“The Grinch” stole the box office crown on the weekend of November 9-11 with an impressive $66 million in receipts, but that didn’t stop “Bohemian Rhapsody” from rocking on during its second week in theaters. It brought in another impressive haul, which carried it over a significant milestone and indicates that the film could be a moneymaker for weeks to come.
“Rhapsody,” which tells the story of Queen and the struggles of its lead singer Freddie Mercury (played by Rami Malek), dropped to second place this weekend with about $30.8 million. That brings the film over the $100 million mark at the domestic box office after just 10 days, making it the 24th film this year to reach the century mark. What’s especially impressive about its second-weekend take is that it’s a less than 40% drop from its opening weekend, indicating strong word of mouth that could keep the film chugging along as we close in on the first major awards of the season in a few weeks time.
Among music biopics, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is now the third biggest hit of all time (not accounting for inflation), behind “Straight Outta Compton” ($161 million in 2015) and “Walk the Line” ($119 million in 2005). And among LGBT films it’s also the third biggest ever, behind “The Birdcage” ($124 million in 1996) and “Interview with the Vampire” ($105 million in 1994), whose queer themes are more subtextual. It’s likely “Rhapsody” will surpass both of those titles soon.
Internationally, “Rhapsody” has accumulated another $185 million, bringing its global haul to $285 million against a $52 million budget. Success sells in Hollywood, so that might help the film at the Oscars despite it’s less-than-glowing reviews. How will it fare next week when it goes up against “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”?
Be sure to check out how our experts rank this year’s Oscar contenders. Then take a look at the most up-to-date combined odds before you make your own Oscar predictions. Don’t be afraid to jump in now since you can keep changing your predictions until just before nominations are announced on January 22.
