‘Frozen 2’ leads box office again; ‘Playmobil’ flops

“Frozen 2” blanketed multiplexes for third straight weekend, continuing its reign at . 1 with $34.7 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Walt Disney Co. animated sequel has alrey grossed $919.7 million worldwide. It will soon become sixth Disney release this year to cross $1 billion, a record sure to grow to seven once “Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker” hits aters later this month. Early next week, Disney will cross $10 billion at global box office this year.

But weekend overall at box office was yet ar disappointing one for movie industry. A handful of under-performing releases and a relatively thin wide-release schedule hasn’t helped 5.6% slide in domestic ticket sales from last year, according to data firm Comscore.

This weekend produced an outright flop in “Playmobil: Movie,” week’s only new wide release. STX Films release was never expected to do well, but it bombed so thoroughly that it will rank among worst-performing wide-releases ever. It grossed $668,000 in 2,337 venues, giving it a per-ater aver of just $286.

A handful of companies combined to produce $75 million French film, including Wild Bunch and Pa. top five films were almost unchanged from last weekend. Rian Johnson’s acclaimed, star-studded whodunit “Knives Out” remained in second place with $14.2 million, declining a modest 47% in its second week of release. With $63.5 million cumulatively and $124.1 million worldwide, Lionsgate release has been one of season’s bright spots.

So has James Mangold’s “Ford v Ferrari,” which stayed in third place with $6.5 million over its fourth weekend. racing drama, starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale, has sped to a global take of $168 million for Disney, which acquired film’s original studio, 20th Century Fox, earlier this year. film cost about $100 million to make.

Melina Matsoukas’ outlaw romance “Queen & Slim” moved up to fourth in its second week with $6.5 million, swapping places with Marielle Heller’s Mister Rogers drama “A Beautiful Day in Neighborhood” ($5.2 million in its third weekend). Todd Haynes’ true-story legal drama “Dark Waters,” starring Mark Ruffalo as a defense attorney who takes on DuPont chemical company, expanded nationwide to 2,011 aters. Focus Features release me $4.1 million.

Celine Sciamma’s acclaimed period romance “Portrait of a Ly on Fire” opened at two locations with a very strong $33,552 per-ater aver. Neon will release French film wider in February. Some of weekend’s most widespre movie watching may have been on Netflix, though streaming service doesn’t disclose viewership tallies or box-office receipts.

After a three-week atrical run, ah Baumbach’s “Marri Story,” one of year’s most critically acclaimed films, began streaming Friday. On Friday, Nielsen said Martin Scorsese’s “ Irishman” last weekend drew an aver audience of 13.6 million viewers from v. 27 to Dec. 1. Netflix has said Nielsen numbers, which only estimate U.S. viewership, reflect an incomplete picture.

Amazon likewise didn’t release ticket sales for “ Aeronauts,” which opened in 52 aters over weekend. Tom Harper’s film, which cost $40 million to make, stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones as 19th century balloonists. A week before it opens in rth America, Sony’s “Jumanji: Next Level” debuted in 18 international countries where it me $52.5 million. sequel to 2017′s “Jumanji: Welcome to Jungle,” which grossed $962 million worldwide, is expected to le box office next weekend.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canian aters, according to Comscore. Where available, latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.

1. “Frozen 2,” $34.7 million ($90.2 million international).

2. “Knives Out,” $14.2 million ($18 million international).

3. “Ford v Ferrari,” $6.5 million ($8.3 million international).

4. “Queen & Slim,” $6.5 million.

5. “A Beautiful Day in Neighborhood,” $5.2 million.

6. “Dark Waters,” $4.1 million.

7. “21 Bridges,” $2.9 million.

8. “Playing With Fire,” $2 million.

9. “Midway,” $1.9 million.

10. “Joker,” $1 million.