Beyonce’s Renaissance concert film rules American box office with $28 million debut
Beyonce’s new concert Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce topped the North American box office in its opening weekend, with an estimated take of US$21 million ($28 million), industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported on Dec 3.
That result came in what normally is a very slow period following the Thanksgiving holiday.
“This is an excellent domestic opening for a concert film that is boosted by sensational critics’ reviews and audience scores,” said analyst David Gross.
A virtuoso effort written, directed and produced by the American singer, Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce now ranks among the top five concert film openings, Mr Gross said, led by the huge US$92.8 million opening earlier in 2023 of American pop star Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour film.
Both movies are distributed by AMC Theatres.
In second place for the Friday-through-Sunday period was Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes, at US$14.5 million. British actor Tom Blyth and American actors Rachel Zegler and Peter Dinklage star in the prequel about a lethal competition in the dystopian state of Panem.
In third is Godzilla Minus One, a new release from Toho International, at US$11 million. Unlike many earlier Hollywoodian takes on the huge sea monster, the production “is Japanese in every way – in language, cast, setting and all facets”, said Mr Gross. “Critics and audiences love it.”
Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe star in the film, which sold US$23 million in tickets in Japan over the past month.
Meanwhile, The Marvels, which stars American actresses Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris and Canadian actress Iman Vellani, is officially the lowest-grossing instalment in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
After four weeks on the big screen, the comic-book tentpole took in US$80 million in North America and US$197 million globally. The Marvels is also the first Marvel film that failed to cross the US$100-million mark at the domestic box office.
Over the weekend, the superhero sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel fell to 11th place on box-office charts, with just US$2.4 million in its fourth outing. – AFP
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