While Thanksgiving usually belongs to football, Hollywood sometimes capitalizes on the holiday with either Christmas movies to start you with the holly jolly spirit, or they release certain awards hopeful titles. This year, Ridley Scott‘s epic on the French tyrant, Napoleon, starring Joaquin Phoenix, follows Martin Scorsese’s own epic, Killers of the Flower Moon, for this awards season. Both movies are Apple Originals that have also established theatrical windows before their streaming dates. Additionally, both have also secured special IMAX during their run in cinemas.
Deadline has reported that Napoleon has started its run with $3 million at the box office on Tuesday early screening for the week of Thanksgiving. According to Deadline, “it’s right under what 1917 previews (7PM) did for its wide expansion back in January 2020 which was $3.25M, and it’s ahead of Apple/Paramount’s Killers of the Flower Moon which was $2.6M.” Comparatively, 1917 expanded to 3,434 screens before rounding out to $37 million in a 3-day total. Killers of the Flower Moon‘s Friday total came out to $9.4M before the Friday through Sunday 3-day total came to $23.2M. Napoleon is currently slated to screen at 3,017 theatres including PLFs and 70MM. Rotten Tomatoes reviews currently have the Ridley Scott epic at 65% fresh and no audience scores as of yet.
Meanwhile, Disney has a new family film coming out for the holiday weekend. Wish is currently tracking for an estimated $45 million to $50 million win over Napoleon‘s estimated $22 million for the week. Both play alternatively to last week’s big franchise release, the prequel to The Hunger Games series, The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes hasn’t lit the box office on fire despite being a new installment in the popular adaptation of the young adult novels. However, it’s currently besting both newer releases with a current standing of $6.5 million this week. What will the next few days bring? That will depend on what audiences are in the mood for. Will Oppenheimer‘s success be the start of a trend? Or a fluke?