HOLLYWOOD—After ruling the box-office for more than 3 weeks the animated flick “Ralph Breaks the Internet” was finally dethroned. So what lucky flick managed to accomplish the feat? It was none other than: “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” with an impressive $35 million haul. I will argue I expected the animated feature which has been receiving high praise from critics to debut slightly higher.
While the animated feature has garnered plenty of buzz, the biggest buzz at the box-office this weekend was Clint Eastwood. Why? His new drama “The Mule,” which has been heavily advertised, and could potentially find itself as an awards contender in the Oscar race, debuted in second place with an impressive $17.2 million haul. For a film that no one seemed to care about, Eastwood is proving that even in his 80s he is still capable of crafting a drama that can appeal to all audiences.
People slept on “Million Dollar Baby,” the same way they slept on “Gran Torino,” and if “The Mule” continues to generate buzz Eastwood could find himself in contention for Oscar come February 2019 in the Best Actor and Best Director races. Landing in third place was “The Grinch” with $11.6 million. The movie has since grossed over $240 million at the domestic box-office since its release in November. “Ralph Breaks the Internet” dropped to fourth place with $9.6 million bringing its domestic total to over $154 million.
Rounding out the top five was the week’s newest release “Mortal Engines” with a dreadful $7.5 million. Not good considering the movie cost over $100 million to make. This weekend sees the release of the highly anticipated “Aquaman.” However, it will have some contention with “Welcome to Marwen,” “Second Act” and “Bumblebee” all hit theaters just in time for Christmas. Expect “Aquaman” to win the box-office this coming weekend.