Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Tops Box Office With $21 Million Debut
variety.comRebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Queen Bey is the new box office queen. “Renaissance,” a concert film written, directed and produced by Beyoncé, topped the domestic box office with $21 million in its opening weekend, slightly ahead of expectations.
These ticket sales rank as one of the best debuts for a concert film, joining the company of Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” (far and away the biggest with $92.9 million), 2008’s “Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert” ($31.1 million), 2011’s “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” and 2009’s “Michael Jackson: This Is It” ($23.2 million).
And “Renaissance” provided a tidy box office bounty in what would have otherwise been a bleak kickoff to December. According to its distributor AMC Theatres, it’s the first time in two decades a film has opened to more than $20 million on the weekend following the Thanksgiving weekend, which is a notoriously slow time at the movies. “This is an excellent domestic opening for a concert film,” says David A.
Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “There are natural comparisons to Taylor Swift’s recent film, but these are very different artists and audiences.” Overseas, “Renaissance” fell short of projections and opened to just $6.4 million in 94 territories.
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