The weeks between Thanksgiving and the Christmas movie season are some of the slowest of the year at the box office, but with no new nationwide releases to ponder holdovers likeRalph Breaks the InternetandDr. Seuss' The Grinchare locked in a pretty tight battle for supremacy. TheWreck-it Ralphsequel wins this round, taking in another $16 million in its third weekend to bring its domestic total to $141 million. ButThe Grinch, impressively, is right behind it in itsfifthweekend, snowballing to another $15 million.
Meanwhile,Peter Farrelly’sGreen Bookwas the only movie in the top ten to see a boost from last weekend, expanding to 116 more theaters and taking in $3.9 million, good enough for seventh place at the box office. The film, a major Oscars hopeful, starsMahershala Alias real-life jazz pianist Don Shirley being taxied through the deep south by a Bronx native named Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen). Collider’s Matt Goldbergcalled it"the ‘Some of my best friends are black’ of movies," so take that as you will.
The real action this weekend was at the specialty box office, which saw the debuts of films likeVox Luxstarring Natalie Portman andMary Queen of Scotsstarring Margot Robbie andSaoirse Ronan. Mary came out on top with $200,000 at four theaters for an average of $50,000, whileVox Luxdanced to $162,252 at six locations. DirectorPeter Hedge’sBen Is Back—which Julia Roberts as a mother to an addict son, played by Lucas Hedges—opened to $80,972 on four screens.
Check out the weekend’s top 10 estimates below, and be back here next week to see ifMortal Engineshas wheels or if it’sSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Versethatsticks with audiences.
Ralph Breaks the Internet
$16,141,000
$140,858,885
Dr. Seuss' The Grinch
$15,175,000
$223,463,175
$10,322,515
$96,471,912
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
$6,805,000
$145,207,524
Bohemian Rhapsody
$6,000,000
$173,569,170
Instant Family
$5,600,000
$54,160,742
Green Book
$3,935,000
$19,976,911
Robin Hood
$3,585,000
$27,289,193
The Possession of Hannah Grace
$3,175,000
$11,506,549
$3,100,000
$38,155,806
