Two sequels battled it out at the box-office this weekend with Dame Maggie Smith losing to a young upstart named Cumberbatch.
“Downton Abbey: A New Era” opened in second place to a $16 million North American debut, down slightly from initial projections but offering a good sign that older audiences may finally be returning to cinemas (nearly 50% of ticket buyers were 55+).
Still, that’s half the $30 million opening of the first film which was also half the budget of the sequel ($20M vs. $40M). The sequel has earned $35 million overseas to date and reviews are glowing.
Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” retained the crown though in its third weekend of release with another $31.6 million. To date it has landed $342 million in North America and $461 million internationally, passing the $800 million global tally and potentially on track to cross the $1 billion mark.
“The Bad Guys” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” came in third and fourth, taking a further $6.1 million and $3.9 million respectively. Fifth place was Alex Garland’s “Men” with a soft $3.29 million debut and a painful D+ CinemaScore.
Meanwhile A24’s word-of-mouth hit “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has overtaken “Uncut Gems” to become their biggest-ever domestic release as it has passed the $50 million mark. The box-office will soon get a shake-up though with “Top Gun: Maverick” opening this coming week in time for the Memorial Day long weekend.
Source: Deadline