{"id":134286,"date":"2017-11-27T01:44:49","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T06:44:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=134286"},"modified":"2017-11-27T01:44:49","modified_gmt":"2017-11-27T06:44:49","slug":"pixars-coco-feasts-on-justice-league-at-box-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/11\/27\/pixars-coco-feasts-on-justice-league-at-box-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Pixar’s ‘Coco’ feasts on ‘Justice League’ at box office"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"(Photo:<\/a>
Centered on the Mexican holiday Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), “Coco has already set box office records in Mexico\u00a0(Photo:<\/a> Disney\u2022Pixar’s Coco\u200f\/Twitter<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK — Pixar’s \u201cCoco\u201d sang its way to the fourth best Thanksgiving weekend ever with an estimated $71.2 million over the five-day weekend, a total that easily toppled Warner Bros.’ \u201cJustice League.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCoco\u201d rode strong reviews and an A-plus CinemaScore from audiences to the top spot at the domestic box office. According to studio estimates Sunday, it grossed $49 million from Friday to Sunday. Centered on the Mexican holiday Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), \u201cCoco\u201d has already set box office records in Mexico, where it has made $53.4 million in three weeks.<\/p>\n

After a disappointing debut last weekend, the much-maligned DC Comics superhero team-up film \u201cJustice League\u201d slid to second with $40.7 million. In the five-day holiday frame, it earned about $60 million. \u201cJustice League\u201d is faring better overseas, where it has made more than $300 million.<\/p>\n

The two top spots told a familiar tale: Quality is trumping mediocrity at the box office, where Rotten Tomato ratings bear considerable weight and where word-of-mouth spreads lightning quick. \u201cCoco\u201d is Pixar’s sixth release to land an A-plus CinemaScore from audiences. The film’s Rotten Tomatoes rating, 96 per cent fresh, is more than double that of \u201cJustice League\u201d (41 per cent).<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a world where moviegoing and quality seem to be connected, having a brand that has as consistently as Pixar has delivered on very high expectations definitely makes our work a little easier,\u201d said Dave Hollis, distribution chief for the Walt Disney Co., which owns Pixar. \u201cConsumers have really come to expect high quality. This is once again Pixar doing what they do best.\u201d<\/p>\n

The success of \u201cCoco\u201d came just as reports of sexual misconduct were published regarding Pixar co-founder and Disney Animation Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter. On Tuesday, Lasseter announced that he was taking \u201ca six-month sabbatical.\u201d He acknowledged \u201cmissteps\u201d and \u201cunwanted hugs\u201d with employees. Disney has said it supports Lasseter’s leave of absence.<\/p>\n

Lasseter has been foundational to the rise of Pixar and the revitalization of Disney Animation. \u201cCoco\u201d is the latest in a long line of hits he’s overseen.<\/p>\n

After some early blunders (Disney tried to trademark \u201cDia de Los Muertos,\u201d sparking a backlash), the studio strove to capture Mexican culture authentically in \u201cCoco,\u201d enlisting cultural consultants for their feedback. The film, directed by Lee Unkrich and co-directed by Adrian Molina, is one of the largest U.S. productions ever to feature a largely all-Latino cast.<\/p>\n

That makes \u201cCoco\u201d an anomaly in the Pixar canon but also in Hollywood. Hispanics made up 23 per cent of frequent moviegoers last year, but they’re seldom catered to. Disney didn’t share ethnic demographics for \u201cCoco\u201d ticket buyers but said signs pointed to a high turnout among Latinos. But \u201cCoco\u201d also performed well elsewhere, like in China where it made $18.2 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cTelling great stories that represent the audience is a part of what makes a film successful, especially when you get it right,\u201d said Hollis.<\/p>\n

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore, called the film’s result a positive story in \u201ca week that was pretty challenging for Pixar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future may lie in content like this, where you’re telling stories about real human beings and about diversity,\u201d said Dergarabedian. \u201cThe Hispanic audience is key to the success of any given box office year, given the frequency and passion for moviegoing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, the most profitable movie currently at the box office might be the Lionsgate family release \u201cWonder,\u201d directed by Stephen Chbosky. Starring Jacob Tremblay and Julia Roberts, the film — which carries a production budget of $20 million — has made $69.4 million. It slid just 19 per cent in its second week, with $22.3 million in ticket sales.<\/p>\n

