Holiday holdovers are continuing their theatrical run at the box office this weekend as 20th Century/Lightstorm’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” stayed No. 1 for a fourth weekend with $21.3 million. But theaters did get some help from Paramount’s “Primate” and Lionsgate/STXfilms’ “Greenland 2: Migration.”
“Avatar 3” now stands at $342 million domestic and $1.23 billion, as it is now looking like the film will fall short of passing the global total of fellow Disney release “Zootopia 2,” which earned $10 million domestic in its seventh weekend and now has a total of $378.8 million domestic and $1.65 billion worldwide, putting it less than $40 million away from the all-time Hollywood animation record held by Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.”
Meanwhile, “Primate” is in a tight race with the fourth weekend of Lionsgate’s “The Housemaid,” earning an $11.3 million opening weekend from 2,970 theaters. It’s a good start for the $21 million-budgeted horror film about a pet chimp that goes homicidally feral, with 60% of the audience coming from the 18-34 demographic.
In terms of reception, “Primate” has done well with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 78% critics and 74% audience along with a B- on CinemaScore, the latter matching the 2023 film “Cocaine Bear.” Next weekend, “Primate” will compete with Sony’s “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” for attention from horror-loving crowds.
It will come down to Monday actuals, but it is currently projected that “Primate” will just beat out “The Housemaid” for the No. 2 spot. But Lionsgate still has a lot to smile about with the Sydney Sweeney/Amanda Seyfried thriller, which added $11.2 million this weekend and now stands at $94.1 million domestic and $192.5 million worldwide.
Lionsgate also opened “Greenland 2: Migration” this weekend in 2,710 locations, taking the No. 5 spot on the charts with an $8.5 million opening weekend. As expected for a disaster film starring Gerard Butler, the audience skews 56% male and 85% over the age of 25.
Farther down the charts, A24’s “Marty Supreme” has reached $70 million domestic after earning $7.3 million in its third weekend, putting it on course to become the distributor’s highest grossing film ever this week. Sony/Columbia’s “Anaconda” has passed $100 million worldwide with $54.2 million coming from the U.S. and Canada after adding $5.1 million in its third weekend.
Searchlight’s “Is This Thing On?” expanded to 1,475 locations and grossed $2.3 million, bringing its total to $3.4 million. Neon’s “No Other Choice” has reached that same $3.4 million cume from a tenth of that count with just 147 locations, continuing a strong limited release run for Park Chan-wook’s satire.
Finally, Angel’s “I Was a Stranger” opened to $1.2 million from 1,400 locations against a reported $6 million budget. The suspense film which follows a Syrian doctor and her daughter in their encounter with four strangers during their attempt to escape Aleppo earned a 71% Rotten Tomatoes score. Meanwhile, Angel’s holiday animated hit “David” added $3 million in its fourth weekend to bring its domestic total to $75 million, passing the theatrical run of Disney/Pixar’s “Elio.”
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