Walt Disney's "Wish" Falls Short at Box Office

In a surprising turn of events, Walt Disney's animated feature, "Wish," failed to make a significant impact at the holiday weekend box office. Instead, Lions Gate Films' "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" claimed the top spot, followed by Sony's "Napoleon."

According to Comscore, "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" brought in an additional $28.8 million domestically in its second week, solidifying its position as the weekend's highest-grossing film. Not far behind was "Napoleon," which garnered $20.4 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening weekend.

"Wish" managed to secure the third spot with $19.5 million in domestic ticket sales. However, both the three-day and five-day weekend sales fell short of expectations set prior to the movie's debut.

This underperformance from Walt Disney is particularly disappointing considering their historical dominance during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst, expressed his disappointment, stating that Disney's holiday box office supremacy is no longer guaranteed.

However, amidst this disappointment, there is a glimmer of hope. Dergarabedian pointed out that the breadth of offerings over the weekend and the overall sales figures indicate that both Hollywood and the exhibition industry are gradually recovering.

It remains to be seen whether "Wish" will experience a surge in sales in the coming weeks. However, for now, it seems that Walt Disney's unquestioned reign over the holiday box office has come to an end.

Domestic Box Office Sales Show Positive Trend

The recently concluded five-day holiday weekend, spanning from Wednesday to Sunday, witnessed an estimated $172 million in domestic box office sales, according to Comscore. Despite being lower than the record-breaking $315.6 million in sales achieved in 2018, this is a marked improvement from last year's $122.8 million.

As of now, domestic box office sales for 2023 have reached an impressive $8.242 billion, moving closer to the industry's expectations of hitting $9 billion in sales this year, as noted by Dergarabedian. While this figure represents a decline from the pre-pandemic era's $11 billion, it still serves as a promising sign for the entertainment industry.

Dergarabedian also highlighted a significant difference in the number of wide release features between this year and the corresponding period in 2019. Currently, there are approximately 20 fewer wide release films. However, with the resolution of strikes involving actors and writers, Hollywood now has the opportunity to regain its momentum.

Disney's recent weekend showing is noteworthy, considering it took place just three weeks after the release of "The Marvels," the 33rd installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unfortunately, the debut of "The Marvels" fell short of expectations and secured sixth place in box office rankings for this three-day holiday weekend, based on Comscore's data.

In terms of other notable films over Thanksgiving weekend, Comcast-owned Universal's "Trolls Band Together" claimed the fourth spot with $17.5 million in domestic box office sales, while Sony's "Thanksgiving" came in fifth place with sales of $7.1 million.