In a British Invasion, 'Downton Abbey' Leads the Weekend Box Office
September 22 2019 - 2:58PM
Dow Jones News
By Erich Schwartzel
LOS ANGELES -- Two American heroes, Brad Pitt and Rambo, were no
match for the British gentry of " Downton Abbey," as the film
adaptation of the U.K. television show easily topped the box office
this weekend.
"Downton" collected a robust $31 million in the U.S. and Canada,
according to preliminary estimates, a healthy start that bucks the
trend of recent TV-to-film failures.
" Ad Astra," an outer-space drama starring Mr. Pitt as an
astronaut, collected $19.2 million, coming in second place, an
earthbound start for a film with an $80 million budget. "Ad Astra"
follows several other titles, from "Stuber" to "Dark Phoenix," that
were inherited by Walt Disney Co. in its acquisition of the
Twentieth Century Fox film studio and that have missed at the box
office.
"Rambo: Last Blood," starring the 73-year-old Sylvester Stallone
in what is said to be the final installment of the franchise,
collected a healthy $19 million in third place. In this film, John
Rambo, who fought Soviets in the 1980s, travels to Mexico to take
on a drug cartel. It was released by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.
and Millennium Media.
The "Downton" opening is the best-ever for Focus Features, the
specialty division of Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures known for
critically acclaimed releases such as 2005's "Brokeback
Mountain."
About three-quarters of the opening-weekend audience were women,
and 60% were over the age of 35.
"Downton" became a popular export almost immediately after
premiering in the U.S. in early 2011. Members of the television
cast resume their roles in the movie, which ratchets up the stakes
and revolves around a pending visit from Queen Mary.
"It's like when you have your best friend from high school, and
you haven't seen them in five years, but then you get back together
and it's like no time has passed at all," said Lisa Bunnell,
Focus's president of distribution.
Bringing a popular television series to the big screen doesn't
always mean automatic success. Several attempts in the past several
years -- including "Baywatch," "Chips" and "The Man From
U.N.C.L.E." -- have fallen flat.
Focus had a challenge on its hands: Convincing moviegoers that a
trip to the theater was necessary for a story they were accustomed
to watching at home. The studio treated the release like a
much-anticipated superhero movie opening, encouraging audiences to
dress up in flapper dresses and hosting tea parties at certain
locations.
Opening-weekend audiences gave "Downton" an "A" grade, according
to the CinemaScore market research firm. "Rambo" received a "B" and
"Ad Astra" got a "B-."
Write to Erich Schwartzel at erich.schwartzel@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 22, 2019 14:43 ET (18:43 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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