‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ Nears $1 Billion at Box Office After 3 Weekends

Both “Star Wars” and “Frozen II” reach $450 million domestic, while Sony controls the rest of the Top 5

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Lucasfilm
“Rise of Skywalker” is on pace to become the seventh Disney 2019 release to gross $1 billion worldwide, as Disney continued its reign over the box office charts. 
The J.J. Abrams film is estimated to make $36 million from 4,406 screens this weekend, which would bring its domestic total to $453 million and, combined with overseas numbers, push its global total past $900 million. “Rise of Skywalker” is on pace to become the seventh Disney 2019 release to gross $1 billion worldwide, though it will finish its run behind the $1.33 billion total of its predecessor, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

Another Disney film approaching $450 million domestic is “Frozen II,” which is still in the Top 5 with $11.4 million grossed in its seventh weekend to put it in fourth on the charts. The sequel entered the weekend needing $38 million to pass the $1.27 billion global gross of the original “Frozen,” which was released in November 2013 and did not see its domestic weekend totals fall below $10 million until late January.

Sony takes the rest of the Top 5 this weekend, with “Jumanji: The Next Level” in the No. 2 spot with a Friday gross of $8.7 million. Its $26 million third weekend brings its domestic total to $235 million after it crossed $500 million worldwide this past week. In third is “Little Women,” which is currently projected to only drop 25% from the $16.7 million 3-day opening total it took in last weekend with an estimated $12.8 million.

Surging on a wave of acclaim, “Little Women” is currently estimated to take in $59 million after 12 days in theaters. Sony is also reporting strong overseas numbers from its release in France, Australia, Spain and the U.K., grossing $20.1 million from just 1,700 international screens.

Completing the Top 5 is the lone wide release of the weekend, Sony/Screen Gems’ “The Grudge.” Directed by Nicolas Pesce and produced by Sam Raimi, the sequel to the 2004 horror film of the same name is opening below Sony’s other releases but is meeting tracker expectations with an $11 million opening.

However, that estimate could track downward, as it is being panned hard by critics and audiences alike with a 15% Rotten Tomatoes score and an F on CinemaScore. It is the 20th film in the history of CinemaScore to receive an F, and the first since Darren Aronofsky’s “mother!” in September 2017.

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