Screen Gems’ Monster Hunter took the top spot at the domestic box office this weekend with an estimated $2.2M from 1,736 theaters. That figure was well below even modest expectations going into the pre-Christmas weekend, where many analysts expected the Paul W.S. Anderson feature to bring in at least $4M.
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Still, the feature hopes to leg it out over the next few weeks and into the dreary month of January, though it will have to contend with Wonder Woman 1984 beginning next weekend.
Speaking of Patty Jenkins’ superhero epic, the long-awaited sequel to 2017’s Wonder Woman wasn’t quite as mighty as expected internationally. Estimates had the film clearing $60M its opening weekend, but a softer-than-expected $18.8M take in China contributed to the film’s meager $38.5M opening. The film performed well in IMAX theaters where it hauled in $3.8M from 680 screens in China.
It remains to be seen just how big an opening Wonder Woman 1984 will have domestically, especially considering its simultaneous HBO Max release. Will families risk COVID to see the film in theaters or spend the Christmas holiday watching the flick at home?
Elsewhere, Dreamworks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age grossed $2M at the domestic box office, bringing its running domestic total to $27.03M. Internationally, the sequel collected another $3.2M for an $57.5 total and a worldwide sum of $84.5M.
