2023 Holiday Blockbuster Pool - Final Report

 The Super Bowl is almost here, NBA trades are all around, record low temperatures are happening around the country while So-Cal residents talk about it being “a little chilly” when it’s a sunny 57 degree day, and last, last Monday was MLK Day, so that must mean the 2024 Holiday Blockbuster Pool has come to an end!

I remember many poolers complaining about the lackluster line-up of this year’s crop. Almost every film I listed on the Preview would’ve made the Top 5 last year! I had completely forgotten that The Menu ended up at #5 with a to-go box of $38.4 million. Wowsa. I have no idea how theaters stayed in business. 

That said, the two new films over MLK Weekend, the Mean Girls musical and The Beekeeper, made almost $50 million combined. Films may not be hitting stratospheric highs these days, yet when movies as different as The Boys in the Boat, The Boy and The Heron and Anything But You can get to $40 million, $42 million, and $56 million, maybe people are just happy having choices these days. I’m as happy tearing-up over the sadness of The Iron Claw as I am tearing-up at the ridiculousness of The Beekeeper.  

So let’s say goodbye to some films we already forgot came out and “thanks for the memories” to the films that kept us guessing until the Top 5 was finally finalized. 

The “Well, This Didn’t Work Out As We Intended” Section:

- Next Goal Wins needed WAY more goals to win this pool. 

- All was too calm for Silent Night. 

- Ferrari had sand in the gas tank as it never got out of first gear. 

- It’ll be weird if Thanksgiving gets a sequel because there’s already been a couple movies called Black Friday.

- Beyonce’s Renaissance had more of a Middle Ages performance.

 

The “They Came, They Saw, They Did… OK” Section: 

- The Boys in the Boat stayed afloat but didn’t really get anywhere.

- The Boy and The Heron only made $20 million less than Disney’s Wish… and cost $140 million less. 

- Godzilla Minus One was minus nothing. Maybe my favorite film of the year.

- Anyone But You showed R-Rated romantic comedies don’t have to be constrained to streaming services. 

- The Color Purple didn’t turn into The Color Green, however it did remind us that we got it right by picking Fantasia as an American Idol winner. Clay Aiken couldn’t have pulled this off.  

- Napoleon was not Ridley Scott’s Waterloo, though it was a far cry from Gladiator. 

The “We Don’t Even Know If We’ve Hit Rock-Bottom Yet” Section:

This is reserved for The Marvels and Disney’s Wish. Two films that cost almost $500 million to make and they grossed about $140 million combined. Two “sure fire” things a few years ago were Marvel movies and Animated Disney musicals. Now it’s like they’re a new Pitbull album… We’re good, thanks. I don’t know how many new Disney CEOs it’s going to take to fix this, but I hope they figure it out. We miss the good stuff! 

And now, because I’m so late with this update we all don’t even remember it ended, here are the Top Five Films of the 2024 Holiday Blockbuster Pool!!!

#5. Migration - $88.1 million

A movie by the birds, for the birds. Illumination Animation released an original non-sequeI, non-intellectual property film in the middle of the holiday season and guess what? Families went to it. Well done, you! Besides, movies about dads who are too stubborn to ask for directions never get old. Though, they could’ve modernized it with a mom continually checking her phone to say he could save two minutes if he takes a different route every two minutes. Dads LOVE that :)      

#4. Trolls Band Together - $101.4 million

The first new N*SYNC song in 20 years may not have had the same punch as “Can’t Stop The Feeling” (so just dance, dance, dance), but the movie sang a sweet melody. Throwback tunes and glitter apparently equate into box-office gold! I’m sure we can already calculate the “girl group” and K-Pop versions of these Troll movies being in the works. Mumble-Rap, you’re on deck! 

 

#3. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom - $109.3 million

The final ZynderVerse DC film was successful enough to be the #3 film of the season! It only… checking notes… made $215 million LESS than the last Aquaman film. You may think that’s a bad thing, but The Marvels made $340 million less than Captain Marvel, so, hey, Aquaman… You’re winning! 

#2. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes - $165.1 million

I wasn’t even aware this film was coming out until a month before it was released, but the fans found it. Then, the lack of anything else interesting out there in November helped everyone else find it, which drove this movie to Blockbuster Status. I’m still not sure if I could tell you who was the Songbird and who was the Snake in the movie. All I know is it wasn’t a Power Ballad and that’s probably what kept this film from going all the way to the top. 

#1. Wonka - $178.9 million

Delightful. My one word summary of Wonka. Did I wonder “What the heck is going on here?!” when the story went into indentured servitude and a chocolate cartel? Absolutely. Did I get concerned that this version of Wonka doesn’t seem to be mesh exactly as the Willy in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Nope. If we can’t always have indefatigable hope in real life, let’s have it with candy, magic, and singing in a two-hour movie. It’s like everything Nicole Kidman is talking about during those Everlasting Gobstopper AMC commercials. In the season of giving, Wonka turned out to be the gift we didn’t know we were missing.

Aquaman, Migration, and Purple Making Waves - Weeks 7 & 8

 The final flicks have jumped into the Holiday Blockbuster Pool and it’s time to see if they’re keeping afloat or sleeping with the Disney “Wish”es. 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom didn’t start too hot with a $27.7 million opening. However, these two weeks around Christmas and New Years don’t act like normal weeks where 80% of the box-office comes in during the weekends. Meaning, weekend numbers may be down yet the films can be making more mid-week than films typically do. This was the case here as the film opened with less than The Marvels, though after 10 days its now $76.5 million total puts it on pace to top that film by next week. Score one for DC, I guess. Yay?

Similarly, Migration opened with a non-descript $12.5 million. As the new animated family film though, families flocked to see it over the holiday break so it had an even bigger second weekend than its first! Migration is at $54 million right now and could soar for more as many schools still have another week off. 

The Color Purple won Christmas Day with an $18.2 million debut on the 25th. Since then it’s continued to attract attention and sits with $44 million so far. Could it sing its way onto the Top 5? We’ve got two more weekends to find out.

Regarding the rest of the newbies, they performed as mediocrely as you could guess. The Boys in the Boat need to keep rowing with $22 million, Anyone But You is swiping left at $25 million, and Ferrari is stuck in neutral at $10. 

The one film that seems to be sticking like gum on a shoe… Wonka! Despite all the things I’ve heard (“I didn’t know it was a musical,” “I didn’t know it was a prequel,” and “Do you think that’s really Timothée Chalamet singing?”), people kept coming. It took the top spot again over New Years Weekend with $22.5 million and has scored $133.1 million in three weeks.  This movie had “A Hatful of Dreams” and it has a real chance to be the #1 film of the season. Scrub Scrub! 

The Top Five If Today Was MLK Day:

#1. The Hunger Games: TBoS&S - $159.7

#2. Wonka - $133.1 million

#3. Trolls Band Together - $97.5 million

#4. The Marvels - $84.5 million

#5. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom - $76.5. million