Wakanda Forever And Glass Onion Ate Well At The Thanksgiving Box Office

The Thanksgiving timeframe at the 2022 box office is officially behind us and, to say the very least of it, we have much to discuss. Not surprising is the fact that "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" topped the charts for the third week in a row, ensuring that Disney's big sequel will be a big hit (even if it won't reach the big $1 billion). But Disney also had another big release in the form of "Strange World." The good news? It took the number two spot on the charts. The bad news? It was a very low number. Meanwhile, Netflix did its biggest theatrical experiment to date with "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" three years after the original "Knives Out" became a huge mid-budget hit. And that's not all! We also have "Devotion" and "The Fabelmans" to discuss. Let's dig into the numbers, shall we?

Director Ryan Coogler's "Wakanda Forever" pulled in another $45.9 million over the weekend, per Box Office Mojo. That is just a 41% drop week-to-week, which helps close the gap a bit after its hefty drop from week one to week two. Over the full five-day holiday frame, it took in a pretty hefty $64 million. Its total now stands at $367.6 million domestic while its international haul is doing well at $307.9 million. That leaves us with $675.5 million to date. So no, $1 billion seems well out of reach. But $800 million. Maybe closer to $900 million? Sure! And that's not at all bad for a movie about grief that approaches three hours with its running time. Marvel is still the only sure thing on the blockbuster level.

To that end, "Strange World," the latest from Walt Disney Animation, earned just $11.9 million over the weekend against a reported budget in the $180 million range. Yikes. All told, it's at $27.8 million worldwide right now and is expected to top out at $100 million. Its expected losses are going to be in the $100 million neighborhood, making this a massive whiff for the Mouse House. Ouch.

Netflix, meanwhile, made its biggest theatrical bet to date by releasing "Glass Onion" in 600 theaters for a one-week-only engagement. Well, that bet paid off handsomely. Though Netflix didn't officially report figures, the sequel to Rian Johnson's "Knives Out" is said to have earned around $9.4 million over the weekend and between $13 and $16 million through the five-day holiday window. The big thing here is the massive $13,500 per-screen average – by far the best of the whole weekend. Had Netflix done a full, proper theatrical rollout with a big marketing campaign? It very well could have been competing with "Black Panther" for the top spot.

The big question now is whether or not Netflix likes the numbers enough to push harder for theatrical in the future. Netflix has had a very, very bad year and could use a new revenue stream. Filmmakers would certainly love it and, if these numbers are any indication, audiences would love it in the right situation. This seems like a no-brainer to me but Netflix remains frustratingly dedicated to a streaming-focused, streaming-only future.

Meanwhile, Sony's "Devotion," an awards season hopeful war film starring Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell, absolutely tanked as well. With a $90 million budget, it took in just $9 million over the full five-day frame. It's yet another big bomb the industry can ill-afford. Non-franchise, adult films continue to struggle mightily. To that end, Steven Spielberg's "The Fabelmans" also flopped in expansion, bringing in just $2.2 million in expansion, coming in at number seven. More brutality.

A bright spot was Searchlight's "The Menu," which dropped less than 40% and took in another $5.2 million. The well-liked thriller now sits at $33.4 million and, if it can keep chugging along, should easily top $50 million. "Black Adam" came in just outside the top five with $3.3 million just after it was made available on Digital. The DC adaptation sits at $378 million globally and, if it's lucky, will touch $400 million. Though that's not nearly enough given its $190 million budget. You can check out the full list of the top ten movies at the box office from this past weekend below.

Top ten movies at the box office November 25 – 27, 2022.

1. "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" – $45.9 million

2. "Strange World" – $11.9 million

3. "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" – $9.4 million (estimated)

4. "Devotion" – $5.9 million

5. "The Menu" – $5.2 million

6. "Black Adam" – $3.35 million

7. "The Fabelmans" – $2.22 million

8. "Bones and All" – $2.2 million

9. "Ticket to Paradise" – $1.85 million

10. "The Chosen Season 3: Episode 1 & 2" – $1.58 million