The Hunger Games prequel won the box office, while The Marvel’s flopped

„The Hunger Games” prequel was always favored by „The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” which had a busy box office weekend despite falling slightly short of expectations.

Bringing audiences to the dystopia of Panem for the first time in nearly a decade, the film grossed $44 million from 3,776 North American theaters and $98 million worldwide in its opening weekend. Those early ticket sales never recaptured the spark of the original franchise, which catapulted Jennifer Lawrence to global stardom and inspired three sequels. But that was enough to win the weekend over three fellow newcomers, Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s three series “Trolls Band Together,” Sony’s gory thriller “Thank You” and director Taika Waititi’s sports comedy “Next Target Hits.”

Disney’s superhero sequel “The Marvels” saw a 79% jump in ticket sales thanks to the new deals. Another one Infamous Record: Second weekend drop in Marvel Cinematic Universe history (so far). Prior to this weekend, „Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania” suffered the franchise’s biggest decline with 69.9%.

After the worst opening in the entire MCU, „The Marvels” finished third with $10.2 million from 4,030 theaters, bringing its domestic tally to $65 million. Tentpole is the rare Marvel movie that underperforms at the box office with a budget of more than $220 million, and part of the problem is that it bears down on audience fatigue toward this sprawling franchise. But at this rate, it might not even match its predecessor, 2019’s “Captain Marvel” ($153 million) in its opening weekend. Conclusion Its dramatic flow.

Although „The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” opened significantly lower than its predecessors — each of the four „Hunger Games” installments opened to at least $100 million at the domestic box office — analysts believe the film is doing well in its theatrical run. It cost $100 million to make, more than the first „Hunger Games” but significantly less than the three sequels (the final 2015 adventure cost $160 million).

David A., who runs film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. „That’s a good start for an action-adventure prequel,” says Gross. „On average, prequels start with about half the opening of the previous film, and this weekend’s number is close to that.”

„West Side Story” breakout Rachel Zegler and „The Gilded Age” actor Tom Blythe star in „The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” based on author Suzanne Collins’ 2020 novel. It’s the stand-alone film in the $3 billion „Hunger Games” franchise, which Katniss Everdeen bravely set out to pay tribute to six decades ago. The story centers on a young Coriolanus Snow, who later becomes the tyrannical leader of the dystopian Panem, and pays tribute to Lucy Gray Bird, who mentors the 10th annual Hunger Games. Reviews have been mixed with a 60% on Rotten Tomatoes and a „B+” CinemaScore. The audience is mostly young women; 65% are female and 73% are between the ages of 18-34.

It may have benefited from a delayed boost in publicity (SAG awarded the film an interim deal just days before the strike ended on Nov. 9), which allowed the cast — including Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage and „Euphoria” star Hunter Shaffer — a chance to promote the film. Before It hit theaters. Other recent strike-era releases like „Killers of the Flower Moon” or „Dump Money” struggled to get attention for their movies without a cast of famous faces.

In addition to „Next Target Hits,” this weekend’s rookies worked counter-programming against each other and successfully carved out good receipts in this pre-Turkey Day frame. It will top the box office next weekend only with Ridley Scott’s historical epic „Napoleon” and Disney’s animated musical „Wish.”

In second place, „Trolls Band Together” opened in line with expectations, grossing $30.6 million from 3,870 theaters to debut. „The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($146 million) and Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse ($120 million) no. It’s the third-biggest opening weekend for an animated film this year, behind Nos. 1 and 2. . Those animated offerings, as well as „Elemental” and „Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” have benefited from impressive box office power. With an „A” CinemaScore, „Trolls 3” could enjoy a similarly long run in the next few weeks.

The family-friendly „Trolls,” featuring the voices of Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake, an *Nsync-style adventure about a boy band, is off to a great start overseas and has already earned $76.3 million at the international box office and $108 million worldwide. . It cost $95 million to make.

It’s impossible to gauge Threewell’s performance compared to the 2020 “Trolls World Tour” sequel, which was simultaneously screened on demand when theaters were closed during the worst of the pandemic. The first film, 2016’s “Trolls,” opened to $46 million domestically and topped $350 million at the global box office.

Director Eli Roth’s R-rated slasher „Thank You” opened just short of expectations to $10.2 million from 3,204 locations. It’s tied with „The Marvels,” so the final spot in the box office rankings will be decided on Monday. The film cost just $15 million to make, so it could still make a killing at the end of its box office run. Patrick Dempsey and TikTok star Addison Ray lead the cast of „Thank You,” which centers on a mysterious, axe-wielding killer who terrorizes the residents of Plymouth, Mass., after the Black Friday riots end in tragedy. It earned a „B-” CinemaScore and a surprisingly strong 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.

„The reviews have been great and the film should play well this coming Thanksgiving weekend,” Gross says.

Another scary movie, Universal and Blumhouse’s terrifying video game adaptation “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” rounded out the top five with $3.3 million from 2,829 theaters. After four weekends of release, the modestly budgeted film has grossed $132 million in North America and $271 million worldwide to date.

Waititi’s feel-good sports comedy „Next Goal Wins” flopped in its domestic debut, landing in sixth place with $2.7 million from 2,240 theaters. Without positive reviews or strong audience scores (it earned a 41% on Rotten Tomatoes and a „B+” CinemaScore), the Searchlight film may struggle to recover during the crowded holiday season. Michael Fassbender stars in „The Next Goal Wins,” based on the true story of the American Samoa soccer team and coach who turns perennial losers into champions.

Elsewhere, Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” dropped to No. 10 with $1.9 million from 1,714 locations in fifth release. Ticket sales for the $200 million crime epic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro totaled $63.5 million in North America and $145.7 million worldwide.

For such an expensive film, it is difficult to judge whether the result is a success or a terrible one. That’s far less than Scorsese’s star-driven films are trying to earn. But Apple, which backed the big-budget tentpole and hired Paramount to distribute it theatrically, doesn’t have the same criteria for success compared to traditional Hollywood players. It helps justify the massive costs of the Oscars and new Apple TV+ subscribers.

„Ultimately, the three-and-a-half-hour running time was truly a box-office killer, and the award nominations will no doubt push it even higher.” Jeff Bock saysAn analyst with exhibitor relations.