With Veterans Day on Friday and the controversial election of Donald Trump, people ran to the theaters this weekend. The 46th weekend of the year was 46.0% above last year. The comparison couldn't be better with the second weekends of Spectre and The Peanuts Movie up against the second weekends of Doctor Strange and Trolls. There was even Christmas comedy Love the Coopers opening up last year and Almost Christmas debuting this weekend.
While the holiday provided a clear bump with a whopping 99% increase over the Friday last year, Trump is being cited as a reason for the box office boost.
"Two hours of moviegoing is like a massive, immersive group therapy session," said Paul Dergarabedian, a box office analyst for analytics company comScore, via The Hollywood Reporter. "No matter what side of the aisle you find yourself, going to the movies is a pastime that everyone can agree crosses party lines and conflicting political ideologies."
Doctor Strange had the best holdover for a Marvel movie in over five years - and the third best behind only Iron Man and Thor - while Trolls and Hacksaw Ridge held over immensely well. Arrival was projected to open in the mid-to-high teen millions, but ended up with $24.0 million. Even critical disappointments like The Accountant and Jack Reacher got a nice break this weekend.
A Trump presidency is such unknown waters, it's going to be immensely interesting to see how pop culture and the people who consume it adapt. But is Trump going to send people back to the theater after shootings, Netflix, a $400 ticket price, and maybe one or two really great movies a year kept anybody with a few brain cells away?
This was, of course, the first weekend after the election, which also saw a holiday that had 50% out of school and two colorful, kid-friendly movies at the top of the box office. We'll have to wait and see in the long run, but, wow, Americans are so confused they actually went back to the movie theater. It only took one of the greatest political upsets any of us will experience in our lifetime to make it happen!
Box office stats from good ol' Box Office Mojo.
