"Parasite" explodes --what did you see over the weekend?

What did you see over the weekend? I went to Pain & Glory for a second time and as with all Pedro Almodóvar movies, the second viewing is richer than the first. But the big story of the weekend was Bong Joon-ho's Parasite. EVERY SCREENING in NYC was sold out by Friday morning. It must have also been crowded in Los Angeles because it achieved the highest per screen average of the entire year, and the best since La La Land (2016) and we all know what happened to La La Land. Not that Parasite is going to earn $151 million in US release alone and win 6 Oscars but, still, what a feat for its opening weekend. 

Weekend Box Office October 11-13 (ACTUALS) 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = recommended
WIDE RELEASE (800+ screens)	PLATFORM TITLES
1 JOKER $55.8 (CUM $193.5) REVIEW	1  🔺 PARASITE $384k *new* PODCAST, BEST OF TIFF ★

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T'was a good weekend for Pedro, Joaquin, JLo, and Renée

Weekend Box Office [Actuals] Oct 4th -6th 🔺 = New or Expanding / ★ = Recommended
W I D E	PLATFORM / SPECIALTY TITLES
Joker	Pain & Glory
1 🔺  Joker  $96.2 *new* REVIEW	1 🔺 War $1.6 on 305 screens *new*

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Abominable and Judy both meet eager audiences

Weekend Box Office Actuals September 27th-29th  🔺 = New or Expanding / ★ = Recommended
W I D E	PLATFORM / SPECIALTY TITLES
Abominable	Judy
1 🔺  Abominable  $20.6 *new*	1 🔺 Judy $2.9 on 461 screens *new* QUICK TAKE
2 Downton Abbey $14.3 (cum. $58.3)  DAME MAGGIE	2 🔺 Nothing to Lose 2 $606k on 97 screens *new*
3 Hustlers $11.3 (cum. $80.5) REVIEW, PODCAST ★	3 🔺 Linda Ronstadt... $385k on 247 screens (cum. $2.2) REVIEW
4 It Chapter Two  $10.2 ($193.7)	4 Official Secrets $149k on 260 screens (cum. $1.6)
5 Ad Astra $10 (cum. $35.3) REVIEW ★	5 Chhichhore $136k on 78 screens (cum. $1.9)

numbers on that chart are pulled from boxofficemojo

Judy and Abominable were the stories of the weekend, both opening well. Despite opening on 461 screens, Judy was the 7th highest grosser of the weekend with a promising $6313 per screen average. A good launch for Renée Zellweger's Oscar campaign which will expand to more cities/theaters next weekend and probably also a sign that adults are ready for the Oscar-aiming fare to arrive. Abominable benefitted from an opportune release date, despite being that rarity: a non-sequel. It's been over a month since the last animated feature with a wide release and that was the underperformer Angry Birds 2 so demand was high. 

Downton Abbey is a hit!

[NOW UPDATED WITH ACTUALS] Box office pundits thought it would be a tight battle for the crown this weekend but it wasn't. Downton Abbey trampled all over its competition with its army of butlers, ladies & ladymaids, footmen, and visiting royals. The chart is after the jump...

Weekend Box Office Sept 20th-22nd (ACTUALS) 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = recommended
WIDE RELEASE (800+ screens)	PLATFORM TITLES
1 🔺 DOWNTON ABBEY $31 *new* ★	1  🔺 LINDA RONSTADT: SOUND... [DOC] $427k on 218 screens (cum. $1.6) REVIEW

2 🔺  AD ASTRA $19 *new* REVIEW ★	2 🔺 OFFICIAL SECRETS $249k on 482 screens (cum. $1.3) REVIEW

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"Hustlers" Collects the Cash

We're baa-aaack. We haven't done a box office post in two weeks due to our TIFF jaunt so we're dying to know what you've been watching while we were cramming fall and winter movies in. Next weekend things get VERY competitive with the Brad Pitt led sci-fi drama Ad Astra, the leap to the big screen for Downton Abbey, and yet another Sylvester Stallone milking-his-franchises sequel Rambo: Last Blood all arriving to compete with Pennywise and JLo for the box office crown.

The weekend estimates for all 14 pictures in wide release and the corresponding top platform titles are after the jump along with a few notes...

Weekend Box Office Sept 13th-15th (Estimates) 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = recommended
WIDE RELEASE (800+ screens)	PLATFORM TITLES
1 IT CHAPTER TWO $40.7 (cum. $153.8)	1 🔺 BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON  $1.5 on 757 screens (cum. $3.8) REVIEW ★

2 🔺  HUSTLERS $33.2 *new* REVIEW ★	2 🔺 LINDA RONSTADT: SOUND... [DOC] $734k (cum. $889k) on 220 screens

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