• by Wayne Friedman , December 4, 2023

Although the music concert movie “Renaissance: a film by Beyoncé” did not reach the same level as Taylor Swift's music film, which opened two months earlier, it topped all new opening domestic films for the first weekend in December.

Analysts also point out that movie attendance following Thanksgiving holiday weekend is typically very slow.

“Renaissance” posted $21.0 million in North American box-office revenue, according to Comscore, with “Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snake” taking second place, hitting $14.5 million for its third week.

“Hunger Games” is now at $121. 2 million domestically. Falling dramatically in its second week, Sony Pictures’ “Napoleon” has lost 65% from its opening weekend, landing at $7.1 million to now total $45.7 million domestically.

Walt Disney's “Wish” -- which dramatically under-delivered in its opening weekend a week ago -- also crumbled in its second week. It was down 62% to earn $7.4 million, now totaling $42.0 million in the U.S./Canada market.

AMC Theaters Distribution's “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour”, which opened in mid-October, pulled in a record-setting $92.8 million for its opening weekend for a concert music film. It has now amassed $178.8 million domestically and $249.5 million globally, according to Comscore.

In third place at $11.0 million, was Toho International's “Godzilla Minus One," a film that focuses on Japan and a new threat from Godzilla following a war.

For the three-month period ended December 2, EDO Ad EnGage estimates that movie marketers have spent $293.7 million in national TV advertising.

This is down 8% from a year ago, when the total was $321.5 million. Similarly, impressions were down 10% to 34.1 billion from 38.0 billion in 2022.

Through December 3, Comscore says total domestic box office is up 23% to $8.4 billion year-to-date.