The ensemble film Eternals collected $71 million from 4,090 screens, the fourth-biggest opening of the pandemic period to date behind Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($90.3 million), Black Widow ($80.37 million) and Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings ($75.39 million). Although it came in at the low end of expectations and is considered a relatively weak opening in the grand scheme of MCU titles, which typically grossed $100 million or more in their pre-pandemic opening weekend. Of the film’s total this weekend, $7.6 million, or 11%, went to IMAX screens. Overseas, the film opened at No. 1 with a 90.7 in 46 countries, 90.7 million, including Korea ($14.4M), the U.K. ($7.1M), France ($6.7M), Mexico ($5.7M) and Australia ($5M).
Some earlier projections suggested that Eternals would potentially open to the tune of $100 million, but after negative reviews came in, that possibility became more and more remote. It’s the first MCU movie to “boast” a bad rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where it currently sits at just 48%. Fans of the franchise will see this film regardless of the criticism, but the negative reviews may have dampened enthusiasm among more casual potential viewers. Another factor worth mentioning is the “brand” of Eternals just doesn’t resonate with a wide audience in the same way that Avengers or Spider-Man do. Fortunately, the Marvel brand is strong enough on its own to draw huge crowds regardless of awareness, and this weekend’s decent opening box office is a testament to the franchise’s staying power in the cultural imagination of audiences. In terms of age, a significant 73% of the film’s opening weekend audience was under the age of 35, while theaters were dominated by men (61% vs. 39% women). Whether the Eternals will last next weekend is another question. A valuable comparison in this regard is the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The film, which was also exclusive to theaters in September, grossed $75.4 million to positive reviews. The film grossed $223.42 million domestically in North America, nearly 3 times the amount of Eternals, and it’s easy to see why when you consider the positive reviews. Eternals , on the other hand, has less of a chance for long-term success, at least with metrics like Cinemascore B (compared to Shang-Chi’s A) and 81% positive on Rotten Tomatoes. (Versus 98% for Shang-Chi). Fortunately for the film, Eternals has the next weekend more or less to itself. The next big project slated for theatrical release, Sony’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, won’t hit multiplexes until November 19.
After a two-week reign at No. 1, Dune took second place this weekend with $7.62 million. That’s down from last weekend (51% vs. 62%), as positive buzz is still well-established for the Warner Bros. film, which debuted on HBO Max at the same time. To date, the fantasy film has collected $83.95 million in the US and Canada.
MGM/UA’s No Time To Die came in third with $6.18 million, down just 20% from last weekend, bringing the total for the James Bond film to $143.15 million so far.