The upside

Source: STX Entertainment

The Upside

JANUARY 14 UPDATE: In the weekend it crossed $1bn worldwide, Warner Bros’ smash Aquaman finally relinquished its hold on North American box office as STX’s buddy movie remake The Upside debuted top on a confirmed $20.4m.

Kevin Hart’s high-profile exit as Oscars host did not appear to damage his standing among audiences, who rewarded The Upside with a table-topping result as it arrived in 3,080 theatres. The film is based on French smash Intouchables and tells of the friendship between a wealthy quadriplegic and his care-giver.

Languishing in the unfamiliar surroundings of number two, Aquaman dropped 44% on $17.4m for a $287.9m running total after four sessions. Last weekend’s champion Escape Room plunged 51% and three slots to number five in its second session, earning $8.9m for $32.5m via Sony.

Focus Features’ Ruth Bader Ginsburg drama On The Basis Of Sex starring Felicity Jones as the pioneering Supreme Court Justice and US national icon burst into the top 10 in its third weekend, climbing eight slots to number eight on $6.1m for $10.4m after expanding from 112 to 1,923 venues.

Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns crossed $150m in its fourth weekend as the family film starring Emily Blunt fell three slots to sixth on $7.7m for $151.1m. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse was named best animated feature at the Golden Globes last weekend and is days away from crossing the same milestone after a $9m haul thrust the running total to $147.8m via Sony after five sessions. The distributor reduced the site count by 390 to 3,029.

The Keanu Reeves sci-fi Replicas finally arrived through Entertainment Studios, which acquired North American rights in Toronto 2017. The film, which Lotus handled internationally, placed 12th in 2,329 sites. Pantelion opened the comedy Perfect Strangers at number 23 on $425,000 from 132 sites.

SPC took advantage of the Golden Globes effect after Glenn Close won best dramatic actress for The Wife. The film experienced the greatest gain of all Globe winners in the session after expanding from 10 venues to 156, vaulting 22 slots to number 32. It gained 1,618.2% to add $111,853 for $8.3m after 22 sessions.

Fox pushed Bohemian Rhapsody into a further 254 theatres to reach 1,334. The Queen and Freddie Mercury drama won the best dramatic film Globe and stars Globe winner Rami Malek and ranks eleventh on $3.2m. It stands at $198.5m after 11 weekends and will cross $200m this week.

Green Book, the buddy movie that won the best musical or comedy Globe and stars best supporting actor Globe winner Mahershala Ali alongside Viggo Mortensen, ranks 15th through Universal and expanded by 176 into 742 sites, earning $2.1m for $38.6m after nine weekends. Vice, which stars best musical or comedy actor Globe winner Christian Bale, fell three slots to number 10 and grossed $3.3m for a promising $35.9m through Annapurna Pictures after three weekends.

Fox Searchlight’s The Favourite starring best musical or comedy actress Globe winner Olivia Colman, fell five places to number 18 on $1.1m for $21.5m after eight.

The top 12 films combined for $102.4m and fell 17.1% against last weekend, and fell 25.1% against the comparable early January session from 2018, when Sony’s Jumanji reboot held on to top spot.

This week’s wide release is Glass, M Night Shyamalan’s final episode in his Eastrail 177 Trilogy starring James McAvoy, Samuel L. Jackson, and Bruce Willis.

Confirmed top 10 North America Jan 11-13, 2019
Film (Dist) / Conf wkd gross / Conf total to date

1 (-) The Upside (STX) STX International $20.4m –

2 (1) Aquaman (Warner Bros) Warner Bros Pictures International $17.4m $287.9m

3 (-) A Dog’s Way Home (Sony) Sony Pictures Releasing International $11.3m –

4 (5) Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (Sony) Sony Pictures Releasing International $9.1m $147.8m

5 (2) Escape Room (Sony) Sony Pictures Releasing International $8.9m $32.5m

6 (3) Mary Poppins Returns (Buena Vista) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International $7.7m $151.1m

7 (4) Bumblebee (Paramount) Paramount Pictures International $7.2m $108.9m

8 (16) On The Basis Of Sex (Focus Features) Universal Pictures International $6.1m $10.4m

9 (6) The Mule (Warner Bros) Warner Bros Pictures International $5.7m $90.7m

10 (7) Vice (Annapurna) $3.2m $35.9m