Japan Rules the Domestic Box Office This Weekend
Welcome to another weekly installment of Couch Potato, where I go over what went down on the big and small screens so you can be a better-informed viewer.
Japan made a real splash here on the West Coast with two movies ranking in the “Top of the Top 10” and one of them being number one! While the numbers aren’t anywhere near typical blockbuster openings (or even flop openings), first place is still first place. The Boy and the Heron debuted at the top of the charts with $12.8 million in its opening weekend. The only domestic title to secure a spot at the top of the charts was The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, with an additional $9.4 million for a total of $135.6 million domestically. Finally, Godzilla Minus One rounded out the “Top of the Top 10” with $8.3 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $25.3 million to date, sporting an impressive 27% drop.
Over on the Netflix charts, Leo was barely able to fend off Family Switch to maintain its first-place spot on the movies chart in its second week, adding 23.6 million views to its total. As mentioned, Family Switch was right behind it, with 22.2 million views of its own in its debut. Meanwhile, Best. Christmas. Ever! is still cashing in on the holiday spirit, rounding out the “Top of the Top 10” in its third straight week on the charts with 7 million additional views. Meanwhile, major blockbusters like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and The Super Mario Bros. Movie debuted on the service this week, but you would barely be able to find them on the charts as they placed in fifth and ninth place, respectively.
As far as shows are concerned, Squid Game: The Challenge stayed at the top of the charts for the second week in a row, adding another 85 million hours viewed to its already impressive total. The second-place contender isn’t even close, as Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife could only scrape up (pun intended) 19 million views on its debut. The new television show Obliterated rounded out the “Top of the Top 10” this week, which is a soft bit of good news for the show’s potential longevity. We’ll see how it fares in its second week.
Next week, all eyes are on Wonka, which is expected to blow all these numbers out of the water. It’ll be exciting to see what kind of magic Chalamet can make happen at the box office.
Stay tuned for that, and until next time, happy viewing!
Special to The Central Observer, Elton Allen
About the Author
Elton Allen is thrilled to be a contributing author on The Central Observer. As a proud native of Central Jersey, he looks forward to getting to help out a publication based right out of his backyard. He proudly runs the Couch Potato Corner and our Health & Wellness section. His professional writing background spans nearly a decade and covers a variety of industries, including healthcare, marketing, career counseling, entertainment, and more.