Believe it or not, the first weekend of 2019 has already come and gone. Every year these first few weeks at the box office mostly consist of holdovers from the previous year, be it a holiday blockbuster or hopeful Oscar contender. Typically thrown into the mix, however, are the first sprinklings of what the new year has to offer, usually some low-budget genre fare. This year is much of the same:
- Aquaman— $31.1 million
- Escape Room— $18.3 million
- Mary Poppins Returns— $15.9 million
- Bumblebee— $13.3 million
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse— $13.2 million
Let’s compare this week’s results to the same weekend from last year:
- Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle— $37.2 million
- Insidious: The Last Key— $29.5 million
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi— $23.7 million
- The Greatest Showman— $13.7 million
- Pitch Perfect 3— $10.2 million
In both cases, four out of the five top films at the box office are holdovers from the previous year with one new horror movie tossed in. Last year it was Insidious: The Last Key, which opened to an impressive $29.5 million. This year it was Escape Room, which still debuted with a strong $18.3 million despite not being tied to a popular franchise like The Last Key is. Coincidentally, both films were directed by Adam Robitel.
Aquaman reigns supreme atop the box office for the third weekend in a row with a $31.1 million catch. The James Wan flick is currently surfing towards the billion-dollar mark worldwide with over $943 million. That comfortably makes Aquaman the highest-grossing entry in the DC Extended Universe, surpassing Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Mary Poppins Returns, Bumblebee and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse all held strong with their additional earnings despite opening against one another during the combative 2018 holiday season.
Opening wide next weekend, January 11th, we have the Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic On the Basis of Sex; the long-delayed Keanu Reeves, sci-fi thriller Replicas; the feel-good Bryan Cranston/Kevin Hart film The Upside; and the missing puppy movie A Dog’s Way Home.
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So there it is, your top five films at the box office this, the first weekend of the new year. What do you think? Do any of these results shock you? And which films are you looking forward to next weekend? I want to hear what you have to say, so hit me up in the comments below!
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