Encanto
, the Disney animated film that tells the story of a Latino family with superpowers, and
House of Gucci
, starring actress and singer Lady Gaga, boosted movie ticket sales in the United States this holiday weekend.
The film, which chronicles the life of the Madrigal in the mountains of Colombia, topped the box office in the United States during the Thanksgiving festivities: it
raised $ 27 million in its opening weekend
, as detailed in this agency report. AP.
In five days it totaled just over $ 40 million in US theaters and $ 70 million worldwide.
In this image released by Disney, Mirabel, voiced by Stephanie Beatriz, smiles in a scene from the animated film 'Encanto'.
Disney via AP / AP
But although it managed to become the best-performing animated film during the pandemic, theaters are still not recovering the figures obtained with films like
Coco
that made $ 72 million at the same time in 2017.
['Encanto': the music, the joy and the superpower of the different generations of a Latino family]
Latinos, 62% women and 51% families, are behind the success, said Deadline magazine.
In this image released by MGM, Adam Driver as Maurizio Gucci and Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani look at the camera in a scene from 'House of Gucci'.
Fabio Lovino / AP
MGM's
House of Gucci
, directed by Ridley Scott, grossed $ 14.2 million in three days, making it the
best drama premiere in the past two years.
The film portrays the intrigues of the founding family of the Italian fashion house and includes among its protagonists artists such as Lady Gaga, Salma Hayek, Al Pacino, Adam Driver and Jared Leto.
The triumph of the film was driven by
59% by women between the ages of 18 and 35
.
34% were over 45 years old, according to data from MGM studies.
According to Dateline, the positive impact is related to the promotion that the protagonists gave to the film, either by giving interviews, posting on their personal accounts or by developing interactive activities on different digital platforms.
Jared Leto shares his biggest challenges and experiences on 'House of Gucci'
Nov. 26, 202100: 42
In five days,
House of Gucci
, totaled $ 21.8 million.
The last similar film to hit a box office like this was
Little Women
in 2019, with $ 29.2 million.
"Originality is still important to audiences,"
said Erik Loomis, MGM's head of distribution.
Loomis acknowledged that, before the premiere, they did not know how it would perform in theaters but that they are "very satisfied with the results."
Gucci's heirs have called the film "an insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today," reported NBC News, Telemundo's sister network.
Figures such as designer Tom Ford, creative director of the fashion house between 1994 and 2004, said in an essay that when he left the room he felt as if he had “survived a hurricane”.
[Salma Hayek already has a star to her name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame]
Ford praised Lady Gaga's performance, claiming that she is "the real star of the movie" and that she "steals the show."
Gaga could be one of the favorites for the Oscars.
On video: Lady Gaga sings America's national anthem at Joe Biden's inauguration
Jan. 20, 202103: 31
The artist, recognized mainly for her role as a singer-songwriter, was already nominated in 2019 for her role in the most recent version of the film
A star is born
and although she did not win for her performance, she did get the statuette for best song for
Shallow
.
"Very encouraging for the industry"
"After all that has been said about the resistance of these demographic groups to going to the movies, the older audiences and the family, both returned this weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, the company's principal media analyst. marketing research
Comscore
.
He had previously warned that films focused on these two segments were the ones that struggled the most to regain their pre-pandemic figures, either because of older people's fear of exposing themselves in theaters or that children until recently had access to vaccines against COVID-19.
Disney delights Latinos with a preview of 'Encanto', a film set in Colombia
Dec. 11, 202000: 59
"This Thanksgiving weekend at the box office should be very encouraging for the industry," he
said.
“Maybe with time and with the right movies, older viewers will say, 'Okay, I'm going to take the plunge,'” he added.
[Only 16% of children over 12 years vaccinated against COVID-19 are Latino]
Before the pandemic, this season's premieres used to account for about $ 250 million in sales in the United States.
This year it reached $ 142 million in tickets, seven times more than in 2020, when many theaters remained closed.
So far the most successful film of the year is
No Time to Die
, the latest installment in the James Bond spy saga, which grossed $ 755 million worldwide.