“The Boy and the Heron, a fantastical coming-of-age story from animation maestro Hayao Miyazaki, earned $12.8 million in its opening weekend, becoming the first original anime production to top the domestic box office. The GKids release is being shown in Imax and other premium large-format theatres, which boosted its record-breaking earnings and helped secure its number one spot. It also benefited from a lack of big screen offerings, with holiday blockbusters such as “Wonka” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” still waiting to debut in the coming weeks.
“The Boy and the Heron” marks Miyazaki’s unexpected return to the big screen after an absence of more than a decade – the filmmaker behind classics such as “Spirited Away” and “Princess Mononoke” announced his retirement in 2013 when his last film, “The Wind Rises”, was released. “The Boy and the Heron” has been slowly rolling out internationally, earning $84 million, of which $56 million came from Miyazaki’s native Japan.
Last weekend’s champion, “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé”, collapsed in its second weekend, earning $5 million for a fifth place finish. That’s a steep 77% drop, suggesting that the music icon’s concert film may not have the staying power of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” which has grossed nearly $180 million. “Renaissance” has grossed around $28 million domestically. Like Swift, Queen Bey bypassed a traditional studio to release her film, enlisting AMC Theatres to handle distribution. This allows her to keep a larger cut of ticket sales.
While Renaissance faltered, Lionsgate’s Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” took second place with $9.4 million, bringing its domestic total to $135.6 million. Globally, the film has earned almost $280 million. That’s a solid figure, especially when you consider that the Hunger Games prequel had a production budget of $100 million, a modest figure for a film of its size and scope.
Toho International’s “Godzilla Minus One” continued its hot streak, stomping its way to $8.3 million in its second weekend. The monster movie’s domestic haul stands at $25.3 million, making it the highest-grossing live-action Japanese film released in North America.
In fourth place is Universal and DreamsWorks Animation’s “Trolls Band Together” with $6.2 million. This brings the family film’s total to $83.1 million. One of the weekend’s other new offerings, Bleecker Street’s “Waitress: The Musical,” earned $3.2 million.
In limited release, Searchlight’s “Poor Things” grossed $644,000 from just nine theatres. Its per-theatre average of $72,000 is also the best of the fall awards season – slightly behind the per-theatre bows of “Beau Is Afraid” ($80,000) and “Asteroid City” ($142,000), which opened in the spring and summer. The offbeat comedy from “The Favourite” director Yorgos Lanthimos stars Emma Stone and has been generating Oscar buzz since its debut at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Golden Lion.
“Origin, another critical favourite, opened in limited release with $117,063 from two theatres. That’s an average of $58,532 per screen. Written and directed by Ava DuVernay, the Neon release adapts Isabel Wilkerson’s “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” a historical examination of hate and racism.
Next weekend sees the release of “Wonka”, a look at the early days of the confectioner, starring Timothée Chalamet. That should sweeten the box office, but exhibitors and analysts believe this holiday season will be more subdued than the past two years, when the mega-hits “Avatar: The Way of the Water” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” debuted.
