{"id":154145,"date":"2022-12-10T22:44:10","date_gmt":"2022-12-10T22:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wakanda-forever-leads-quiet-box-office-as-avatar-2-looms\/"},"modified":"2022-12-10T22:44:10","modified_gmt":"2022-12-10T22:44:10","slug":"wakanda-forever-leads-quiet-box-office-as-avatar-2-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wakanda-forever-leads-quiet-box-office-as-avatar-2-looms\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Wakanda Forever’ Leads Quiet Box Office as ‘Avatar 2’ Looms"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\t\u201cBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever\u201d will get to rule over domestic charts one more time as total box office grosses for the weekend threaten to hit a 2022 low.<\/p>\n

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\tAnalysts are projecting $38.5 million in ticket sales across all theatrical releases for the three-day period. Not only is that the worst collective result in some months, it’s also just a small step above the roughly $35 million total gross of the weekend beginning with Jan. 28 \u2014 the floor for the domestic box office this year. After a disappointing Thanksgiving holiday, exhibitors are looking to next weekend’s release of \u201cAvatar: The Way of Water\u201d to get a substantial boost before 2023 arrives.<\/p>\n

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\tA solid fraction of the weekend’s numbers are coming from \u201cWakanda Forever,\u201d which has faced next to no threats as the box office leader since its release in mid-November. The Marvel sequel earned $2.8 million across 3,725 locations on Friday, on its way to a weekend gross of about $11 million. <\/p>\n

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\tDomestic ticket sales for the \u201cBlack Panther\u201d sequel now stand at $401 million. The film should soon pass the $411 million earned by fellow Marvel entry \u201cDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness\u201d to become the second-highest grossing domestic release of 2022, behind only \u201cTop Gun: Maverick.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\tBeyond a round of holdover titles, the weekend is also seeing the release of arthouse films entering limited release, such as Darren Aronofsky’s drama \u201cThe Whale\u201d and Sam Mendes’ swoony period piece \u201cEmpire of Light.\u201d <\/p>\n

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\tThough it won’t bring in superhero dollars, A24’s \u201cThe Whale,\u201d starring Brendan Fraser, is making a splash in its debut. Opening in six locations, the film is projecting an opening of roughly $343,000, marking a $57,000 per theater average. That would be the highest such figure for a 2022 release, blowing past fellow A24 movie \u201cEverything Everywhere All at Once,\u201d which notched about $50,000 per location in its limited opening in April. <\/p>\n

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\tFraser stars in \u201cThe Whale\u201d as a 600-pound reclusive English teacher trying to reconnect with his daughter (played by Sadie Sink). The leading man has found himself at the front of the best actor race through this year’s awards season. <\/p>\n

\n\tvariety<\/em> chief film critic Owen Gleiberman commended Fraser’s performance, calling him \u201ca better actor \u2014 slyer, subtler, more haunting \u2014 than he has ever been.\u201d Beyond praise for its lead though, \u201cThe Whale\u201d hasn’t been a critical favorite, notching a 54% approval rating from top critics on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. That the film looks to content for the year’s highest per-theater-average with less than stellar reviews speaks to the buzz around Fraser’s performance.<\/p>\n

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\tMeanwhile, Searchlight Pictures’ \u201cEmpire of Light\u201d isn’t making much of a dent in its debut, drawing a meager $67,000 from 110 locations on Friday. Unlike \u201cThe Whale,\u201d the Sam Mendes drama hasn’t emerged in any awards category after playing through the fall festivals. With mediocre reviews (a 43% score from top critics on Rotten Tomatoes), \u201cEmpire of Light\u201d doesn’t seem likely to have the staying power that an adult-oriented drama would hope to have through the holidays.<\/p>\n

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\tSecond place on domestic charts looks to go to the sophomore outing of Universal’s actioner \u201cViolent Night.\u201d The holiday movie looks to land an $8 million haul for the weekend, marking a solid 40% drop from its opening figure last weekend. The studio is projecting a total domestic gross of $26 million once the weekend is out.<\/p>\n

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\tDisney’s animated adventure \u201cStrange World\u201d looks to land in third, earning $787,000 on Friday. With domestic ticket sales at a paltry $27.6 million, the family film has next to no hope of recouping its $180 million production budget in theaters.<\/p>\n

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\tSearchlight’s satirical thriller \u201cThe Menu\u201d is headed for fourth, projecting a light drop of 20% for the weekend. The culinary comedy has been one of the few specialty releases to connect with audiences this fall, now inching its total domestic gross closer to $30 million.<\/p>\n

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\tSony’s military drama \u201cDevotion\u201d should round out the top five on domestic charts, projecting a $1.9 million haul for the weekend to bring its domestic cume to $16 million.<\/p>\n

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\tOf some note, Sony mounted a rerelease of its religious drama \u201cFather Stu\u201d this weekend, issuing a PG-13 edition of the Mark Wahlberg drama entitled \u201cFather Stu: Reborn.\u201d Playing in a substantial tally of 993 theaters, the film is projecting an $108,000 haul for the weekend, marking a $109 per-theater-average. After first releasing in April, total domestic sales for \u201cFather Stu\u201d now stand at $20.9 million.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n