‘Eternals’ wins best in show over ‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’ at the box office
Paramount Pictures’ “Clifford the Big Red Dog” fetched an expected $16.4 million at the domestic box office over the Veterans Day weekend, trailing Disney’s “Eternals,” according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.
The Marvel blockbuster maintained first place with $27.5 million — a 61% drop from its opening weekend for a North American cumulative of $118.8 million. “Clifford” debuted simultaneously Wednesday in theaters and on streaming platform Paramount+.
Directed by Walt Becker, the semi-animated family film about a larger-than-life canine with scarlet fur stars Jack Whitehall, Darby Camp, Tony Hale, Sienna Guillory, David Alan Grier, Izaac Wang, Russell Wong, Kenan Thompson and John Cleese.
By pandemic and non-Marvel standards, “Eternals” would be a box-office success. But compared with other MCU titles, its performance is lackluster.
Based on the popular children’s book series of the same name, “Clifford the Big Red Dog” earned a mediocre 48% on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, but received a solid A rating from audiences polled by CinemaScore.
Rounding out the top five are Warner Bros.’ “Dune,” which collected $5.5 million in its fourth weekend for a North American cumulative of $93.1 million; United Artists Releasing’s “No Time to Die,” which nabbed $4.6 million in its sixth weekend for a North American cumulative of $150.5 million; and Sony’s “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” which grossed $4 million in its seventh weekend for a North American cumulative of $202.7 million.
Focus Features period drama “Belfast,” starring Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan and Jude Hill, opened in limited release at No. 8 over the holiday weekend with $1.8 million.
“Clifford the Big Red Dog,” the super-size canine from Norman Bridwell’s children’s books, gets his own movie.
The Kenneth Branagh film, which premiered in September at the Telluride Film Festival, scored an impressive 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A-minus on CinemaScore.
Next weekend, get ready for something strange in your neighborhood with Sony’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” as well as Warner Bros.’ “King Richard,” starring Will Smith as the father and coach of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams.
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