HERETIC | THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER openings | November moviegoing | November 8 to 10, 2024 weekend
Opening weekend box office, charts and commentary
The current weekend: November 8 to 10, 2024
1) Heretic opening
- This is a very good opening for an original, non-series horror film. The weekend figure is above average for the genre, with sensational critics' reviews and a fair audience score (a C+ CinemaScore, not uncommon for a horror picture).
This year we've had strong holdover business from a number of original horror movies: Longlegs a 3.3x domestic multiple with the same C+ CinemaScore, Speak No Evil 3.2x, and The Substance 5.0x. Assuming good overseas numbers helped by Hugh Grant, this is a horror success:
- Heretic is the 26th of 28 horror wide releases in 2024. Nightbitch on Dec 6 and Nosferatu on Dec 25 remain. The count of 28 titles is +7 higher than the busiest year in recent history. 2024 isn’t the strongest year at the box office (lots of small films are jumping in), but the horror genre is alive and well and fully engaging its young audience (a complete chart is here).
2) The Best Christmas Pageant Ever opening
- This is a good domestic start for an original comedy. Critics' reviews and audience scores are both excellent (an A CinemaScore). Two and a half weeks before Thanksgiving, the film is getting a jump on the other broad-appeal holiday releases (Red One next weekend, then Wicked and Moana 2 after that).
Original comedies hold up moderately well over subsequent weeks, and reviews and word-of-mouth are especially good here. With support, the film has a chance of holding its own heading into strong Thanksgiving competition:
- Dallas Jenkins directed this movie about a group of juvenile delinquents who end up starring in the town’s Christmas pageant and showing everyone the real spirit of the holiday.
Mr. Jenkins created and directed The Chosen, the first multi-season series about Jesus of Nazareth, a successful project that was completely crowd-funded. He describes himself as a Christian filmmaker, and this is his first studio production (for Lionsgate). It’s an inspirational, small-town, Christmas comedy with heart, and domestic audiences like it.
3) November moviegoing
- Historically, the November box office is a tale of two halves: A quiet first half, followed by some of the best domestic moviegoing of the year over the Thanksgiving 4-day holiday. In total, November ranks as the #5 month of the year.
This year, there was little momentum coming into November after the October juggernauts fell apart. During these first two weeks of the month, total business remains slow, down around -50% vs. the pre-pandemic average. But Thanksgiving is packed — Wicked, Gladiator 2, and Moana 2 — and the year-end should give the industry a lift:
Our last two posts were:
HERE | ABSOLUTION openings | Original non-series films in 2024 | October and year-to-date 2024 box office update | November 1 to 3, 2024 weekend here
VENOM 3: THE LAST DANCE | CONCLAVE openings | Superhero genre update | Where we are now | October 25 to 27, 2024 weekend here