‘1917’ Triumphs at the Box Office With $37 Million, and Much More To Come

Some good news this weekend: The early 2020 small uptick in grosses continued, with total ticket sales totaling around $130 million.

(The second weekend of 2019 saw $120 million.) And leading the charge was Sam Mendes’ innovative “1917.” At $36.5 million, it more than doubled #2 “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” for an easy #1 placement.The three-day period saw four new and expanding wide studio releases, compared with two in 2019 — “The Upside” and “A Dog’s Way Home,” along with the independent “Replicas” which only roused $2.3 million.

That means the biggest reason for the jump is more new titles rather than suggesting a major box-office resurrection.The big question this year is whether original titles can continue to perform like “The Upside,” “Hustlers,” and “Knives Out.” “1917” is showing initial strength that should push it to those levels, or higher.

But the other three new wide releases all look like they will fall short of $50 million domestic to some degree.

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