Wakanda Forever extends reign at US box office, She Said struggles

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever extended its box-office reign in its second week of release with US$67 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates on Sunday (Nov 20), while She Said, about the journalistic investigation into Harvey Weinstein, struggled in wide release.

After its US$180 million launch, Ryan Coogler's Black Panther sequel slid 63 per cent in its second frame. On its way to more than US$1.3 billion in ticket sales, the original Black Panther held unusually well, dipping only 44.7 per cent in its second weekend in 2018. But most recent Marvel releases have seen similar or slightly worse declines. Thor: Love And Thunder, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Black Widow all declined 68 per cent on their second weekend.

Wakanda Forever made in the wake of T'Challa star Chadwick Boseman's death, stars Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett and Tenoch Huerta. It has amassed US$546 million globally thus far, and should continue to drive sales over the upcoming Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend.

The week's top new release was The Menu, the Searchlight Pictures high-cuisine satire starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes, who plays a vengeful celebrity chef. The Menu, directed by Succession veteran Mark Mylod, grossed US$9 million in 3,100 venues. With a 90 per cent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the well-reviewed R-rated thriller is drawing enough Taylor-Joy fans to outpace most edgier arthouse fare.

Universal's She Said flopped with US$2.3 million in 2,022 theaters. The film, starring Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, served as Hollywood's own big-screen treatment of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's downfall. Critics called She Said, which premiered at the New York Film Festival in October, a riveting modern-day newspaper thriller, and audiences gave it an “A” CinemaScore. Box-office expectations were never particularly high for the US$30 million film, directed by Maria Schrader, but it was widely applauded for its tackling of the infamous #MeToo scandal.

Weinstein's attorneys earlier argued that his Los Angeles trial should have been postponed because of the release of She Said. A judge ruled against it. Weinstein is being tried for the alleged rape of two women and sexually assaulting two others. On Thursday, prosecutors rested their case after nearly four weeks of testimony from 44 witnesses.

The weekend's biggest surprise came from a crowdfunded streaming series about the life of Jesus. The first two episodes of the third season of The Chosen, distributed by Fathom Events, collected US$8.2 million in 2,009 theaters. Fathom Events is owned by AMC Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, and Regal Cinemas, and specialises in alternative programming in brief theatrical runs. In The Chosen, Fathom found a sizable audience in the religious series. Fathom last year also distributed Christmas With The Chosen: The Messengers, which, with $13 million, ranks as the distributor's biggest hit.

Luca Guadagnino's Bones And All, starring Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet as young cannibals, debuted in five theatres before expanding nationwide on Wednesday. The acclaimed MGM release opened with US$120,000, giving it a $23,983 per-screen average. Also launching in five New York and Los Angeles locations was Elegance Bratton's autobiographical drama, The Inspection, about his enlisting in the Marines during the “Don't ask, don't tell” era. The A24 release landed a per-screen average of US$13,188.