Following something of a lackluster early autumn at the box office, November release Black Panther, Wakanda Forever could manage to earn more than the entire box office cumes of any of the last three months: roughly $466M in August, $323M in September, and $461M in October. A new Disney animated title and a new Spielberg release are among the non-Black Panther titles poised to add to the November box office. Here are the biggest movies coming to theaters this month, in chronological order of their wide release date.
Armageddon Time
Friday, November 4
Premise: Anne Hathaway, Anthony Hopkins, and Jeremy Strong (HBO’s Succession) star in Focus Features’ coming-of-age story taking place in 1980s New York City. James Gray (Ad Astra) directs.
Box office: The film opened in limited release on October 28, where it earned $70,275 in six theaters, for a $11,713 average. That’s the #38 average of the year so far, well below fellow October specialty titles The Banshees of Inisherin ($46,114), TÁR ($39,655), Decision to Leave ($32,067), and Triangle of Sadness ($21,460).
One Piece Film: Red
Friday, November 4
Premise: Crunchyroll’s anime title is the 15th installment in Japan’s One Piece film series, and the one to receive by far the widest American theatrical release. In One Piece Film: Red, the most famous pop singer in the world decides to reveal her secret identity to the adoring public.
Box office: Other recent anime titles to be released theatrically in North America have included August’s Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero ($30.8M), March’s Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie ($34.5M), 2021’s My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission ($12.2M), 2021’s Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train ($49.5M), and February 2020’s pre-pandemic My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising ($13.3M).
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Friday, November 11
Premise: 2018’s original Black Panther was not just the biggest film of that year, but one of the biggest films of all time. Lead star Chadwick Boseman’s 2020 death led to a restructuring of Disney’s and Marvel Studios’ second installment, which sees the return of costars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, and Winston Duke, as well as director Ryan Coogler.
Box office: The original installment earned $700.0M. Given the lack of Boseman’s protagonist T’Challa, the sequel is almost certain to finish below that, perhaps significantly below. That said, it should end up as the #2 or #3 film released in 2022.
She Said
Friday, November 18
Premise: Universal’s drama tells the true story of the two New York Times journalists—Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, portrayed by Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan—whose 2017 investigative reporting brought down Hollywood producing titan Harvey Weinstein.
Box office: Other films about investigative journalism in recent years include 2015’s Spotlight ($45.0M) and 2017’s The Post ($81.9M). Another thematically similar film is 2019’s Bombshell ($31.7M).
The Menu
Friday, November 18
Premise: Searchlight Pictures’ psychological thriller stars Anya Taylor-Joy as a select guest at an uber-exclusive restaurant run by a sadistic chef (Ralph Fiennes) who has more than just a meal planned for his customers. Read Boxoffice PRO‘s interview with director Mark Mylod in our new print magazine issue here, or coming as a standalone digital article in mid-November.
Box office: Similar psychological thrillers include 2019’s Parasite ($53.3M), 2019’s MA ($45.8M), 2018’s Searching ($26.0M), and 2019’s Midsommar ($27.4M).
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Wednesday, November 23
Premise: By far the widest theatrical release in Netflix’s history, mystery-comedy sequel Glass Onion, a follow-up to 2019’s Knives Out, sees Daniel Craig return to the role of detective Benoit Blanc. Writer-director Rian Johnson (Looper, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) returns, with an ensemble cast of newcomers including Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, and Leslie Odom Jr. Onion will have a one-week theatrical exclusivity window before debuting on Netflix on December 23.
Box office: The original Knives Out earned $165.3M, exceeding most pre-release projections; in its first seven days, it earned $45.8M from 3,461 theaters. The sequel will play in approximately 600 theaters, about 17 percent as many as its predecessor.
(That being said, Netflix will presumably keep with its tradition of not releasing exact theatrical box office data, just as it doesn’t release exact viewership data for content on its streaming service.)
Strange World
Wednesday, November 23
Premise: Walt Disney Animation Studios’ latest feature is a trippy fantasy about a family who gets more than they bargained for while exploring… well, a strange world. Featuring the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal and Dennis Quaid, it’s directed by Don Hall (Moana, Big Hero 6, Raya and the Last Dragon) and Qui Nguyen.
Box office: Walt Disney Animation Studios’ last theatrically exclusive release, 2021’s Encanto, opened in the same Thanksgiving week slot as Strange World and earned $96.0M total. However, that marked a substantial comedown from the company’s string of 2010s hits, including 2010’s Tangled ($200.8M), 2012’s Wreck-It Ralph ($189.4M), 2013’s Frozen ($400.9M), 2014’s Big Hero 6 ($222.5M), 2016’s Zootopia ($341.2M), and 2016’s Moana ($248.7M).
Devotion
Wednesday, November 23
Premise: Sony Pictures’ historical action drama stars Glen Powell (“Hangman” from Top Gun: Maverick) and Jonathan Majors (HBO’s Lovecraft Country) as a pair of fighter pilots—one white, one black—during the Korean War.
Box office: Recent war, action, or drama films about the World War II / Korean War era include 2019’s Midway ($56.8M), 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge ($67.2M), 2017’s Darkest Hour ($56.4M), 2014’s The Monuments Men ($78.0M), or 2014’s Fury ($85.8M), 2016’s Allied ($40.0M), 2012’s Red Tails ($49.8M), 2009’s Defiance ($28.6M), and 2006’s Flags of Our Fathers ($33.6M).
The Fabelmans
Wednesday, November 23
Premise: Steven Spielberg cowrites and directs Universal’s semi-autobiographical tale of a boy and aspiring filmmaker growing up in 1950s suburbia, marking Spielberg’s first feature film writing credit since 2001’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence. With relative newcomers Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord and Gabriel LaBelle as the child and teenage versions of the protagonist, the cast also includes Michelle Williams as the mother, Paul Dano as the father, and Seth Rogen.
Box office: Three of Spielberg’s last four films have been modest performers: 2021’s West Side Story ($38.5M), 2016’s The BFG ($55.4M), and 2015’s Bridge of Spies ($72.3M).
Bones and All
Wednesday, November 23
Premise: Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell play two young lovers in 1980s America… who are also both cannibals. Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) directs United Artists Releasing’s genre-defying title, based on the novel by Camille DeAngelis and co-starring Mark Rylance.
Box office: Analogues may include August’s Bodies Bodies Bodies ($11.4M), 2018’s The Darkest Minds ($12.6M), and 2009’s Jennifer’s Body ($16.2M). Although, really, there’s arguably never been a movie with quite the same plot as Bones and All in film history.
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