The Crawley family still has the royal touch at the box office. Downton Abbey: A New Era, a sequel to the theatrical sequel to the popular British television show, grossed US$16 million in 3,815 theaters in North America on its domestic debut. While these returns are slightly below original projections, they mark an encouraging start at a time when older viewers are selective about cinema.
There were understandable concerns about the commercial prospects of the second Downton Abbey, and not because longtime fans of the series were tired of devouring on-screen palace intrigue and class system drama. Aside from House of Gucci and the James Bond sequel No Time to Die, many pandemic-era films aimed at adults (such as Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” remake and the Will Smith sports drama) have had “King Richard”) had trouble selling tickets despite positive reviews. It’s no small feat that nearly 50% of ticket buyers for Downton Abbey: A New Era, a feel-good story set in a well-known franchise, were 55 and older.
“The ‘Downton Abbey’ fanbase is very engaged. We found that out after the first film,” said Lisa Bunnell, president of domestic distribution at Focus Features, the specialty studio behind the film franchise. “It’s like visiting family.”
Moviegoers, who are mostly women, gave the film an “A” CinemaScore, the same grade as the first film.
Bunnell adds, “The only way to get older viewers into theaters is to offer them movies that they want to see.”
Homecoming pushed Downton into second place as ticket sales weren’t enough to dethrone Disney’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The latest Marvel film, which topped the box office for three consecutive weekends, added another $31.6 million from 4,534 theaters between Friday and Sunday. To date, Doctor Strange has grossed $342 million in North America and $461 million internationally, taking the film over $800 million at the worldwide box office. If Doctor Strange 2 is able to keep up the momentum, the superhero adventure could become only the second COVID-era film, after Spider-Man: No Way Home, to surpass $1 billion at the box office . Since the Strange sequel (like No Way Home) isn’t set in China or Russia, the tentpole has had a harder time hitting the coveted billion-dollar mark.
Downton Abbey: A New Era grossed $35 million at the international box office, taking its worldwide box office to $51.7 million. The sequel cost $40 million to produce (double the original film, which cost $20 million) as COVID safety protocols and additional production sites stretched the budget. That means the film still has some way to go before it breaks into the black.
Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes returned to write the sequel, with Simon Curtis directing. The first Downton Abbey film was a surprise box office hit in 2019, opening at $31 million at the domestic box office and eventually grossing $96 million in North America and $192 million worldwide.
The warmly embraced sequel begins as the wealthy Crawley family travels to the south of France to uncover a mystery surrounding the Countess Dowager’s (played by Maggie Smith) newly inherited mansion. The cast also includes Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Joanne Froggatt and Brendan Coyle. Variety’s Peter Debruge called the film a “loving group hug,” which of course is the kind of escapism Downton Abbey fans want in their historical soap operas.
David A. Gross, who runs the film consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research, called Fellowes “the George Lucas of historical English living room drama”.
“It’s a very good opening […] As with the first film, the reviews are excellent,” said Gross. “’Downton Abbey’ is a unique and successful series.
Downton Abbey: A New Era wasn’t the only nationwide re-release this weekend. Ex Machina director Alex Garland’s stunning A24 horror film Men opened in fifth place and grossed a whopping $3.29 million across 2,212 screens.
In Variety’s review, Debruge predicted that “audiences are all but guaranteed to leave this folk-horror-biart-house offering and feel disturbed,” explaining the film’s rare, horrific “D+” CinemaScore. (Even the otherwise awful musical Cats got a C+ rating.) Men might get people talking, but those exit polls don’t bode well for the film’s theatrical prospects.
A24 still has something to celebrate. His genre-defying Everything Everywhere All At Once surpassed $52 million over the weekend, becoming the studio’s highest-grossing domestic release in history. Adam Sandler’s suspense thriller Uncut Gems ($50 million) previously held that record. Now in its ninth weekend in theaters, Everything Everywhere All At Once landed in sixth place with $3.1 million, a tiny 4% drop from its previous showing.
Other box office milestones include Paramount’s romantic adventure comedy The Lost City, which is fast approaching the $100 million mark, an impressive milestone for a genre otherwise written off as a play. At No. 9, the Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum-led film added $1.5 million from 1,392 theaters, bringing its domestic tally to $99.2 million.
Elsewhere at the domestic box office, holdover titles The Bad Guys and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 took third and fourth.
Universal’s animated heist comedy The Bad Guys secured third place, holding $6.1 million from 3,705 North American theaters. After five weeks in theaters, the family-friendly film has grossed $74.3 million domestically and $182 million worldwide.
Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” spent seven weeks in the top five. Over the weekend, the adventure sequel fell to #4 from 2,943 venues with $3.9 million, taking the North American entry to $181 million. Following The Lost City and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Paramount is looking to continue its winning streak over Memorial Day weekend when Tom Cruise’s long-awaited blockbuster-hopeful Top Gun: Maverick hits the domestic box office.
Check out this weekend’s box office estimates below:
1. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” – $31.6 million
2. “Downton Abbey: A New Era” – $16 million
3. “The Bad Guys” – $6.1 million
4. “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” – $3.9 million
5. “Men” – $3.29 million
6. “Everything everywhere at once” – $3.1 million