Saturday Update: At last, the weekend box office brings some good news as Ford v Ferrari is surpassing studio expectations and living up to our breakout forecasts. The James Mangold film earned $10.941 million on opening day Friday, including Thursday’s preview earnings. That sets the strongly received pic on course for a weekend that has a very good chance of topping $30 million.
The Matt Damon/Christian Bale-led biopic is performing well across the country as the crowd-pleasing underdog film reaches a variety of audiences. Opening day registered 4 percent higher than Terminator: Dark Fate ($10.55 million), 2 percent higher than Murder on the Orient Express ($10.73 million), and 17 percent higher than Arrival ($9.36 million) — all fellow November releases aiming for adult audiences.
Charlie’s Angels, unfortunately, isn’t faring as well. Despite steadily declining expectations coming into the weekend, the reboot came in south of even the most conservative projections. With a $3.15 million opening day, the franchise revival will miss out on $10 million for the weekend — likely, topping out around $8 million. Opening day was 21 percent behind The Hustle ($4.0 million) and 47 percent behind A Simple Favor ($5.96 million).
Meanwhile, The Good Liar is performing moderately well — although, again, slightly below expectations — with a $1.635 million opening day. That bests The Current War‘s $950K first day a few weeks ago, but falls short of star Helen Mirren’s own The Hundred-foot Journey ($3.66 million). We’re projecting around $5.2 million for the weekend with slight upside in the weeks ahead thanks to playability among older adults.
Early weekend estimates in the chart below. Studio updates to follow on Sunday and Monday.
Early Weekend Estimates (Domestic)
FRI, NOV. 15 – SUN, NOV. 17
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford v. Ferrari | $30,500,000 | — | 3,528 | — | $8,645 | $30,500,000 | 1 | 20th Century Fox |
| 2 | Midway | $9,300,000 | -48% | 3,242 | 0 | $2,869 | $35,690,773 | 2 | Lionsgate |
| 3 | Playing with Fire | $8,000,000 | -37% | 3,125 | 0 | $2,560 | $24,947,824 | 2 | Paramount Pictures |
| 4 | Charlie’s Angels | $8,000,000 | — | 3,452 | — | $2,317 | $8,000,000 | 1 | Sony Pictures |
| 5 | Last Christmas | $7,500,000 | -34% | 3,454 | 6 | $2,171 | $23,375,765 | 2 | Universal Pictures |
| 6 | Doctor Sleep | $6,000,000 | -57% | 3,855 | 0 | $1,556 | $24,858,159 | 2 | Warner Bros. |
| 7 | Joker | $5,400,000 | -41% | 2,337 | -469 | $2,311 | $322,364,593 | 7 | Warner Bros. |
| 8 | The Good Liar | $5,200,000 | — | 2,439 | — | $2,132 | $5,200,000 | 1 | Warner Bros. |
| 9 | Maleficent: Mistress of Evil | $5,100,000 | -39% | 2,549 | -652 | $2,001 | $105,893,384 | 5 | Disney |
| 10 | Harriet | $4,300,000 | -42% | 2,011 | -175 | $2,138 | $31,402,990 | 3 | Focus Features |
| 11 | Terminator: Dark Fate | $4,200,000 | -61% | 2,477 | -1609 | $1,696 | $56,710,077 | 3 | Paramount |
| 12 | Zombieland: Double Tap | $2,000,000 | -54% | 1,407 | -1020 | $1,421 | $70,383,247 | 5 | Sony Pictures |
| 13 | Abominable | $400,000 | -11% | 78,000 | 77594 | $5 | $59,799,090 | 8 | Universal Pictures |
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jojo Rabbit | $2,500,000 | -37% | 995 | 197 | $2,513 | $13,279,498 | 5 | Fox Searchlight |
| 2 | Parasite | $1,700,000 | -34% | 620 | 17 | $2,742 | $14,258,363 | 6 | NEON |
| 3 | Countdown | $1,100,000 | -62% | 946 | -883 | $1,163 | $24,250,249 | 4 | STX Entertainment |
| 4 | Black and Blue | $885,000 | -53% | 558 | -571 | $1,586 | $20,718,804 | 4 | Sony / Screen Gems |
| 5 | Motherless Brooklyn | $470,000 | -78% | 611 | -731 | $769 | $8,784,596 | 3 | Warner Bros. |
| 6 | Arctic Dogs | $250,000 | -77% | 356 | -1964 | $702 | $5,552,602 | 3 | Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures |
| 7 | The Lion King | $55,000 | -34% | 116 | -19 | $474 | $543,551,835 | 18 | Walt Disney Pictures |
| 8 | Downton Abbey | $26,000 | -96% | 303 | -171 | $86 | $96,008,560 | 9 | Focus Features |
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fantastic Fungi | $200,000 | 464% | 17 | 0 | $11,765 | $707,844 | 9 | Area 23a |
| 2 | No Safe Spaces | $140,000 | 113% | 55 | 17 | $2,545 | $384,373 | 4 | Atlas Distribution |
| 3 | Rambo: Last Blood | $39,000 | 129% | 84 | 26 | $464 | $44,789,778 | 9 | Lionsgate |
| 4 | Ad Astra | $35,000 | -83% | 78 | -170 | $449 | $50,084,562 | 9 | 20th Century Fox |
| 5 | Housefull 4 | $32,000 | -75% | 25 | -60 | $1,280 | $2,098,454 | 4 | FIP |
| 6 | Toy Story 4 | $28,000 | -37% | 70 | -19 | $400 | $433,984,983 | 22 | Disney |
| 7 | Immortal Hero | $2,000 | — | 5 | — | $400 | $2,000 | 5 | Freestyle Releasing |
Friday Report: Disney reports that Fox and James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari got off to a very encouraging start of $2.1 million from last night’s previews beginning at 6pm. For those playing the comparison game, that’s 20 percent ahead of Rocketman‘s $1.75 million 7pm Thursday earnings, 31 percent ahead of Murder on the Orient Express ($1.6 million), 45 percent ahead of Arrival ($1.45 million), and 56 percent ahead of Sully ($1.35 million).
For a more recent data point, Ford v Ferrari came in just 11 percent behind Terminator: Dark Fate‘s $2.35 million preview earnings. Given the latter’s franchise fan base pull, that sets FvF up very well for the days ahead as a non-franchise movie with considerable appeal to moviegoers that don’t rush out in the early hours.
For further analysis on Ford v Ferrari‘s potential to break out this weekend, check out the link below.
Related Coverage: Weekend Forecast: Can Ford v Ferrari, Charlie’s Angels, or The Good Liar Help Relieve Box Office Doldrums?
Meanwhile, Sony’s Charlie’s Angels dialed in $900K from shows beginning at 4:30pm yesterday, lining up with conservative projections entering the weekend. That figure registered in line with A Simple Favor‘s $900K start a little over one year ago, while besting The Hustle‘s $774K earlier this year.
The Good Liar did not hold Thursday preview screenings.
More updates to come throughout the weekend.
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