'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' still slays at box office: No. 1 and $725M worldwide
LOS ANGELES – "Star Wars" was still rising in the last weekend of the year, while "Little Women" broke big at the box office.
"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" brought in $72 million for the weekend to remain the top-earning film in North America by light years, according to studio estimates Sunday.
In 10 days of release, it has brought in $362.8 million for Disney, falling just short of the earnings of its predecessor, 2017's "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" in a comparable span.
Helped by the Christmas holiday week, “Star Wars” had a smaller-than-average 59% drop-off in its second weekend after earning $175 million in its first.
“For a movie that opened that big, that is a modest drop,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “Movies that open this time of year, they usually have legs.”
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"Jumanji: The Next Level," earned $35.3 million for second place and has tallied a total of $175.5 million through its third weekend of release.
Director Greta Gerwig's reimagining of the American literary classic "Little Women" had a $16.5 million weekend and a five-day total of $29 million since opening on Christmas Day, a major performance for a smaller-audience film with a budget dwarfed by the top two films.
The film starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh and Laura Dern, scored big with both audiences and critics and is gaining momentum as an awards-season favorite.
“With Greta Gerwig’s reputation as a filmmaker, a great cast and a perfect holiday release date, they’ve got quite a hit on their hands," Dergarabedian says.
"Uncut Gems," an even smaller film that has also sparked awards-season buzz for Adam Sandler's dramatic performance as a jeweler and gambling addict, entered the top 10 for the first time as it expanded to more screens. The film earned $9.6 million for the weekend and has brought in $20 million overall.
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Director Sam Mendes' experimental World War I epic "1917," earned more than $1 million since its Christmas opening, despite showing in only 11 theaters. The huge per-screen average bodes well for the film's nationwide opening next month as it ramps up its Oscars campaign.
Rounding out the rest of the top five: Disney's "Frozen 2" sequel was fourth with $16.5 million after six weekends in theaters and Will Smith's animated "Spies in Disguise" finished fifth with $13.2 million.
As 2019 ends, annual overall box office revenue is down by 4%, though it gained ground in its latter months, narrowing a deficit that was 11% in April, and 2018 was always going to be tough to beat.
"Last year was an outlier," Dergarabedian says. "It was just a massive year."
Between Marvel and “Star Wars,” and its animation divisions, 2019 was utterly owned by Disney, which had all five of the year's top-grossing movies: “Avengers: Endgame,” “The Lion King,” “Toy Story 4,” “Captain Marvel” and “Frozen 2."
With “The Rise of Skywalker” ending the year at No. 7 and “Aladdin” at No. 8, the mega-mouse ate up seven of the top 10 spots.
Final numbers are expected Monday.
Contributing: Kim Willis, USA TODAY