Wonder Woman 1984 Tops New Year’s Weekend Box Office

Wonder Woman 1984 kicks off the new year atop the charts in another lean box office weekend. The sequel to 2017’s superhero hit Wonder Woman will earn $5.5 million in North America over New Year’s weekend, bringing its domestic box office total to $28.5 million after two weekends. The film’s theatrical run coincides with its release on WarnerMedia’s HBO Max streaming service on Christmas Day, where it is available to all subscribers until late January. The sequel hasn’t been as well-received by critics as its predecessor, earning only a 60% score on Rotten Tomatoes, which barely qualifies as “fresh” on the review aggregation site.

ComicBook.com‘s Brandon Davis gave the movie 3.5 out of 5 stars. In his review, he writes, “Wonder Woman 1984 learns from the critiques of its excellent predecessor, delivering a much more contained finale by comparison to its extravagant and over-sized blow-out third act in the first movie, but it would have benefited from some more character work, sharper pacing and conclusions, and, well, a little bit more Wonder Woman. The team delivers an exciting and inspirational new tale, with a surprising level of worldly commentary considering when it was shot, along with a much-needed message of hope — all complemented strongly by the always empathic musical score from Hans Zimmer.”

Original Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins returned to helm the sequel. Also returning are stars Gal Gadot as Diana Prince and Chris Pine as Steve Trevor. Newcomers to the cast include Pedro Pascal as Maxwell Lord and Kristen Wiig as Barbara Minerva/Cheetah. Robin Wright and Connie Nielsen also return as Diana’s Amazon aunt and mother, Antiope and Hippolyta.

The Croods: A New Age remains in second place on the charts. Monster Hunter, the film adaptation of the popular video game series, is in fourth place, and Alien returns to theaters in ninth. Keep reading to see this weekend’s full chart.

1. Wonder Woman 1984

• Week Two
• Weekend: $5.5 million
• Total: $28.5 million

Diana Prince lives quietly among mortals in the vibrant, sleek 1980s — an era of excess driven by the pursuit of having it all. Though she’s come into her full powers, she maintains a low profile by curating ancient artifacts, and only performing heroic acts incognito. But soon, Diana will have to muster all of her strength, wisdom and courage as she finds herself squaring off against Maxwell Lord and the Cheetah, a villainess who possesses superhuman strength and agility.

Wonder Woman 1984 was directed by Patty Jenkins, who co-wrote the script with Geoff Johns and Dave Callaham. The film stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Robin Wright, and Connie Nielsen

2. The Croods: A New Age

• Week Six
• Weekend: $2.18 million
• Total: $34.5 million

Searching for a safer habitat, the prehistoric Crood family discovers an idyllic, walled-in paradise that meets all of its needs. Unfortunately, they must also learn to live with the Bettermans — a family that’s a couple of steps above the Croods on the evolutionary ladder. As tensions between the new neighbors start to rise, a new threat soon propels both clans on an epic adventure that forces them to embrace their differences, draw strength from one another, and survive together.

The Croods: A New Age is directed by Joel Crawford from a screenplay by Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman, Paul Fisher, and Bob Logan. The film’s voice cast includes Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, Cloris Leachman, Peter Dinklage, Leslie Mann, and Kelly Marie Tran.

3. News of the World

Week Two

Weekend: $1.69 million

Total: $5.4 million

Five years after the end of the Civil War, Capt. Jefferson Kyle Kidd crosses paths with a 10-year-old girl taken by the Kiowa people. Forced to return to her aunt and uncle, Kidd agrees to escort the child across the harsh and unforgiving plains of Texas. However, the long journey soon turns into a fight for survival as the traveling companions encounter danger at every turn — both human and natural.

News of the World is directed by Paul Greengrass and stars Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel. The film is based on Paulette Jiles’s 2016 novel of the same name.

4. Monster Hunter

• Week Three
• Weekend: $1.25 million
• Total: $6.3 million

Behind our world, there is another — a world of dangerous and powerful monsters that rule their domain with deadly ferocity. When Lt. Artemis and her loyal soldiers are transported from our world to the new one, the unflappable lieutenant receives the shock of her life. In a desperate battle for survival against enormous enemies with incredible powers and unstoppable, terrifying attacks, Artemis teams up with a mysterious hunter who has found a way to fight back.

Based on Capcom’s video game series, Monster Hunter is directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. It stars Milla Jovovich, Tony Jaa, Tip “T. I.” Harris, Meagan Good, Diego Boneta, Josh Helman, Jin Au-Yeung and Ron Perlman.

5. Fatale

• Opening Weekend
• Weekend: $700,000
• Total: $3.09 million

A married man’s life turns into a living nightmare when he has a one-night stand with a manipulative woman who turns out to be a detective.
 
Fatale is directed by Deon Taylor, from a screenplay written by David Loughery. The film stars Hilary Swank, Michael Ealy, Mike Colter, and Geoffrey Owens.

6. Promising Young Woman

 

• Week Two
• Weekend: $660,000
• Total: $1.9 million

Nothing in Cassie’s life is what it appears to be — she’s wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she’s living a secret double life by night. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs from the past.

Promising Young Woman is directed by Emerald Fennell. The movie stars Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Clancy Brown, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, and Connie Britton.

7. Pinocchio

• Week Two
• Weekend: $284,000
• Total: $772,800

Geppetto’s puppet creation, Pinocchio, magically comes to life with dreams of becoming a real boy. Easily led astray, Pinocchio tumbles from one misadventure to another as he is tricked, kidnapped and chased by bandits through a wonderful world full of imaginative creatures – from the belly of a giant fish, to the Land of Toys and the Field of Miracles.

Pinocchio is directed by Matteo Garrone, based on Carlo Collodi’s 1883 book The Adventures of Pinocchio. The film stars Federico Ielapi, Roberto Benigni, Gigi Proietti, Rocco Papaleo, Massimo Ceccherini, and Marine Vacth.

8. The War With Grandpa

• Week 13
• Weekend: $114,000
• Total: $18.7 million

Peter and his grandpa used to be very close, but when Grandpa Jack moves in with the family, Peter is forced to give up his most prized possession: his bedroom. Peter will stop at nothing to get his room back, scheming with friends to devise a series of pranks to drive him out. However, grandpa doesn’t give up easily, and it turns into an all-out war between the two.

The War with Grandpa is directed by Tim Hill from a screenplay by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, based on Robert Kimmel Smith’s novel of the same name. The film stars Robert De Niro, Oakes Fegley, Uma Thurman, Rob Riggle, Laura Marano, Cheech Marin, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Walken.

9. Alien

• Opening weekend (of re-release)
• Weekend: $75,000
• Total: $81.9 million

In deep space, the crew of the commercial starship Nostromo is awakened from their cryo-sleep capsules halfway through their journey home to investigate a distress call from an alien vessel. The terror begins when the crew encounters a nest of eggs inside the alien ship. An organism from inside an egg leaps out and attaches itself to one of the crew, causing him to fall into a coma.

Alien was directed by Ridley Scott. The film stars Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, and Yaphet Kotto.

10. Come Play

• Week 10
• Weekend: $55,000
• Total: $9.56 million

Parents fight to save their son when a mysterious creature uses his electronic devices to break into our world.

Come Play is written and directed by Jacob Chase. The film stars Gillian Jacobs, John Gallagher Jr., Azhy Robertson, and Winslow Fegley.