“Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé” is taking over the box office after grossing $11.5 million on its opening day from 2,539 locations, a figure that includes a strong $5.1 million in Thursday previews. Putting that next to the massive October debut of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” it’s shaping up to be the first year on record that two concert documentaries have opened at the top of domestic charts.
“Renaissance” isn’t expecting to match up to the white-hot fan frenzy that met “The Eras Tour,” which scored $92 million in its domestic opening and has now surpassed $250 million worldwide. But the epic-length film, which documents Beyoncé’s recent Renaissance world tour, is still looking at a substantial debut north of $20 million — an impressive figure for a concert doc. Like “The Eras Tour,” “Renaissance” is also being distributed by AMC Theatres in a deal brokered between the headliner musician and the exhibitor — meaning both parties get to pocket a higher percentage of grosses than they would’ve had a major studio been sought out to handle rollout.
The response has been extremely positive, of course. Beyoncé fans rolled out for the opening day and Beyoncé are getting that they came for — nearly three hours of Beyoncé. The Cinema Score grade determined by polling the first round of moviegoers is at a shimmering “A+” and reviews have been universally positive. There’s speculation that “Renaissance” could show a strong multiplier in the coming weeks, as audiences who aren’t in a rush could continue to discover it through the holiday season.
Stomping around third place, Toho International is self-distributing its first North American release with “Godzilla Minus One,” the Japanese studio’s 33rd entry in the long-running series. After setting the tone with some buzzy preview screenings earlier in the week, the kaiju film is off to the races with about $4.7 million so far in North America, per rivals. A weekend total in the low teens seems possible. An “A” grade on Cinema Score shows some promise it could stick around.
It’s an impressive start for a foreign-language film with a minimal marketing spend. The period piece of post-World War II Japan has earned some extremely strong reviews and sports a reported production budget of $15 million — impressively economical considering all the destruction on screen. It has already earned $23 million in its native country, where Godzilla blasted into theaters in November. Who said movie stars don’t exist anymore?
Also bowing this weekend, Lionsgate is putting out “Silent Night” in 1,870 theaters. All is calm, but it’s not bright for the John Woo-directed actioner, which is looking at a meagre $2.5 million debut. Reviews have been so-so; audience sentiment is much worse (a “C” grade on Cinema Score).
Angel Studios is also nationwide again with “The Shift,” a modern retelling of the Book of Job. Playing in 2,450 theaters, the faith-based drama is looking at a debut of about $4.3 million.
Silver should go to “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” which is only expected to drop 45% for a third weekend tally of $16 million. It’s another strong showing for Lionsgate’s young adult dystopia prequel, which was the victor of the Thanksgiving holiday box office despite opening a week before. The film pushed past a $100 million domestic gross at the start of the week — one of 21 releases this year to achieve the milestone. Global haul is around $200 million.
Universal’s “Trolls Band Together” is dancing to fourth place, earning $1.7 million on Friday. The DreamWorks Animation jukebox musical is projecting $7 million in its third weekend of release, bring its domestic total to about $74.2 million.
“Wish” is not holding very well, likely falling outside the top five. The animated adventure already floundered in its box office debut over the Thanksgiving break, coming in behind projections with a $31 million five-day haul. Now, the Disney release earned $1.6 million on Friday, down a hefty 80% from a week ago. The domestic total should inch past $40 million through Sunday — a rough result considering the film’s $200 million production budget.
“Napoleon” is eyeing fifth place, projecting $7.2 million for its sophomore outing. That’d mark about a 66% tumble from its debut — not a great hold for Apple’s mega-budget historical epic, after scoring not great reviews and a not great audience response. Sony is handling distribution. Domestic gross should surpass $45 million through the weekend.
