Box Office: ‘Violent Night’ Ho Hoarding predicted $11.8 million opening

“Violent Night” received some holiday cheer with a #2 opening on the local charts, but Santa and his reindeer won’t be able to sleigh the box office leader “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

The Universal action movie, which stars David Harbor as Kris Kringle who takes on a team of mercenaries, debuts in the middle of its forecasts, projected to gross $11.8 million from 3,682 locations. That’s a good result for the production of 87North, which carries a frugal $20 million production budget.

Directed by Tommy Wirkola, “Violent Night” fared well with critics, but was given a more positive “B+” grade by research firm Cinema Score, indicating some strong approval from ticket buyers. diverseOwen Gleiberman wrote that the film “throws all sorts of punches into the compactor, but this could be a winning holiday buffet”. With a foundation to build from, “Violent Night” could find itself in a strong position going forward, which could appeal to seasonally tickled viewers looking to catch the holiday spirit during the month.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is once again dominating the box office. The superhero sequel added $4.4 million on Friday, expanding its already massive domestic total to $380 million. Finishing above $400 million seems more than likely, making “Wakanda Forever” only the third release this year to surpass that total in North America.

Then, the Black Panther follow-up will look to surpass fellow Marvel entry Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which topped the summer with $411 million and currently ranks as the year’s second-highest domestic grosser. Moreover, the matching ending to the first “Black Panther” ($700 million) has sold out.

Former box office champ “Top Gun: Maverick” is also in theaters this weekend, as Paramount re-releases Tom Cruise’s sequel starting December 15th. We’re making a lot of money, and we’re looking to add $600,000 this weekend.

Disney’s “Strange World” is collapsing on its second ride. The animated adventure took in $1.08 million on Friday, down nearly 79% from its daily gross a week earlier. That’s already after the film had a disappointing $18.6 million five-day run over the Thanksgiving weekend — a terrible start for a release carrying a production budget of $180 million. With a domestic gross currently at $21 million, Strange World would lose up to $100 million for Disney when all is said and done.

Searchlight’s “The Menu” puts a strong hold, predicting a drop of just 36% in its third weekend. The film grossed $1.04 million on Friday, pushing its domestic total to $22.2 million. The culinary horror comedy has been one of the few niche releases to find a theatrical audience in recent months, though its genre slant has provided some benefits in generating interest.

Sony’s atmospheric action film “Dedication” should enter at #5, and is expected to gross $2.8 million for the opening weekend. The film should hit $13.8 million domestically through Sunday — far from recouping the film’s $90 million production budget.

Ethan Shanfield contributed to this report.