Denzel Washington’s Crime Thriller ‘The Little Things’ Repeats At No. 1 Over Slow Super Bowl Weekend With $2.1 Million
With the blockbuster match-up of Tom Brady versus Patrick Mahomes on tap for the Super Bowl, ticket buyers opted to stay at home with their nachos and three-bean dips rather than venture to the multiplex over the weekend. The result was a slow session at the domestic box office, where Denzel Washington ’s The Little Things held onto the top spot in its second week of release, pulling in a soft $2.1 million.

Although available on the HBO Max streaming service, Washington’s R-rated crime thriller held onto No. 1 despite dropping off -55.3% from the previous weekend. The film, which also stars Rami Malek and Jared Leto and revolves around two cops hunting a serial killer, earned a $951 per-screen average in 2,206 theaters. Its two-week total in North America now stands at $7.8 million. Overseas, where HBO Max is not available, The Little Things has added $4.7 million to date, bringing its worldwide cumulative box office to roughly $12.5 million.

In second place was Universal and DreamWorks’ The Croods: A New Age, which slipped a mere -3.2% in its eleventh week, adding another $1.8 million to its domestic haul. Even though the PG-rated animated sequel has been readily available on premium VOD for two months, it remains one of the COVID era’s most resilient films, heroically hovering near the top of the box office for nearly three months. The film scored a $909 per-screen average in 1,935 theaters this weekend, bringing its North American tally to $46 million. It has added $103 million overseas so far, bringing its cumulative worldwide total to a surprising $149 million.

In third place was Liam Neeson’s latest macho-man thriller, The Marksman, which brought in $1 million in its fourth frame. The PG-13-rated border thriller from Open Road Films fell -20.1% from the previous weekend, scoring a $495 per-screen average in 2,018 theaters. The 68-year-old action hero’s latest has pulled in $9.1 million domestically and $2.5 million abroad, bringing its worldwide total to $11.6 million.

In fourth was Warner Bros.’ Wonder Woman 1984 with $905,000 in its seventh weekend. The superhero sequel, whose total domestic gross now stands at $40.3 million, lost -30.4% from the prior frame. The DC title continues to perform far better overseas, where it has lassoed $113 million thus far, bringing its cumulative global box office to $153.3 million.

Rounding out the Top 5 was Screen Gems’ videogame adaptation, Monster Hunter, which added $585,000 in its eighth weekend in theaters. The PG-13-rated film, which stars Milla Jovovich, dropped off -20.4% and scored a $386 per-screen average in 1,515 sites. The film has made $11.9 million to date in North America and a hair under $9.6 million abroad, totaling $21.4 million worldwide.

The only new title to muscle its way into the Top 10 this weekend wasn’t even new at all. New Line’s theatrical re-release of 2001’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring bowed in tenth place with $166,000. Peter Jackson’s PG-13-rated blockbuster fantasy earned a $1,106 per-screen average in just 150 theaters. It added another $326,266 internationally. But, of course, those spoils are just a drop in the bucket next to the film’s $880.8 million global haul in its first run 20 years ago.

On a final note, Pixar’sSoul continues to pull in audiences overseas. While the film has been available in the US exclusively on the Disney+ since Christmas Day, it has racked up $96.2 million in countries where the streaming service is not offered. By far, the biggest market has been China, where the PG-rated film has made $52.4 million so far, making it the second biggest Pixar release in that territory after 2017’s Coco.