Night Holds Strong

It was more of the same at the box office this weekend, with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever spending another frame at #1. The Marvel Cinematic Universe sequel brought in $11.1 million over the weekend for a fifth week atop the box office. That’s down a solid 37% from the previous week and makes Wakanda Forever the first film to spend five consecutive weeks at #1 since the first Black Panther did so in February of 2018. (Spider-Man: No Way Home spent six weeks at #1, but two of them were after coming in #2 to Scream in the second weekend of 2022.)

Wakanda Forever is of course a major hit for Disney and Marvel, with $409.8 million domestically and $767.8 million worldwide at this point. It is running ahead of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness at the same time in that film’s run and is looking to close out domestically at around $430 million. That would make it the #2 domestic-grossing film of the year and the seventh-highest domestic gross of any MCU film. The budget was $250 million.

Violent Night followed up its strong start last weekend with a decent hold, slipping 40% in its sophomore frame to $8.7 million. The Tommy Wirkola-directed holiday action comedy survived the tendency for action films to have big second-weekend drops thanks to strong word of mouth as it barrels its way toward a tidy profit for Universal Pictures. Right now the movie has $26.7 million domestically and $41.8 million, good numbers considering the $20 million budget; it is looking to close out at as high as $45 million stateside and perhaps more.

Strange World continues to slouch along toward its end date in theaters, though it held on well thanks to no competition with a 29% drop to $3.6 million in its third weekend. The Disney Animation film now stands at $30.5 million domestically and $53.5 million worldwide, destined for a big loss for the studio considering its $135 million budget. It is still aiming to close out at around $45 million in the US.

The Menu, on the other hand, is looking like it will turn a decent profit for Disney subsidiary Searchlight Pictures. The Anya Taylor-Joy & Ralph Fiennes comedy-thriller eased just 22% in its fourth weekend to bring in $2.7 million. It’s now up to $29 million domestically and $57.7 million worldwide, making it likely profitable against a $30 million budget. The final total looks to be around $35 million to $38 million.

Devotion was off 27% in its third weekend to $2 million. The Sony Pictures film continues to stumble along, as it stands at $17 million domestically and $17.5 million worldwide. We still don’t know the budget, but it’s not likely to make a profit and shouldn’t gross much more than $20 million domestically, with international prospects grim as well.

Black Adam was down a mere 14% in its eighth weekend, bringing in $1.3 million. The DCEU film currently stands at $166.9 million domestically and $388.9 million worldwide, with a $170 million total still its endgame. While the budget was hefty at $200 million, it was reported that this film will turn a $50 million or so profit for Warner Bros. thanks to the fact that WBD spent less than usual on promotion thanks to their investing heavily in digital marketing (which tends to be cheaper) as the studio cuts costs.

Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans was down a mere 7% from last weekend to bring in $1.2 million, a number bolstered as it added to its theater count. The semi-autobiographical drama has now totaled $7.3 million and $7.4 million worldwide as it begins its international rollout. It will still need strong overseas numbers and a strong performance during award season to have a shot at its $40 million budget.

Fathom Events’ holiday-themed I Heard the Bells slipped an expected 63% in its second weekend to $750,000. The drama has $4.1 million and should finish off at around $5 million when it’s all said and done.

The sole debut in the top 10 came from Spoiler Alert, which came in at #9. The drama, based on the memoir by TV Line founder Michael Ausiello, expanded to just under 800 theaters this weekend and brought in $750,0000. The film has scored strong critical buzz with an 82% aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes, and word of mouth is good at a 93% audience rating. Its performance depends on how Focus Features plans to expand it from here. No word on its budget.

Ticket to Paradise closed out the top 10 once more, down 30% in its eighth weekend to $600,000. The Julia Roberts/George Clooney romantic comedy now has $67.5 million domestically and $165.7 million worldwide, a hit for Universal against a $60 million budget.

Next weekend is all about the Na’vi, as Avatar: The Way Of Water finally arrives in theaters. The James Cameron sequel is expected to easily dominate with an opening weekend of $180 million to $200 million.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – $11.1 million ($409.8 million total, $767.8 million WW)
2. Violent Night – $8.7 million ($26.7 million total, $41.8 million WW)
3. Strange World – $3.6 million ($30.5 million total, $53.5 million WW)
4. The Menu – $2.7 million ($29 million total, $57.7 million WW)
5. Devotion – $2 million ($17 million total, $17.5 million WW)
6. Black Adam – $1.3 million ($166.9 million total, $388.9 million WW)
7. The Fabelmans – $1.2 million ($7.3 million total, $7.4 million WW)
8. I Heard the Bells – $750,000 ($4.1 million total, $4.1 million WW)
9. Spoiler Alert – $700,000 ($803,000 total, $800,000 WW)
10. Ticket to Paradise – $600,000 ($67.5 million total, $165.7 million WW)