Weekend Box Office: 'The Grudge' Fails To Scare Up Much Of An Audience
Here we are, in the dead days of January. It's the time of year where studios dump movies they're not entirely confident about. That doesn't mean the movies are bad, per se. But it doesn't they're good, either. The biggest new release last weekend was the horror reboot The Grudge, which didn't draw much of a crowd. The low-budget of the film – reportedly around $10 million – ensures that the fright flick will break even, but it still had the lowest opening weekend of any film in the franchise to date.
Who won the weekend box office? Why, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, of course. The final entry in the Skywalker Saga continues to hold onto the top spot, but it's not all good news. According to Forbes, the J.J. Abrams-directed film saw 81% of its audience drop off:
After pulling in $177.4 million on opening weekend at the domestic box office, the latest Disney flick only made $72.4 the following weekend—which officially made The Rise of Skywalker part of the $100 Million Losers Club. The newest Star Wars sequel became the 11th movie to ever pull that off.
Elsewhere in box office land, Jumanji: The Next Level stayed at number 2, while Greta Gerwig's Little Women landed in the third spot, which is pretty good, all things considered. Which brings us to The Grudge. The reboot/sequel to the horror franchise opened at $11.3 million domestically, which is the worst opening for any film in that franchise. That's not a great sign for the film, which will likely lose most of what little audience it already has come next weekend.
Speaking of which, next weekend's new offerings include the Kristen Stewart aquatic horror flick Underwater, which might do okay but probably won't break the bank. There's also the comedy Like a Boss, and the wider expansions of Just Mercy and 1917. 1917's recent Golden Globes win might help it draw in a big crowd. Or maybe everyone will stay home and read a book, who knows.
Here are the top 10 movies at the box office at the moment.
1. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
2. Jumanji: The Next Level
3. Little Women
4. The Grudge
5. Frozen II
6. Spies in Disguise
7. Knives Out
8. Uncut Gems
9. Bombshell
10. Cats