The Crowley family still has the royal touch at the box office. Downton Abbey: New Era, a sequel to the sequel to the big screen of Britain’s favorite television show, has raised $ 16 million from 3,815 North American cinemas in its domestic debut. Although slightly lower than the original projects, these returns mark a promising start at a time when older audiences are selective in going to the movies.
There were understandable concerns about the second Downton Abbey in terms of trade prospects, not because longtime fans of the series were tired of swallowing the intrigue of the screen palace and the drama of the class system. In addition to Gucci’s House and the James Bond sequel No Time to Die, many adult pandemic films (such as Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story and Will Smith’s sports drama King Richard) they found it difficult to sell tickets despite the positive reviews. So it’s no small feat that nearly 50 percent of Downton Abbey: A New Era ticket buyers, a pleasant story set in a well-known franchise, were 55 or older.
These ticket sales put Downton in second place, but they weren’t enough to dethrone Disney’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” Marvel’s latest film, which tops the box office charts for three consecutive weekends, added another $ 31.6 million from 4,534 theaters between Friday and Sunday. To date, Dr. Strange has generated $ 342 million in North America and $ 461 million internationally, displacing the film by more than $ 800 million at the worldwide box office. If “Doctor Strange” manages to maintain momentum, the adventure of a superhero can become only the second film in the days of COVID, which exceeds $ 1 billion at the box office after “Spider-Man: No Way Home”. Because the sequel to “No Way Home” is not played in China or Russia due to geopolitical tensions, it is more difficult for tents to reach the desired billion-dollar mark.
At the international box office Downton Abbey: New Era, it earned $ 35 million, raising its global rating to $ 51.7 million.
Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellows has returned to write the sequel, directed by Simon Curtis. Downton Abbey’s first film became a surprise box office hit in 2019, opening $ 31 million at the domestic box office and eventually grossed $ 96 million in North America and $ 192 million worldwide.
A warm embrace begins as the wealthy Crowley family travels to southern France to unravel the mystery of the widowed Countess’s newly inherited villa (played by Maggie Smith). The cast also includes Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Joan Frogat and Brendan Coyle. Peter Debrugge of Variety called the film a “gentle group hug,” which is, of course, the kind of escape Downton Abbey wants in its historic soap operas.
David A. Gross, who runs the film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, called Fellows “George Lucas from the English drama in the living room.”
“It’s a very good start. The reviews are excellent, as for the first film, “Gross said. “Downton Abbey” is a unique and complete series.
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