Concert movie opens with $21 million, marking the best first-weekend-of-December total since 2003
For the second time in as many months, a concert film stands atop the weekend’s box office as Beyoncé’s Renaissance: A Film opened domestically with $21 million.
The concert film — which more resembles a superhero epic, as Rolling Stone wrote in its review — scooped up another $6.4 million on worldwide.
While the $21 million total might seem slight when compared to Taylor Swift and The Eras Tour Movie’s near-$100 million opening, it’s important to note that the post-Thanksgiving weekend is historically a dead zone for Hollywood; in fact, Renaissance: A Film is the first movie to earn over $20 million during the first weekend of December since 2003’s The Last Samurai, the Associated Press reported.
Renaissance: A Film also earned roughly $5 million more than the week’s second-place finisher, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Like The Eras Tour Movie, Beyoncé partnered with AMC for the release of the concert film, which the singer wrote, directed and produced.
“On behalf of AMC Theatres Distribution and the entire theatrical industry, we thank Beyoncé for bringing this incredible film directly to her fans,” Elizabeth Frank, AMC Theatres executive vice president of worldwide programming, said in a statement. “To see it resonate with fans and with film critics on a weekend that many in the industry typically neglect is a testament to her immense talent, not just as a performer, but as a producer and director.”