Receipts: Tour Docs Dominate, Holiday Favorites Make a Comeback
Domestic: Beyoncé has been topping a new chart: the box office. The artist’s tour documentary Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé grossed $24.7 million in its opening week, with audiences flocking to more than 2,500 theaters to see the nearly 3-hour film. Renaissance is reported to be the first film in 20 years to make more than $20 million in its opening weekend after Thanksgiving, beating the record previously held by The Last Samurai from 2003. Though its competing tour documentary, Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, had a larger opening gross (and is now approaching a $180 million domestic gross after two months in theaters), Renaissance is nonetheless shattering box office records during a slow time of year. The documentary, which was written, directed, and produced by the singer, dives into the behind-the-scenes process of creating and performing Beyoncé’s world tour for the eponymous album. Beyoncés husband, rapper Jay Z, and her three children Blue Ivy, Rumi, and Sir Carter, are also featured in the documentary, along with appearances from artists like Kendrick Lamar and Diana Ross.
Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s crime thriller Animal has also broken its share of records at the box office. Bringing in $9.3 million in the United States in its first week – with an estimated production budget of just over $2 million USD, the film is already poised to be a moneymaker. The film had the third-largest opening of any Bollywood movie in 2023, and despite mixed reviews, has become the director’s biggest film. Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Animal is a three-and-a-half hour epic that follows a son seeking to avenge his father as their relationship starts to crumble. Controversy surrounding what some call its fetishization of toxic masculinity and rampant misogyny has resulted in mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike. The film currently holds a measly 30% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes – even so, Animal is poised to make a killing.
International: In South Korea, political drama 12.12: The Day had a successful $13 million opening weekend, with a total gross of nearly $34 million in its first week. 12.12 is the sixth-ranking South Korean film of 2023, and the third-largest Korean film in history. Starring Hwang Jung-min, Jung Woo-sung, Lee Sung-min, and Park Hae-joon, 12.12 dramatizes the true events of the South Korean military coup that occurred on December 12th, 1979 following the assassination of South Korean president Park Chung-hee. When martial law is declared following the president’s assassination, security commander Chun Doo-gwang (Hwang Jung-min) and his fellow officers arrange a coup. Doo-gwang clashes with Commander Lee Tae-shin (Jung Woo-sung), who disavows political activism, amidst civilian unrest and the coming spring season in South Korea. Audiences lauded the film on social media, and critics also praise 12.12.
In Japan, Tonde Saitama: Biwako Yori Ai o Komete (Fly Me to the Saitama II), a sequel to 2019’s Fly Me to the Saitama, has brought in nearly $8 million in the country over two weeks in theaters. After its $2.77 million opening weekend won the Japanese box office, Tonde Saitama has enjoyed continued success and mostly positive reviews. Tonde Saitama: Biwako Yori Ai o Komete is directed by Hideki Takeuchi and stars Fumi Niaidô as Momomi Dannoura, Gackt as Rei Asami, Anne Watanabe as Kai Kikyo, and Norika Fujiwara as the Mayor of Kobe.
Streaming: Netflix’s new romcom Best. Christmas. Ever! Is enjoying a third week in the streamer’s Top 10 with 9.6 million hours watched. Despite abysmal reviews – a 42% Tomatometer rating and a measly 19% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes – the feel-good Christmas flick has drawn audiences with big name performers and a chintzy Christmas charm. Starring Brandy Norwood, Matt Cedno, and Madison Skye Validum, Best. Christmas. Ever! tells the story of Jackie (Norwood), who sends an annual self-aggrandizing Christmas card to her old college friends. One of those friends, Charlotte (Heather Graham), ends up at Jackie’s door right as Christmas kicks off, and sets out to expose Jackie’s life as less-than-perfect.
2018 Christmas hit Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch has made it back to the Top 10 for 4 weeks in a row with 4.9 million hours watched. Starring Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson, and Pharrell Williams as narrator, The Grinch has long been an audience favorite as December rolls around. The animated flick is a retelling of the classic tale in which The Grinch (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his dog Max endeavor to ruin Christmas for the ever-cheery Whos in Whoville, eventually growing to love the season themselves.