Beyoncé’s reign as queen of the box office quickly came to an end this weekend, ’cause she fell from the top spot … and slipped all the way down to #5, marking a massive drop-off.
The singer’s ‘Renaissance’ concert film endured a 77% collapse domestically, coming in fifth place behind a handful of movies that have been in theaters for a while … and losing out to a surprising newcomer claiming #1 — an anime film from the great Hayao Miyazaki.
Of course, we’re referring to ‘The Boy and the Heron,’ which snagged $12.8 million through Sunday. Obviously, that’s not a huge number, which makes Bey’s haul even more shocking.
‘Renaissance’ made only $5 million domestically this weekend … quite different from last weekend’s high mark of $21 million in North American markets. While that initial figure was solid, for sure, it didn’t compare to Taylor Swift’s opening weekend for the ‘Eras’ flick.
Remember, Taylor’s concert movie made $92 mil in its opening weekend … and then experienced about a 65% drop-off the next week, with $33 mil — but it remained the top-grossing movie at the time, beating out Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’ Of course, the film went on to maintain a stronghold at the box office for several weeks thereafter.
The other films that came ahead of Bey’s flick this week … ‘Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ (#2), ‘Godzilla Minus One’ (#3) and ‘Trolls Band Together’ (#4).
Of course, regardless of the actual numbers … ya gotta image Bey (and certainly AMC) see the ticket sales as a win — and as a new way to distribute these kinds of films where the artist themselves can reap a higher percentage of the profits. More to come, we’re sure.