This weekend, North American moviegoers veered from outright fantasy to historical reality, crowning Universal’s 1917 the box office champion over Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which fell out of the No. 1 spot for the first time. The Sam Mendes-directed WWI film brought in an estimated $36.5 million from 3,434 locations in its wide debut, a breakout opening bolstered by the film’s win for Best Picture – Drama at last weekend’s Golden Globes.

Though anticipation had been steadily building for 1917, its performance at the Globes (Mendes also won the award for Best Director) helped propel it far beyond initial expectations. Strong critical reviews certainly didn’t hurt, nor did a marketing campaign that emphasized the film’s bravura technical feats — with the action skillfully edited to suggest a nearly uninterrupted single shot. As a result, it appealed to both fans of prestige cinema and moviegoers who prefer action over character-driven drama. Notably, this is Mendes’ largest opening weekend ever outside the James Bond franchise.

1917’s wide opening is in line with that of 2013’s Lone Survivor, which similarly broke out with a sizzling $37.8 million in mid-January after playing on select screens prior to the turn of the calendar. With a solid total of $39.2 million to date, look for 1917 to continue performing in muscular fashion as the film’s expected Oscar nomination for Best Picture on Monday should keep it at the top of moviegoers’ minds in the coming weeks.

In second place, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker brought in an estimated $17 million, bringing the total for the Skywalker Saga finale to $478.2 million through the end of its fourth weekend. Though the film seems to be considerably less divisive than 2017’s The Last Jedi, it’s worth pointing out that it’s actually running far behind its predecessor by the same point in its run; by contrast, The Last Jedi grossed $23.7 million in its fourth weekend for a total of $572.6 million.

Jumanji: The Next Level finished in third with an estimated $14 million in its fifth weekend, bringing the total for the Sony threequel to $257.1 million. While it won’t match the $400 million-plus total of franchise predecessor Welcome to the Jungle, it still looks like likely to surpass $300 million by the end of its North American run.

Tying for fourth place according to estimates were Paramount’s Like a Boss and Warner Bros.’ Just Mercy, both of which brought in an estimated $10 million from 3,078 and 2,375 locations, respectively. That’s a slightly lower total than anticipated for the Tiffany Haddish-Rose Byrne-Salma Hayek comedy, which was likely dinged by negative reviews. Notably, this is Haddish’s second-lowest wide opening ever as an above-the-title star after last year’s The Kitchen, which brought in a disappointing $5.5 million despite the combined star power of the Girls Trip breakout and co-star Melissa McCarthy.

Meanwhile, Just Mercy‘s $10 million opening (for a total of $10.4 million overall), counts as a decent wide debut for the Warner Bros. title, which has garnered mainly positive reviews and a rare A+ Cinemascore. A possible Oscar nomination for Foxx could boost its box office potential, though he’s not widely expected to make the cut.

In sixth, Little Women held steady with an estimated $7.6 million in its third weekend, a drop of 44%. The major Oscar contender — which could see nominations in multiple top categories come Monday, including Best Picture — now stands at a strong $74 million.

Debuting in seventh was Fox’s Underwater, which brought in a disappointing $7 million from 2,791 locations. The sci-fi horror title, which stars Kristen Stewart as an aquatic researcher who becomes trapped under at the bottom of the ocean following an earthquake, simply couldn’t carve out a place for itself in a crowded marketplace. The Disney release garnered mixed reviews and a “C” Cinemascore.

Frozen II grossed an estimated $5.8 million in eighth place, bringing the total for the Disney animated sequel to a huge $459.4 million through the end of its eighth weekend.

Knives Out came in ninth with an estimated $5.7 million in its seventh weekend, giving the leggy murder mystery $139.6 million to date; and in tenth, Fox holdover Spies in Disguise grossed an estimated $5.1 million, bringing the total for the Disney release to $54.6 million through the end of its third weekend.

Overseas Update:

1917 grossed an estimated $19.2 million from 28 international markets this weekend, bringing its overseas total to $21.1 million and its global cume to $60.3 million. Notably, it enjoyed the largest three-day January opening for an original property ever in the U.K., where it brought in an estimated $9.4 million.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker brought in an estimated $24.2 million this weekend, bringing its international tally to $511.4 million and its global total to $989.6 million. It will soon become Disney’s seventh 2019 release to cross the $1 billion mark worldwide.

Jumanji: The Next Level grossed an estimated $22.6 million overseas this weekend, bringing its international total to $414 million and its global cume to $671 million. 

Frozen II brought in an estimated $19.1 million overseas for an international total of $912 million and a global tally of $1.371 billion. That makes it the eleventh highest-grossing film of all time worldwide, having now surpassed Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($1.333 billion), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2 ($1.342 billion) and Black Panther ($1.348 billion). It is also now the highest-grossing animated film ever globally.

The post Studio Weekend Estimates: <em>1917</em> Dethrones <em>Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker</em> ($15.1M) w/ Powerful $36.5M Over Crowded Frame appeared first on Boxoffice.