Black Panther: Wakanda Forever remains far and away the main event at the box office, out-performing the next highest grossing title, Black Adam, by nearly tenfold.
The Disney/Marvel sequel enjoyed a 64 per cent market share in its sophomore frame, dropping only 40 per cent to $5.6 million, bringing its tally to $18.6 million.
The 2018 original, also directed by Ryan Coogler, finished at $40.8 million.
Worldwide, Wakanda Forever has climbed to $US546.3 million already, a rate that is on par with the first film.
Of last weekend’s new releases, She Said was the best performer, drawing a bigger crowd in Australia, pro-rata, than in North America.
Here, the film opened to a modest $410,745 from 297 screens for Universal. Stateside, the film’s $US2.2 million opening from 2,022 theatres has been labelled as one of the “worst results for a major studio release in history”.
Directed by Maria Schrader, the film follows New York Times journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor as they research and publish the sexual abuse allegations against Weinstein.
The film has been positively received by both critics and audiences alike (at time of writing it is 88 per cent certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with an 86 per cent audience score), and has garnered strong Oscar buzz, particularly for stars Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan.
One of the venues to find success with the title locally was Melbourne’s Cinema Nova, which proved the highest grossing location in Victoria.
CEO Kristian Connelly tells IF the film clicked with its industry-savvy audience, performing above expectation. He predicts it should enjoy strong word-of-mouth with its “essential and well-told narrative”. He notes buzz is also building for other upcoming upscale fare, with strong pre-sales for this weekend’s The Menu and Bones and All.
“I’d suggest that the film’s underperformance in the US is due to a number of factors, one of which the mainstreaming of identity politics that can cause consumers to feel strongly towards topics such as the so-called #MeToo movement as well as the film’s alignment with the New York Times, which is viewed through a partisan lens in some parts of the United States.”
However, Majestic Cinemas CEO Kieren Dell regards the result “a tad disappointing for such a quality movie.”
“It may be that in these uncertain and difficult times people are looking for more feelgood entertainment at the moment, but we have certainly not seen the audience for this sort of upscale fare return in the numbers we would like.”
Indian crime thriller Drishyam 2, starring Ajay Devgn, opened to $378,875 from 53 screens for Mindblowing Films. By a screen average – $7,149 – it is the second best performer in the top 20, behind only Wakanda Forever.
Mel Gibson thriller On The Line, panned by critics, opened to just $132,422 for Icon from 154 screens.
Overall, Numero puts the top 20 titles at $8.3 million, down 32 per cent on the previous.
Warner Bros/DC film Black Adam was the weekend’s no. 2 performer with $568,923 in its fifth, bringing its tally to $17.8 million, while third spot went to Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. That film has made $6.5 million after four weekends, having added another $492,137 for Universal.
DC League of Super Pets remains in the top ten after ten rounds, standing at $18.5 million for WB after earning an extra $121,952.
Smile also has staying power for Paramount, with an eighth weekend result of $115,907 pushing the film to $8.4 million.
One Piece Film: Red dropped 64 per cent in its third frame to gather just $73,268 for Madman, moving to $1.2 million.
Rounding out the top 10 was WB’s Don’t Worry Darling, which is now at $7.4 million after seven weekends, with receipts at $62,312.
Australian doc Greenhouse by Joost premiered outside the top 20 for Madman, bowing to just $7,915 from 19 sceens. However, the film has had a successful run in previews and at festivals, having topped the audience awards at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August; its overall tally is $81,952.