With no new competition to disrupt its rhythm, Disney’s Encanto held on to the top spot at the domestic box office for the second weekend in a row, grossing another $12.3 million. The animated musical fantasy has made $57.6 million domestically, and its 54% drop is in line with other Thanksgiving weekend releases from the Mouse House.
Encanto, which features original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda—a culmination of a particularly prolific year for him—will arrive on the Disney+ streaming service 30 days after its theatrical release. The pandemic hasn’t been kind to Disney’s animated features; the last one, Raya and the Last Dragon, debuted day-and-date in theaters and for premium access on Disney+. It tapped out with a $130 million worldwide gross. More alarmingly, the last two Disney/Pixar films—Soul and Luca—didn’t play in U.S. theaters at all.
Retaining its number two position, Ghostbusters: Afterlife made another $10.3 million in its third weekend, taking its domestic total to just over $100 million. The film has been performing exceedingly well ever since its surprise $44 million debut. Directed by Oscar-nominee Jason Reitman and featuring an ensemble cast that includes newcomers and franchise veterans alike, Afterlife is designed as a reboot of the iconic comedy franchise.
Director Ridley Scott’s adult-skewing drama House of Gucci came in at number three, with another $6.77 million in its sophomore weekend. The film’s domestic tally now stands at $33 million, which is more than three times higher than what Scott’s other 2021 release—The Last Duel—concluded its domestic run with earlier this year. Scott blamed millennials for that film’s financial underperformance, and although House of Gucci has been more divisively reviewed, it’s positioned as a potential Oscar player, thanks to a cast that includes Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Salma Hayek. It still has a way to go before it recovers its reported $75 million budget, though.
Marvel’s Eternals took another $3.8 million after five weekends of release, pushing its domestic total to a ho-hum $156 million. That’s impressive enough for the pandemic (and for a number four spot on this list), but a far cry from what any movie slapped with the Marvel logo is capable of making these days, especially those that are a part of the record-breaking Marvel Cinematic Universe. But mixed reviews and a lack of familiarity with the source material could’ve played a role in Eternals’ underperformance at the box office. The rest was taken care of by the pandemic, which has also affected other MCU titles such as Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Rounding out the top five this weekend was a surprise new entrant—the faith-based Christmas with the Chosen: The Messengers. The Fathom Events release debuted mid-week, and is projected to make around $3.5 million Friday-Sunday, which is good enough for a spot in the top five.
Next weekend sees the release of Steven Spielberg’s enthusiastically reviewed adaptation of West Side Story, which will bow exclusively in theaters after being delayed by one year due to the pandemic.