TheQuartering [12/29/2020]

Hollywood says you’re brave to pay them money, but you had better not go to a funeral or go to church.

According to HollywoodReporter:

The superhero sequel debuted to $16.7 million domestically at the Christmas box office, the best showing since the pandemic began despite continued cinema closures in many major markets.

Usually, Hollywood studios don’t tout Christmas grosses for Honolulu theaters in a major way.

This year — as with all things during the novel coronavirus pandemic — that wasn’t the case. The Victoria Ward Stadium in Oahu’s capital city was the N0. 2-grossing theater for Wonder Woman 1984, which opened to an estimated $16.7 million domestically from 2,150 cinemas over Christmas weekend, while also debuting at the same time on HBO Max in the U.S.

While that’s the best box office opening since coronavirus struck — passing up The Croods: A New Age ($9.7 million) and Tenet ($9.4 million) — it pales in comparison to the $103 million domestic debut of 2017’s Wonder Woman. Still, it was a much-needed win for Hollywood and exhibition amid ongoing theater closures in many parts of North America.

The superhero sequel reteams director-writer Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot, who went along with Warner Bros.’ plan to announce on Sunday that development of a third film is being fast-tracked, although it could be years away because of Jenkins’ other commitments — namely, a Star Wars movie set for release at the end of 2023. Jenkins and Gadot also have Cleopatra in development at Paramount.

The No. 1-grossing theater for WW84 was the District Megaplex in Salt Lake City. Utah, Florida and Texas have been a haven for indoor cinemas in recent months as the country’s top 10 major moviegoing markets remain off-limits, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and Philadelphia.