Little Women, Uncut Gems start strong as Star Wars holds sway

Los Angeles

THE Christmas holiday box office proved fruitful for a wide variety of movies as overall ticket sales in North America reached US$200 million over the weekend - a 6.3 per cent boost from last year.

Disney and Lucasfilm's Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker led the bounty, crossing US$361 million after the weekend's US$72 million haul.

J J Abrams' third and final chapter in the sequel trilogy collected US$136 million over the five-day Christmas stretch.

After less than two weeks in theatres, Rise of Skywalker has generated US$725 million globally, distinguishing itself as the 10th-highest grossing movie of the year worldwide and seventh-biggest in the US.

Greta Gerwig's Little Women is also bringing holiday cheer, generating US$16.5 million during the weekend and US$29 million since Wednesday to land at No 3.

That's a solid result for Sony and New Regency, which shelled out US$40 million to produce the film. Ms Gerwig wrote and directed Little Women, Louisa May Alcott's literary classic.

The movie - starring Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Timothee Chalamet, Emma Watson and Laura Dern - has received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike.

Slightly lower on box office charts, A24's suspense thriller Uncut Gems debuted at No 7, collecting US$9.5 million over the traditional weekend and US$18.8 million since opening last Wednesday.

That marks the indie distributor's biggest five-day launch to date despite the film's "C+" CinemaScore from audiences.

US ticket sales currently sit at US$20 million, already making it one of the specialty studio's highest-grossing films.

Directed by brothers Josh and Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems has found itself in the awards conversation for Adam Sandler's dramatic turn as a jewellery maven and gambling addict.

After Rise of Skywalker, Sony's Jumanji: The Next Level" and Disney's Frozen 2 eclipsed newcomers on box office charts.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Kevin Hart's action sequel has pocketed a huge US$59 million since Wednesday, propelling its domestic tally to US$175.45 million.

Meanwhile, the animated follow-up to 2013's Frozen generated US$16.5 million over the weekend and US$26 million during the five-day holiday frame.

Those dazzling ticket sales pushed Frozen 2 to US$421 million in North America and US$1.21 billion worldwide, surpassing 2015's Minions (US$1.15 billion) to become the third-highest grossing animated movie in history.

In fifth place, Disney-Fox's Spies in Disguise launched to US$13 million over the three-day weekend and US$22 million since Christmas Day. The animation adventure, voiced by Will Smith and Tom Holland, also amassed US$16 million overseas for a global tally of US$38 million.

Elsewhere, Tom Hooper's Cats dropped to No 9 on box office charts after collecting a disappointing US$8.7 million over the extended holiday period. Universal's musical adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage show has earned US$17 million to date.

The universally skewered movie is likewise stumbling at the international box office, where it ignited with a dismal US$13.6 million from 38 markets. The US$100 million movie has made just US$38 million globally so far.

Sam Mendes' 1917 ignited the specialty box office, scored US$1 million from 11 theatres over the five-day frame, above Universal and DreamWorks' expectations.

The WWI epic follows two young British soldiers (George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman) tasked with the dangerous mission of delivering a message that could save hundreds of lives. 1917 debuts in the US on Jan 10, and on Jan 9 in Singapore.

In New York and Los Angeles, Warner Bros' Just Mercy pulled in US$228,000 from four theatres. Jamie Foxx, Michael B Jordan and Brie Larson star in the legal drama about a black man wrongly accused of murder.

The film earned a rare "A+" CinemaScore from moviegoers, as well as a 98 per cent from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, which could bode well as it expands nationwide in the coming weeks.

Neon's Clemency, an acclaimed drama with Alfre Woodard, bowed with US$37,000 from two venues, averaging US$18,539 from each location.

In other notable box office milestones, Rian Johnson's murder mystery Knives Out surpassed the US$200 million globally after crossing US$100 million in domestic ticket sales over the weekend. REUTERS