Box Office

While the end to the E.L. James trilogy will come out lower than the previous two installments, it still stands a chance for a solid $40 million opening. That’s actually the biggest opening for a movie in 2018 so far.

With Marvel’s Black Panther opening next weekend, it’s the last chance for new movies to break out and make a mark.

Helen Mirren’s supernatural thriller Winchester had to settle for a third place opening against stronger returning films. It was the slowest weekend at the box office since October.

With less than a million separating the top 3 movies on Friday, the chances of a photo finish for first place is very likely but Sony’s Jumanji has a good chance at making an unprecedented return to first place.

The good Dame’s supernatural thriller from CBS Films might have a struggle against Jumanji, which noooooooo….. yes! It might be back at #1 again!

20th Century Fox had three movies in the top 5 as well as Oscar-nominated Searchlight films The Shape of Water and Three Billboards expanding wider.

Neither new nationwide release should have as much of an impact as Tuesday’s Oscar nominees, many which will expand even wider on Friday.

Chris Hemsworth went up against Gerard Butler for a tight second place race between the male-driven films that also had to face the NFL Championships on Sunday.

The military action-drama and STXfilms’ Den of Thieves will try to snag guys away from Sunday’s football, but neither should make much of a lasting impression.

Warner Bros’ Paddington 2 and Screen Gems’ Proud Mary both had disappointing showings outside the top 5 within a mish-mash of new and returning movies that grossed between $12 and 16.3 million.

Other than The Post, most of the new wide releases like Liam Neeson’s The Commuter, Taraji P. Henson’s Proud Maary and Paddington 2 disappointed.

Warners’ recent pick-up Paddington 2 should do well, as should Spielberg’s The Post in wide release with Taraji P. Henson’s Proud Mary and Liam Neeson’s The Commuter splitting the action fans.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now the sixth highest grossing movie ever domestically and 13th-highest worldwide, yet it still didn’t do as well in China as other recent movies.

Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman movie was one of the bigger surprises at the 2017 box office, but it wasn’t the only one, and hopefully, lessons will be learned from the bigger mistakes and disasters.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is likely to end up in third place as positive word-of-mouth from the holiday releases helps Sony’s family hit and Hugh Jackman’s The Greatest Showman.

2018 kicks off with a possible three-way race for first place while Aaron Sorkin’s Molly’s Game, starring Jessica Chastain, expands to the rest of the country.

The latest Star Wars episode has already crossed $500 million, but the Dwayne Johnson-Kevin Hart adventure-comedy has grossed $185 million over the past two weeks.

Pitch Perfect 3 disappoints and Alexander Payne’s Downsizing, starring Matt Damon, and Warners’ Father Figures outright bomb.

The top three films look to bring in roughly $180 million over the four-day weekend. Hugh Jackman’s The Greatest Showman looking at a distant fourth place.

New movies starring Matt Damon, Owen Wilson and Hugh Jackman may be scraping for business against stronger movies this pre-Xmas weekend.

The Lucasfilm sequel is estimated to have made $450 million worldwide over the weekend. Fox’s animated Ferdinand comes in a distant second.

Already the second biggest opening day for a domestic release, although that includes $45 million from Thursday previews. Fox’s Ferdinand is taking a distant second place.

The sequel, directed by Looper‘s Rian Johnson, opens nationwide in over 4,200 theaters where it’s likely to be the biggest opener of the year, surpassing Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.

What’s likely to be the biggest movie of 2017 is shooting for a $200 million-plus opening, while Fox releases the animated Ferdinand as counter-programming.

A24’s The Disaster Artist, directed by and starring James Franco, enters the top 5 with an est. $6.4 million. Broad Green’s Just Getting Started isn’t… it bombed pretty badly its opening weekend.

James Franco’s The Disaster Artist faring well in first weekend of wide release, while Justice League and Wonder are in a close race for second place.

Ron Shelton’s comedy Just Getting Started, starring Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones, takes on James Franco’s The Disaster Artist as it expands nationwide.

Lucasfilm’s 2017 release is just weeks away. Advance tickets are selling like hotcakes. But few think it will break some of the seemingly insurmountable box office records set by its 2015 precursor.

Greta Gerwig’s Lady BIrd and Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards both expanded into over 1,000 theaters and grossed roughly $4.5 million in the slower post-Thanksgiving weekend. James Franco’s The Disaster Artist scored an impressive opening in just 19 theaters.

Wonder is giving Justice League a run for second place with a few other close races with no new wide releases or Top 10 entries.