As I stated in last week’s box office report, and was proven as we reported HERE, bad news is usually good news for the film industry.

A lot of the country is in a depressed state of mind – anxious, afraid and despondent. So it goes without saying that any respite, even just for a few hours, is surely welcome. And that can be translated in several ways, such as excessive drinking, smoking, sports and, of course, going to the movies, especially comedies and fantasy films. Anything just to keep our minds off the Armageddon that might be coming. However, with the exception of a few films here and there, every film currently in theaters as of this weekend dropped 50% or more, or under-performed.

It could be that filmgoers aren’t excited about what is currently playing, or they are waiting for the coming weekend’s extended Thanksgiving holiday to really go out and enjoy themselves. But this weekend has to be seen as a disappointment.




Of course, the big winner is Warner Bros “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”, their next potential monster franchise after the “Harry Potter” series. A prequel to Potter, based on books written by the same author (JK Rowling), Warner Bros has already announced that they intend to make five films in the “Beasts” series, hoping for some of the nearly 8 billion dollars that they made from the Potter movies.

And from box office evidence so far, it looks like they could have a shot. “Beasts” opened at No. 1 with $75 million, which was not a surprise, but it has made another $143 million overseas. But considering that all the Potter films did anywhere from $800 million to over a billion each worldwide, “Beasts” still has a long way to go. Although the opening numbers must make the studio execs happy.

As for the franchises in the making, Marvel/Disney’s “Doctor Strange” took a steep dive of 58%, but it still came in a distant second this weekend with $17.7 million, and $181.5 million to date, easily heading towards a domestic total of $250 million or more. And with almost $575 million worldwide, it’s another winner for Disney, a studio that’s having its best year at the best office in decades.

“Trolls” and “Arrival” both took big drops as well, with 50% and 51% respectfully, yet they still held on to third and fourth place, pulling in respectful numbers. Meanwhile “Almost Christmas” took a hit with a 53.5% drop, coming in fifth place, with $7 million for the weekend, and $25 million in total so far at the box office. The film should get a boost next weekend over the Thanksgiving holiday, and it could possibly hit $40 million after all is said and done, which would be a tidy sum for the $17 million (budget) movie.

Two new entries both tanked – the coming of age film “The Age of Seventeen”, which opened in seventh place, and couldn’t even crack $5 million; and the boxing drama “Bleed for This”, which tanked, earning under $2.5 million, proving that boxing films, with the notable exception of last year’s “Creed” (a box office hit), are pretty much played out.

The WWII film “Hacksaw Ridge” continues to see the smallest weekly box office percentage dropoffs, and came in sixth place this weekend with $6.7 million, while “The Accountant” very quietly has become a fall sleeper hit, with over $80 million to date, and over $130 million worldwide.

The film “Loving” also very quietly continues to do impressively well, opening this weekend on 91 more screens, for a total of $854,000 and $1.7 million to date, on just 137 screens in a limited release.

And finally “Moonlight” broke out wider to play on 650 screens for a total of just under $1.6 million, slightly more than it made last weekend, and a gross  to date of $6.7 million. The big question is how well the film will perform when it breaks out even wider; but the fantastic reviews and word of mouth (Is there anyone who doesn’t like the film?) should help it greatly.

This weekend’s top 11 box office grossers follow below:



1) Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them WB $75,000,000
2) Doctor Strange BV $17,676,000 Total: $181,542,877
3) Trolls Fox $17,500,000 Total: $116,214,533
4) Arrival Par. $11,800,000 Total: $43,370,799
5) Almost Christmas Uni. $7,040,000 Total: $25,420,740
6) Hacksaw Ridge LGF $6,750,000 Total: $42,854,292
7) The Edge of Seventeen STX $4,825,000
8) Bleed for This ORF $2,357,946
9) The Accountant WB $2,115,000 Total: $81,252,018
10) Shut In EC $1,600,000 Total: $6,036,645
11) Moonlight (2016) A24 $1,583,433 Total: $6,739,483