Weekend Report: ‘Aquaman’ Makes a $61.2M Two-Day Splash In China; ‘Ralph’ ($16.5M) & ‘Grinch’ ($15.3M) Race for Top Domestic Spot; ‘The Favourite’ Expands Well

Saturday Report: With the lack of notable openers yet again this weekend, the top story comes out of China where Warner Bros.’ Aquaman has earned an excellent $61.2 million in its first two days of release. That includes a confirmed estimate of $24.0 million on Friday and a flash estimate of $37.2 million for Saturday. The two-day total stands 54 percent ahead of Batman v Superman and 69 percent ahead of Justice League at the same point, while more than doubling that of Wonder Woman. The anticipated DC film opens in North America on December 21.

Back on the domestic front, Disney’s Ralph Breaks the Internet returned to the number one spot on Friday with another $3.524 million, down just 39 percent from last week as its domestic cume arrived at $128.24 million. The hit sequel now stands 5 percent ahead of the 17-day pace of its 2012 predecessor as it looks to grab a third weekend around $16.5 million.

Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch continued its streak of impressive holds with a mere 15 percent decline from last Friday to $3.33 million yesterday, bringing its domestic haul up to $211.6 million with several weeks of holiday boosts still to come. Its fifth weekend in release is pacing to reach $15 million or more, sending it back into the top two and trailing not far behind Ralph.

Expanding this weekend, The Favourite earned a healthy $459,000 from 91 locations on Friday. The award season candidate stands at $2.5 million in all thus far. Fox projects a $1.2 million weekend.

Representing this weekend’s only “new” release in 1,000+ theaters, the Schindler’s List 25th Anniversary re-release earned $229,000 from 1,029 locations on Friday. Universal projects $688,000 for the weekend.

Early domestic estimates are below, with updates to follow on Sunday.

Early Weekend Estimates (Domestic)
FRI, DEC. 7 – SUN, DEC. 9

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Ralph Breaks the Internet $16,500,000 -35% 3,795 -222 $4,348 $141,217,885 3 Disney
2 Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch $15,300,000 -15% 3,841 -93 $3,983 $223,585,175 5 Universal
3 Creed II $10,000,000 -40% 3,752 176 $2,665 $96,149,397 3 MGM / Warner Bros
4 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald $6,600,000 -42% 3,451 -400 $1,912 $145,002,524 4 Warner Bros.
5 Bohemian Rhapsody $6,000,000 -25% 2,953 -54 $2,032 $173,569,170 6 20th Century Fox
6 Instant Family $5,400,000 -25% 3,426 50 $1,576 $53,960,742 4 Paramount Pictures
7 Green Book $3,500,000 -11% 1,181 116 $2,964 $19,541,911 4 Universal Pictures
8 Robin Hood $3,400,000 -29% 2,573 -254 $1,321 $27,104,193 3 Lionsgate / Summit
9 Widows $3,000,000 -32% 2,161 -232 $1,388 $38,055,806 4 20th Century Fox
10 The Possession of Hannah Grace $3,000,000 -53% 2,298 233 $1,305 $11,331,549 2 Sony / Screen Gems
11 A Star is Born $2,300,000 26% 1,631 550 $1,410 $196,888,597 10 Warner Bros.
12 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms $1,100,000 -18% 1,170 -222 $940 $52,680,194 6 Walt Disney Pictures
13 Schindler’s List 25th Anniversary $690,000 1,029 $671 $690,000 1 Universal Pictures

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 At Eternity’s Gate $280,000 50% 174 126 $1,609 $1,041,215 4 CBS Films
2 Nobody’s Fool $250,000 -35% 368 -17 $679 $31,464,774 6 Paramount
3 Can You Ever Forgive Me? $245,000 -28% 265 -7 $925 $6,977,874 8 Fox Searchlight
4 Overlord $240,000 -41% 391 -142 $614 $21,460,409 5 Paramount Pictures
5 The Hate U Give $135,000 -30% 235 -15 $574 $29,426,392 10 20th Century Fox
6 The Old Man & The Gun $85,000 6% 136 22 $625 $11,050,284 11 Fox Searchlight

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 The Favourite $1,200,000 12% 91 57 $13,187 $3,238,646 3 Fox Searchlight
2 Anna And The Apocalypse $130,000 147% 35 30 $3,714 $203,132 2 Orion Pictures
3 Incredibles 2 $31,000 6% 66 -27 $470 $608,587,044 26 Disney
4 A Private War $23,000 -53% 35 -31 $657 $1,568,008 6 Aviron Pictures