SUNDAY AM UPDATE: Refresh for more analysis and chart Focus Features’ Downton Abbey: A New Era is coming in at $16M, and while some might snipe that it’s lower than the first one’s robust $31M start, particularly against a production cost that’s double from the first at $40M, keep in mind this is a sequel to period drama franchise, not Marvel.
For Focus, it’s their best opening during the pandemic, besting Northman‘s $12.3M start. By the way, New Era‘s opening is right where tracking spotted it earlier this week.It stands to reason that grosses would wane, even in a healthy marketplace for older adults, given the type of established IP here.
Rivals would say the first movie was capturing lightening in a bottle, arriving three years after the six season series ended.
The sequel isn’t really selling a cliffhanger here which would create a stampede, i.e. the downstairs staff got poisoned and there’s no one around to cook the holiday goose.
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