‘Coco’ Plays A Winning Song; ‘The Shape Of Water’ & ‘The Disaster Artist’ Start Strong [Box Office]

It remains the calm before the “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” storm at the box office, but no matter what, it’s Disney pulling in the big money before we return to a galaxy far, far away.

Pixar‘s “Coco” has stayed on top of the box office, pulling in $26.1 million, which along with another $69 million abroad, puts the film globally at $280 million to date. The film will likely wind up in the bottom half of all-time performing Pixar movies, but it’s nonetheless a victory for animated movies diving into other cultures, something Hollywood does ever so rarely. And with no major films going wide next weekend, it’s likely “Coco” can hold the crown for three straight weeks, before that other Disney movie arrives and takes up every available screen.

In case you’re wondering what’s going on with “Justice League,” it had a massive 59.7% drop this weekend, the biggest of any DCEU week in week three, earning $16.5 million. Internationally, the DC Films superhero mish-mash fell 50% tallying another $35.7 million. The lone bright spot continues to be China, where “Justice League” has passed previous DC efforts, “Wonder Woman” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice.” Right now, the global total stands at $567.4 million. Just remember, the film needs to earn $700-750 million worldwide to not be considered a financial embarrassment.

At at the arthouse, Guillermo del Toro‘s lovely “The Shape Of Water” led the per-screen-averages with an impressive $83,400 across two screens (total: $166,800). “The Disaster Artist” came close behind, with $64,254 as it debuted on 19 screens (total: $1.2 million), suggesting it’s not just fans of “The Room” interested in the picture. Woody Allen‘s “Wonder Wheel” got off to a far more modest start, with $28,111 tabulated from five cinemas ($140,555) perhaps suggesting that in the post-Weinstein era, the director’s past may be catching up with him.

Lastly, James Cameron‘s “Titanic” re-release in Dolby Vision sank with a per-screen-average of only $4,470 across eighty-seven screens (total: $415,000) suggesting there are only so many times you can add bells and whistles to a movie before no one cares anymore.

1. “Coco” — $26.1 million ($108.6 mil.)
2. “Justice League” — $16.5 million ($197.3 mil.)
3. “Wonder” — $12.5 million ($88 mil.)
4. “Thor: Ragnarok” — $9.6 million ($291.4 mil.)
5. “Daddy’s Home 2” — $7.5 million ($82.8 mil.)
6. “Murder On The Orient Express” — $6.7 million ($84.7 mil.)
7. “Lady Bird” — $4.5 mil. ($17 mil.)
8. “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” — $4.5 million ($13.6 mil.)
9. “The Star” — $4 million ($27.2 mil.)
10. “A Bad Moms Christmas” — $3.4 million ($64.8 mil.)