Though ‘Dr. Strange 2’ Prevails, ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’ Pulls In Older Audiences With $18M+ Opening – Midday Box Office
deadline.comFRIDAY MIDDAY UPDATE: Focus Features sequel Downton Abbey: A New Era is heading toward an $18M opening after a projected $8M Friday that includes $1M in Thursday night previews.That will put the Simon Curtis directed title in second place for the weekend behind Disney’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness which will hold on the No.
1 crown with a projected $7.4M-$7.6M Friday, -56% on the low end, for a $26M-$28M industry estimated third weekend at 4,534 theaters.
This will propel the Sam Raimi movie to $340.4M on the high end by Sunday.There’s a lot of hope riding on Downton Abbey: A New Era that it will dynamite the 55+ crowd out of their homes, and finally get them into cinemas after staying safe during the pandemic.
While the movie was never expected to open to the pre-pandemic levels of its 2019 predecessor, which notched the best opening ever for Focus with $31M (and ended its domestic run at $96.8M), realize that this is a sequel to a period movie, so declining ticket sales were evident even in a healthy environment.
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