The holiday box office proved fruitful for a wide variety of movies as overall ticket sales reached $200 million over the weekend — a 6.3% boost from last year.
Disney and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker led the bounty, crossing $361 million in North America after this weekend’s $72 million haul. JJ Abrams’ third and final chapter in the sequel trilogy collected $136 million over the five-day Christmas stretch. After less than two weeks in theaters, Rise of Skywalker has generated $725 million globally, distinguishing itself as the 10th-highest grossing movie of the year worldwide and seventh-biggest in the U.S.
Greta Gerwig’s Little Women is also bringing holiday cheer, generating $16.5 million during the weekend and $29 million since Wednesday to land at No. 3. That’s a solid result for Sony and New Regency, which shelled out $40 million to produce the film. Gerwig, who wrote and directed Little Women, proved that seventh times’ a charm for Louisa May Alcott’s literary classic. The movie — starring Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Timothee Chalamet, Emma Watson and Laura Dern — has received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike.
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Slightly lower on box office charts, A24’s suspense thriller Uncut Gems debuted at No. 7, collecting $9.5 million over the traditional weekend and $18.8 million since opening on Wednesday. That marks the indie distributor’s biggest five-day launch to date despite the film’s C+ CinemaScore from audiences. US ticket sales currently sit at $20 million, already making it one of the specialty studio’s highest-grossing films. Directed by brothers Josh and Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems has found itself in the awards conversation for Adam Sandler’s dramatic turn as a jewelry maven and gambling addict.
After Rise of Skywalker, Sony’s Jumanji: The Next Level and Disney’s Frozen 2 eclipsed newcomers on box office charts. Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart’s action sequel has pocketed a huge $59 million since Wednesday, propelling its domestic tally to $175.45 million.
