In its first weekend gracing the silver screen, “Encanto” opens at No. 1 in typical Walt Disney Animation fashion. The movie grossed $27 million this weekend, and profits come up to $40.3 million when factoring in the Wednesday and Thursday holiday showings. With a reported $120 million budget, “Encanto” has a low chance to profit in this difficult environment. Factoring in marketing expenses and the theaters’ share of revenues, the film likely needs to clear $400 million in revenue worldwide to get close to making a profit. The good news for “Encanto” is it earned an acclaimed an “A” CinemaScore from audiences, meaning the film will likely have solid legs. Animated family films have had fantastic holds week-to-week relative to their competition this year, so that is another point in favor of “Encanto.” Additionally, the next major release isn’t for another two weeks (Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story”), giving the film a needed buffer from competition. Thus, even though the film likely will not make a profit, I think it will easily clear $100 million domestically, possibly even getting close to $120 million by the end of its run, which is impressive in this environment.
In second place this weekend is last week’s No. 1 film, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.” The ghostly film netted another $24.5 million, only a 44% drop from last weekend, bringing its domestic total to $87.7 million. With a $75 million budget, the film likely needs to gross around $275 million worldwide to net a profit. With around $115 million already worldwide, that means the film needs to gross another $160 million to reach that estimated break-even point. Though its 44% drop is impressive, it is a bit much to ask this film to net about $65 million more domestically. I think the film will end up with around $125 million domestically, though that can change if its hold improves in the coming weeks.
Coming in third place this past weekend is Ridley Scott’s Lady Gaga-led “House of Gucci,” grossing $14 million this weekend and $21 million as its 5-day total. Box office analysts see this as a win for the R-rated film, as adult-oriented dramas have not fared well at the pandemic box-office. Though it is an impressive opening considering the genre, the film had a $75 million budget, the same as “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.” With a worldwide opening of slightly below $35 million, unless something unworldly happens, there is no chance the film clears $275 million worldwide and makes a profit. Though it is an impressive opening for the genre, the film will likely be a large loss for the studio. That being said, it may garner some award considerations, but only time will tell on that.
In fourth and fifth place were “Eternals” in its fourth weekend and “Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City” in its opening weekend, respectively. The Marvel Studios’ film grossed another $7.9 million, bringing its domestic total to $150 million, while the “Resident Evil” reboot opened to a 3-day gross of $5.2 million and a 5-day of $8.8 million. Though that gross may seem low, the “Resident Evil” film had a reported budget of only $25 million, so if it can have solid legs, there is a very slim chance it can profit.
There are no major releases this next weekend, though perhaps we may need a short break before the onslaught of the December box office.
December will bring the release of Spielbergs’ “West Side Story,” the highly anticipated “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” the reboot “Matrix Resurrections” and the prequel “The King’s Man.”
It will certainly be a crazy time these next few weeks, so let’s sit back, grab some popcorn and enjoy the show.