Weekend BOX OFFICE update: 17-19 January, 2020

The weekend saw a tight race for the top spot at the box office, with Sony Pictures Bad Boys For Life taking the top spot in North America. It’s worth noting it was Martin Luther King weekend in the US meaning it was a four-day holiday for many.

According to Box Office Mojo, the third entry in the Bad Boys franchise took Will Smith and co-star Martin Lawrence back to the top of the charts with an estimated $68.1m. If that figure holds (or grows) in the final numbers that will deliver the second biggest Martin Luther King weekend box office of all time. Across the usual weekend frame Bad Boys For Life grossed an estimated $59.17m.

The film has received solid backing from critics and currently holds a score of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was granted a lucrative “A” CinemaScore from moviegoers over the weekend.

Internationally, Bad Boys for Life brought in an estimated $38.6m from 39 markets. Germany is leading the way with a $5.1m debut. Mexico and Spain kicked in $3.8m and $2.2m respectively while 12 markets in the Middle East generated a combined $5.1m. Upcoming key releases included France (Jan 22), Russia (Jan 23), Brazil (Jan 30), Japan (Jan 31) and Italy (Feb 20).

Robert Downey Jnr. returned to the box office this weekend with the release of Dolittle. The film has been critically mauled and currently only holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of 19% but that didn’t stop the $175m Universal production from grossing an estimated $30m across the four-day weekend.

The film was given a “B” CinemaScore from fans across the weekend and holds a respectable 75% audience score when compared to that 19% from critics.

In international markets, the film got its start last week in four markets and rolled out to a total of 46 markets this weekend, bringing in an estimated $17.2m for a global tally that sits just under $50m. Leading the way is Australia with a $2.36m debut followed by Indonesia with a $2.1m opening. The film’s top market is Korea where it has brought in $10.6m as it enters its second week in release. A number of markets are left to open, those include Argentina (Jan 23), Spain (Jan 24), Vietnam (Jan 25), Germany (Jan 30), Italy (Jan 30), Mexico (Jan 31), France (Feb 5), the UK (Feb 7), Brazil (Feb 20), Russia (Feb 20), China (Feb 21) and Japan (Mar 20).

Universal also occupies third place on the chart with the outstanding 1917 directed by Sam Mendes. The film brought in a further $27m for a domestic total of $81.6m. The film received a weighty ten Oscar nominations last week and is riding a wave of success following the Golden Globe Awards.

Internationally, 1917 added an additional $26m this weekend from 37 Amblin and Universal international markets, bringing the international cume to $62m through Sunday and a global total reaching $143.5m.

Sony returns to the char in fourth place with Jumanji: The Next Level. The film grossed an estimated $12.57m across the four-day holiday weekend, bringing its domestic total to $273.48m after five weeks in release.

Internationally the film added another $17m, bringing its overseas total up to an impressive $438m. Globally the film now stands at $709m.

Finally, rounding out the top five is Disney’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which added an estimated $10.6m over the holiday weekend and bringing its domestic total up to $495m. That figure puts the final film in the so-called Skywalker Saga in the top 15 all-time domestically. Internationally, the film added another $10.9m, bringing the overseas cume to $534.6m for a global tally topping $1.026b.

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