Bohemian Rhapsody is the box office champion with a $50 million opening weekend
Fox's Queen biopic won the domestic box office this weekend, while Disney's latest live-action effort wasn't so lucky.
Bohemian Rhapsody, which stars Rami Malek as Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury, had a $50 million U.S. debut, per Box Office Mojo. This was well above expectations; the film last week was projected to bring in closer to $35 million, Variety reported. The critics have been tough on the film, but audiences clearly disagree: While Bohemian Rhapsody earned a 60 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, it has already made $141 million worldwide on a budget of $50 million, and moviegoers across the country gave it an average rating of A, per CinemaScore.
Meanwhile, Disney's The Nutcracker and the Four Realms failed to conjure much Christmas spirit with a dismal $20 million opening. This is particularly dire considering the live-action retelling of the classic story reportedly had a budget of about $130 million. Analysts blame a variety of factors including the release date, which placed a Christmas movie nearly two full months before the actual holiday, and just two days after Halloween. This is Disney's third box office stumble of the year after A Wrinkle in Time and Solo: A Star Wars Story. But considering this was also the year that Disney made over $3 billion from Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War alone, the studio can probably handle these occasional losses.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
The art world and motherhood: the end of a final taboo?
Talking Point Hettie Judah's new touring exhibition offers a 'riveting riposte' to old cliches
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Musk's reliance on China draws rising scrutiny'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Biba: the story of a 'legendary emporium'
The Week Recommends Brand's 60th anniversary is being marked with retrospective celebrating the 'iconic shop's cultural importance'
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Immigration helped the US economy outpace peers
speed read The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.2% last quarter
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
4-day workweek gets boost from UK study
Speed Read Following a six-month trial, the majority of participating British companies are still using the truncated schedule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sues to block Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the $24.6 billion merger between the grocery giants
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Nvidia sees historic stock rise on AI chips success
Speed Read U.S. chipmaker Nvidia achieved the biggest one-day increase in value of any company in history
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published