'Frozen 2' still No. 1; 'Playmobil' flops
NEW YORK — “Frozen 2” blanketed multiplexes for the third straight weekend, continuing its reign at No. 1 with $34.7 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The Walt Disney Co. animated sequel has already grossed $919.7 million worldwide. It will soon become the sixth Disney release this year to cross $1 billion, a record sure to grow to seven once “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” hits theaters later this month. Early next week, Disney will cross $10 billion at the global box office this year.
But the weekend overall at the box office was yet another disappointing one for the movie industry. A handful of underperforming releases and a relatively thin wide-release schedule have only grown the roughly 7 percent slide in domestic ticket sales from last year.
This weekend produced an outright flop in “Playmobil: The Movie,” the week’s only new wide release. The STX Films release was never expected to do well, but it bombed so thoroughly that it will rank among the worst-performing wide-releases ever. It grossed $670,000 in 2,337 venues, giving it a per-theater average of just $286.
The top five films were almost unchanged from last weekend.
Rian Johnson’s acclaimed, star-studded whodunit “Knives Out” remained in second place with $14.2 million, declining a modest 47 percent in its second week of release. With $63.5 million cumulatively and $124.1 million worldwide, the Lionsgate release has been one of the season’s bright spots.
So has James Mangold’s “Ford v Ferrari,” which stayed in third place with $6.5 million over its fourth weekend.
Melina Matsoukas’ outlaw romance “Queen & Slim” moved up to fourth in its second week with $6.5 million, swapping places with Marielle Heller’s Mister Rogers drama “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” ($5.2 million in its third weekend).
Todd Haynes’ true-story legal drama “Dark Waters,” starring Mark Ruffalo as a defense attorney who takes on the DuPont chemical company, expanded nationwide to 2,011 theaters. The Focus Features release made $4.1 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore.
1. “Frozen 2,” $34.7 million
2. “Knives Out,” $14.2 million
3. “Ford v Ferrari,” $6.5 million
4. “Queen & Slim,” $6.5 million
5. “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” $5.2 million
6. “Dark Waters,” $4.1 million
7. “21 Bridges,” $2.9 million
8. “Playing With Fire,” $2 million
9. “Midway,” $1.9 million
10. “Joker,” $1 million.