FILMS MONEY FLAGS : RESEARCH

 

''WW84'' rules for a second week. DC's latest grosses $118.5 million globally over New Year's holiday weekend.

LOS ANGELES : Wonder Woman 1984 used its lasso of truth to rope in $5.5 million over the New Year's holiday. The sequel also ensnared another $10.1 million from overseas markets, bringing its global total to $118.5 million.

That's not a disastrous figure, given how much coronavirus has upended the film business. But it does represent a steep 67% drop domestically and is a far cry from the grosses of pre-pandemic blockbusters.

Stateside Wonder Woman 1984 has earned $28.5 million. The superhero sequel, which is currently getting some social media backlash for riot rising to the levels of its beloved predecessor, is being simultaneously released on HBO Max in a bid for to bolster the Warner Media streaming service and as a concession to a global health crisis that's left the theatrical distribution landscape severely diminished.

The company has issued some vague numbers touting Wonder Woman 1984's. popularity on the HBO Max, but little in the way of hard data. It did announce that Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins will reunite for a third film in the franchise, a sign that it believes the Amazonian warrior is a vital part of the plans for growing its DC cinematic universe.

Beyond Wonder Woman 1984, Universal and Dreamworks Animation's The Crood's : A New Age pulled in $2.2 million in its sixth week of release. That pushes the animated sequel's domestic haul to $34.5 million and its global total to just under $115 million.

The film is being released due to pact between the studio and major exhibitors such as AMC and Cinemark by which the films can get released premium video-on demand with two weeks of their theatrical debuts. In return, struggling theatre chains get a cut of digital revenues.

Universal also released News of the World, a western that reunites Tom Hanks with his Captain Philips director Paul Greengrass. The film grossed $1.7 million, pushing its domestic total to $5.4 million. Netflix bought the international rights this winter, Hanks stars as a Civil War vet who must return a young girl who was captured by natives to her remaining family.

Lionsgate's Fatale , a psychological thriller with Hillary Swank and Michael Ealy, grossed $700,000 in its third weekend of release. That brings its total to $3.1 million.

Focus' Promising Young Woman, which like News of the World and The Croods sequel is part of its parent studio Universal's deal with exhibitors, picked up $660,000 in its second weekend. Its domestic total now stands at $1.9 million.

Promising Young Woman has scored a great deal of buzz for its provocative look at sexual violence and revenge and has earned awards chatter for star Carey Mulligan's performance.

Disney's and Pixar's Soul has been streaming on Disney Plus over the holidays, but it has been made available in theaters in overseas markets such as China, Saudi Arabia and Thailand.

The animated story of a middle class music teacher whose soul gets separated from his body grossed $16.5 million in its second weekend of release. That pushes its total to $32.5 million. [Reuters]