Box Office: ‘Hi, Mom’ Soars In China As ‘Croods 2’ Tops $50M Domestic And ‘Soul’ Passes $100M Worldwide

While I’ve discussed the rise and (relative) fall of Detective Chinatown 3 in some detail over the last week, the other major story out of China over the New Year’s holiday remains Hi, Mom. The dramedy, about a young woman who travels back to 1981 to become friends with her (now 20-years-younger) mother, pulled strong word-of-mouth and ended up with a $161 million opening weekend. Jia Ling’s slightly autobiographical directorial debut, adapted from her own 2016 sketch comedy, earned at least $50 million for seven straight days, a record in any territory for any movie. It earned $70 million on Sunday, $80 million on Monday, $90 million on Tuesday, $85 million on Wednesday and $66 million on Thursday.

It earned $134 million (-16%) for a new ten-day cume of $623.2 million, passing Detective Chinatown 3 (which opened with a $398.5 million debut weekend) on day ten. That’s the second-biggest non-opening weekend ever in China, behind the $162 million weekend-two gross of Wolf Warrior 2, a film that A) earned $131 million on its debut weekend in the summer of 2017 and B) ended up with $854 million in China alone. Among all territories, China and North America, its second-weekend gross ranks fourth behind Wolf Warrior 2, Avengers: Endgame ($147 million from a $357 million debut) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($149 million from a $248 million debut). All four films earned over $800 million in a single territory.

It is now almost certain that Hi, Mom, which is not a sequel or part of a gigantic action/fantasy franchise, is going to join that ridiculously elite club, and at this point the $937 million domestic cume of The Force Awakens may be in jeopardy (ask me again next weekend). If it merely plays like a “normal” blockbuster from this point onward, it’ll end its run just under $900 million in China. Or maybe it’ll sink like a stone (unlikely but humor me) and settle for “only” $765 million. Once again, the notion that Chinese moviegoers only like stereotypically empty mega-bucks Hollywood action franchise flicks is as false today as it was for the last decade.

If you’re reading this and you have access (legally) to a Hi, Mom screener, please come find me. Meanwhile, Universal’s The Croods: A New Age continued to top the North American charts, earning another $1.7 million (-18%) to bring its domestic cume to $50.85 million. That’s almost identical to the inflation-adjusted opening weekend ($43.6 million in 2013/$50.3 million adjusted) of The Croods, but around 5.4 million domestic moviegoers have seen the DreamWorks Animation sequel in theaters. The $65 million toon has earned $154 million worldwide, further catching up with Wonder Woman 1984 ($43 million domestic and $159.5 million worldwide from a $1.7 million global weekend). Combined with its continual presence atop the VOD charts, yeah, it’s a relative hit.  

Warner Bros.’ The Little Things earned another $1.15 million (-42%) in weekend three for a $11.7 million 17-day cume. The John Lee Hancock-directed serial killer melodrama, starring Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto, has been playing well as a casual viewing option on HBO Max concurrent with its theatrical run. And, in something of a ghoulish surprise, Leto’s supporting turn has received nods from the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild, setting him up for a possible Oscar nomination. Grim irony that a skewed awards season has turned what might have been a January dump into an Oscar contender. That’s especially grim when Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah was supposed to be WB’s Oscar flick.

The well-reviewed and well-received political drama chronicling how the FBI monitored and then assassinated Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, may yet end up with major nominations. It’s certainly among the better major studio releases this year, and I’m still hoping Daniel Kaluuya ends up winning Best Supporting Actor. But my god, if he gets snubbed and Leto gets in, what a mess that will be through little fault of the studio that released both movies. Meanwhile, the film earned just $820,000 (-60%) on weekend two for a $3.271 million ten-day cume. That’s obviously not WB’s fault (points at everything), but I was naively hopeful that it would “over-perform” just enough to stand out in the streaming-heavy awards season.

Liam Neeson’s The Marksman earned $770,000 (-30%) for a $11.447 million cume while Paul W.S. Anderson’s Monster Hunter earned another $530,000 (-22%) for a $13.427 million domestic total. The latter is slightly impressive considering the film’s top-tier debut on EST (electronic sell-through/priced-to-buy) platforms last week, where it notched (by default I suppose) the biggest 24-hour debut for any 2021 release on Fandango and Vudu. The Milla Jovovich/Tony Jaa video game adaptation clearly had fans who would have seen it in theaters under better circumstances and were waiting for a chance to watch it at home.  Meanwhile, Searchlight’s Nomadland, currently the Oscar frontrunner by default, opened into 1,200 theaters concurrently with a Hulu debut.

The Frances McDormand drama about the working poor traveling where the work takes them earned $500,000 this weekend. The Chloé Zhao-directed flick is as good as you’ve heard, even if its sadness is subtle enough that some folks have alleged that it’s too upbeat about its economic tragedy. Nonetheless, it’s a lovely tone poem, even if I am enraged that movies of its ilk still must exist 20 years after Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed. Universal’s fellow Oscar contender News of the World, which is a Netflix flick outside of America, earned $245,000 (-35%) for an $11.7 million cume while Focus Features’ Promising Young Woman passed $5 million domestic as Pixar’s Soul topped $100 million global.