Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce topped the North American box office in its opening weekend with an estimated take of $28 million. PHOTO: BEYONCE/YOUTUBE
LOS ANGELES – Beyonce’s new concert Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce topped the North American box office in its opening weekend with an estimated take of US$21 million (S$28 million), industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported on Dec 3.
That result came in what normally is a very slow period following the Thanksgiving holiday.
“This is an excellent domestic opening for a concert film that is boosted by sensational critics reviews and audience scores,” said analyst David A. Gross.
A virtuoso effort written, directed and produced by the iconic singer, Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce now ranks among the top five all-time concert film openings, Gross said, led by the huge US$92.8 million opening earlier this year of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour film.
Both movies are distributed by AMC Theaters.
In second place for the Friday-through-Sunday period was Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes, at US$14.5 million. Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler and Peter Dinklage star in the prequel about a lethal competition in the dystopian state of Panem.
In third is Godzilla Minus One, a new release from Toho International, at US$11 million. Unlike many earlier Hollywoodian takes on the huge sea monster, the Toho production “is Japanese in every way – in language, cast, setting and all facets,” said Gross, adding, “Critics and audiences love it.”
Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe star in the film, which sold US$23 million in tickets in Japan over the past month.
Fourth spot for the second straight weekend went to Universal’s animated musical comedy Trolls Band Together, at US$7.6 million. Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake lead the voice cast.
And in fifth was Disney’s lavishly animated film Wish, at US$7.4 million. Featuring the voices of Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine, Wish tells the story of King Magnifico, who grants one wish a month.
Meanwhile, The Marvels, which stars Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani, is officially the lowest-grossing instalment in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
After four weeks on the big screen, the comic book tentpole took in US$80 million in North America and US$197 million globally. The Marvels is also the first Marvel film that failed to cross the US$100 million mark at the domestic box office.
Over the weekend, the superhero sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel fell to 11th place on box office charts with just US$2.4 million in its fourth outing. AFP
