Movie

The Angelina Jolie-starring superhero movie holds off newcomer 'Clifford the Big Red Dog', a live-action/animated family movie, from taking the first place on the domestic chart.

• Nov 15, 2021

AceShowbiz - "Eternals" stands still at the North American box office in its second weekend after facing rough reviews from critics. The latest Marvel movie manages to hold on to the top spot on the chart with additional $27.5 million, bringing its domestic tally to $118.7 million after its $71.3 million opening last week.

The movie saw a 61.4% decline in ticket sales from last week, which though not uncommon for a big superhero tentpole, was significantly steeper than the 52% drop seen by the previous Marvel offering, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings". Both films played exclusively in theaters, but "Shang-Chi" got better ratings from audiences and critics.

Despite the steep decline, "Eternals" is safe from relinquishing the crown as "Clifford the Big Red Dog" failed to score an impressive debut. The adventure comedy film based on the children's book series of the same name by Norman Bridwell amassed approximately $16.4 million on its first weekend as the industry is still faced with a tough job convincing parents to bring their children to theaters.

"We know that segments of the family audience are not ready to come back to theaters given where we are with the current state of the pandemic," said Paramount Pictures domestic distribution president Chris Aronson. "Until vax levels amongst children are more robust, this release strategy is very successful because it gives families a choice of seeing the film in theaters or on Paramount Plus, while also priming the exhibition pump, which we very much believe in."

The live-action/animated movie received mixed responses from critics with a 48% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences disagreed and gave it an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore's senior media analyst saw it as a good sign as he weighed in, "There's been a lot of talk about family audiences and whether or not they want to go to the movie theater. I think this is a really solid debut. It shows there is a demand for family films on the small screen and the big screen."

Elsewhere on the domestic chart, "Dune" drops another place to No. 3 with approximately $5.5 million. "No Time to Die" still trails behind the sci-fi film at No. 4 with an estimated $4.6 million, followed close behind by "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" at No. 5 with approximately $4 million.

Top 10 of North America Box Office (Nov. 12-14, 2021):

1. "Eternals" - $27.5 million
2. "Halloween Kills" - $16.4 million
3. "Dune" - $5.5 million
4. "No Time to Die" - $4.6 million
5. "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" - $4 million
6. "Ron's Gone Wrong" - $2.2 million
7. "The French Dispatch" - $1.84 million
8. "Belfast" - $1.8 million
9. "Spencer" - $1.5 million
10. "Antlers" - $1.2 million