The third Disney Marvel release in just over four months, it opened below “Black Widow” ($80 million) and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” ($75 million). Sony also opened “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” last month, to $90 million. “Eternals” opening gross fell about 10 percent beneath already-skittish expectations. That may reflect ongoing uncertainty about theatrical exhibition recovery, but some common sense is in order. Three top Marvel releases, plus “Venom,” in such a short window should mean a decrease in interest. In that context, $71 million is very much in range of normal.

That doesn’t even include the bad omens: the weakest reviews ever for an MCU release, social media dominated by controversy over two minor characters, limited interest from much of the core audience and a B Cinemascore — an all-time MCU low. (On its easy scale, B is considered negative; only one past MCU even got a B+.) Related ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Continues Surge, Most Other New Titles Swoon as Holiday Nears End ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Could Reach $600 Million Domestic, $2 Billion Worldwide Related Oscars 2023: Best Original Score Predictions Quentin Tarantino’s Favorite Movies: 48 Films the Director Wants You to See
This was touted as an important entry in Marvel evolution, a bridge to the future. Instead, $71 million falls below their two most recent early November MCU openings (“Thor: Ragnorak”/$123 million in 2017, “Dr. Strange”/$85 million in 2016). This suggests a box-office plateau after October, which saw a return to 75-80 percent of normal business. Momentum is critical at a time when studio decisions around production and distribution remain fluid. Disney “Eternals” almost certainly will provide the largest gross in November. “Encanto” (Disney) could ultimately prove bigger, but it only plays for a week this month. November 2019 saw $959 million for all films, with “Frozen” providing $269 million. Theaters have total dependence on Marvel and a handful of other franchises. The best this year is “Shang-Chi,” which is #27 in MCU history. “Eternals” might not do much more than $150 million. These are not signs of momentum. On its own, this week is comparatively strong. Its $108 million total is 88 percent of the same weekend in 2019, which pushes the four-week rolling average to 78 percent of two years ago. In 2019, this weekend saw four new films open — all under $20 million, with five at $10 million or more. Now? One dominant gross, nothing else above $8 million. That’s unhealthy.

“Dune” dropped 51 percent in its third weekend, hurt by the loss of premium-format theaters as well as  “Eternals” competition. It’s headed for a domestic total of around $110 million, tops for an HBO Max same-day film. Both “No Time to Die” (United Artists) and “Venom” held better, both down 20 percent or close (the Bond film adds PVOD on Tuesday). With few family alternatives, “Ron’s Gone Wrong” (Disney) dropped only 4 percent. Neon “Spencer” (Neon), with Kristin Stewart a strong Best Actress contender, opened in 996 theaters to $2.1 million. The film received extensive attention, which could help sustain its award chances and elevate the home platform release where it will likely see its best return. “Jackie,” director Pablo Larrain’s earlier biopic, grossed $14 million, though via a traditional slow roll out. A much different specialized film, “The Most Reluctant Convert” (Trafalagar), grossed over $1.2 million as a one-day special event November 3 in 400 theaters. A faith-based drama below cinephile radar, its per-theater average 50 percent higher than “Spencer.” That Neon, as capable in marketing specialized titles as anyone, saw this tepid result reflects the challenge to get adult audiences into theaters, even for core awards titles. “The French Dispatch” (Searchlight) added 417 theaters (now 1,205) to gross $2.6 million, same as last weekend’s total. Wes Anderson’s latest is now just under $8.5 million. Manhattan’s Film Forum once again proved its worth as a key element in opening films. “Hive” (Zeitgeist) from Kosovo, the World Cinema winner at Sundance 2021, opened to a strong $13,775. That’s close to what would be expected pre-Covid, a rare happening. Joanna Hogg’s acclaimed “The Souvenir: Part II” (A24) expanded to 15 theaters and grossed $40,794. The first “Souvenir” in 2019 grossed $139,000 in 23 theaters for a PTA more than double. As usual, Netflix didn’t report grosses for its star-driven action comedy “Red Notice.” Despite the presence of Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynold, and Gal Gadot, the best guess is that its 750 theaters (Cinemark a major supporter) didn’t gross enough to make the Top 10, with under $1.5 million. The Top 10

  1. Eternals (Disney) NEW – Cinemascore: B; Metacritic:; Est. budget: $200 million $71,000,000 in 4,090 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $17,359; Cumulative: $71,000,000

  2. Dune (Warner Bros.) Week 3; Last weekend #1; also on HBO Max $7,620,000 (-51%) in 3,546 (-579) theaters; PTA: $2,149; Cumulative: $83,946,000

  3. No Time to Die (United Artists) Week 5; Last weekend #3 $6,180,001 (-20%) in 3,007 (-500) theaters; PTA: $2,056; Cumulative: $143,152,000

  4. Venom: Let There Be Carnage (Sony) Week 6; Last weekend #5 $4,465,000 (-22%) in 2,640 (-638) theaters; PTA: $1,362; Cumulative: $197,008,000

  5. Ron’s Gone Wrong (Disney) Week 3; Last weekend #8 $3,600,000 (-4%) in 2,650 (-910) theaters; PTA: $1,358; Cumulative: $17,568,000

  6. The French Dispatch (Searchlight) Week 3; Last weekend #10 $2,600,000 (no change) in 1,205 (+417) theaters; PTA: $2,158; Cumulative: $8,473,000

  7. Halloween Kills (Universal) Week 4; Last weekend #2; also on Peacock $2,300,000 (-73%) in 3,098 (-518) theaters; PTA: $759; Cumulative: $89,710,000

  8. Spencer (Neon) NEW – Cinemascore: ; Metacritic:; Est. budget: $ $2,100,000 in 996 theaters; PTA: $2,108; Cumulative: $2,100,000

  9. Antlers (Searchlight) Week 2; Last weekend #6 $2,000,000 (-53%) in 2,800 (no change) theaters; PTA: $714; Cumulative: $7,604,000

  10. Last Night in Soho (Focus) Week 2; Last weekend #7 $1,800,000 (-57%) in 3,016 (no change) theaters; PTA: $597; Cumulative: $7,700,000 Additional specialized/limited/independent releases Hive (Zeitgeist) NEW – Metacritic: 73; Festivals include: Sundance 2021 $13,755 in 1 theater; PTA: $13,755 The Beta Test (IFC) NEW – Metacritic: 72; Festivals include: Tribeca, Berlin 2021; also on VOD $18,500 in 25 theaters; PTA: $740 My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission (Funimation) Week 2 $1,600,000 in 1,437 (-144) theaters; PTA: $1,107; Cumulative: $9,319,000 The Souvenir: Part II (A24) – Week 2 $40,794 in 15 (+12) theaters; PTA: $2,720; Cumulative: $73,244 The Rescue (Greenwich) – Week 5 $48,383 in 56 (-45) theaters; Cumulative: $995,018    

Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.