A number of specialty releases with Oscar ambitions also hit theatres over the weekend. Of them, Sony Pictures Classics’ \u201cCall Me By Your Name\u201d came out with the best per-screen average: $101,219 in four theatres. Not since \u201cLa La Land\u201d has a film so packed theatres in specialty release. The movie, starring Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer, is about a young man’s coming of age in 1980s Northern Italy.<\/p>\n

\u201cDarkest Hour,\u201d with Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill, debuted with $176,000 on four screens. The expanding releases of Greta Gerwig’s \u201cLady Bird\u201d ($4 million on 791 screens) and Martin McDonaugh’s \u201cThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri\u201d ($4.4 million on 614 screens) also drew crowded theatres.<\/p>\n

Less successful was the national rollout of \u201cRoman J. Israel, Esq.\u201d with Denzel Washington. Though it bested the other releases with $4.5 million on 1,665 screens, it’s an atypical downturn for one of the movies’ most consistently bankable stars. Not since Washington’s 2002 directorial debut, \u201cAntwone Fisher,\u201d has a film starring Washington performed as weakly nationwide.<\/p>\n

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cCoco,\u201d $49 million ($30.7 million international).<\/li>\n
  2. \u201cJustice League,\u201d $40.7 million ($72.2 million international).<\/li>\n
  3. \u201cWonder,\u201d $22.3 million.<\/li>\n
  4. \u201cThor: Ragnarok,\u201d $16.8 million.<\/li>\n
  5. \u201cDaddy’s Home 2,\u201d $13.3 million.<\/li>\n
  6. \u201cMurder on the Orient Express,\u201d $13 million.<\/li>\n
  7. \u201cThe Star,\u201d $6.9 million.<\/li>\n
  8. \u201cBad Moms Christmas,\u201d $5 million.<\/li>\n
  9. \u201cRoman J. Israel, Esq.\u201d $4.5 million.<\/li>\n
  10. \u201cThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,\u201d $4.4 million.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    ——<\/p>\n

    Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \u201cJustice League,\u201d $72.2 million.<\/li>\n
    2. \u201cCoco,\u201d $30.7 million.<\/li>\n
    3. \u201cMurder on the Orient Express,\u201d $17.2 million.<\/li>\n
    4. \u201cDaddy’s Home 2,\u201d $13.8 million.<\/li>\n
    5. \u201cManhunt,\u201d $11.6 million.<\/li>\n
    6. \u201cThor: Ragnarok,\u201d $11 million.<\/li>\n
    7. \u201cThe Swindlers,\u201d $10.5 million<\/li>\n
    8. \u201cPaddington 2,\u201d $9.1 million.<\/li>\n
    9. \u201cExplosion,\u201d $4.9 million.<\/li>\n
    10. \u201cHappy Death Day,\u201d $4.7 million.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      NEW YORK — Pixar’s \u201cCoco\u201d sang its way to the fourth best Thanksgiving weekend ever with an estimated $71.2 million …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":134290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,106],"tags":[35548,16142,35545,35544,35540,27897,34259,35541,17612,34038,379,35546,35551,35542,35538,35549,30333,35543,35547,35552,30337,35550,35539,34260],"class_list":["post-134286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-hollywood","tag-bad-moms-christmas","tag-coco","tag-daddys-home-2","tag-darkest-hour","tag-dave-hollis","tag-happy-death-day","tag-jacob-tremblay","tag-john-lasseter","tag-julia-roberts","tag-justice-league","tag-mexico","tag-murder-on-the-orient-express","tag-paddington-2","tag-paul-dergarabedian","tag-pixar","tag-roman-j-israel-esq","tag-rotten-tomatoes","tag-stephen-chbosky","tag-the-star","tag-the-swindler","tag-thor-ragnarok","tag-three-billboards-outside-ebbing-missouri","tag-walt-disney-co","tag-wonder","mauthors-jake-coyle","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}