It took the Great War to finally take down “Star Wars.” The World War I story “1917" brought in $36.5 million in its first weekend of wide release, easily topping the box office and ending the three-week reign of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” which brought in $15 million.
Universal expanded “1917” from 11 screens in its first two weeks to more than 3,400 on the weekend after it won Golden Globes for best director and best film drama.
“I hope this means that people will turn up and see this on the big screen, the way it was intended,” Mendes said at the Globes ceremony.
“This is the blueprint for how to perfectly execute the platform release for a potential Oscar nominee and Oscar winner,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore told the Associated Press.
The strategy worked beautifully, and the film could get another boost from likely Oscar nominations coming Monday morning.
Other films at the top of the box office this week included "Jumanji: The Next Level" which was in third place in its fifth week of release and "Little Women" in sixth place.
. “1917,” $36.5 million, ($19.9 million international).
2. “Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker,” $15.1 million, ($24.2 million international).
3. “Jumanji: The Next Level,” $14 million, ($22.6 million international).
4. “Like a Boss,” $10 million.
4. “Just Mercy,” $10 million.
6. “Little Women,” $7.65 million, ($8.1 million international).
7. “Underwater,” $7 million, ($7.1 million international).
8. “Frozen 2,” $5.76 million, ($19.1 million international).
9. “Knives Out,” $5.73 million, ($5.5 million international).
10. “Spies in Disguise,” $5.1 million, ($11.4 million international).
