Despite, or maybe because of, the controversy surrounding his latest film, Spike Lee’s musical drama, Chi-Raq, did exceptionally well at the weekend box office.
Playing in just over 300 theaters nationwide, Lee’s modern-day take on Aristophanes’ classic play Lysistrata took in an impressive $1.2 million dollars to narrowly miss making the top 10. Even more impressive, and perhaps surprising, were the numbers the film did in Chicago, where it was set and shot and faced the biggest backlash.
“The numbers out of Chicago are phenomenal,” said Amazon Studios marketing and distribution head, Bob Berney. “In Chicago, we estimate a $15,000-plus per-screen average on 22 screens. And in the majority of our 305 theaters we’re one of the top three grossing films.”
Elsewhere at the box office, Hunger Games: Mockingjay 2 held on to the top spot this week with an additional $18.6 million. Comedy-horror film Krampus did better than expected with its $16 million opening week, which was good for second place. Michael B. Jordan’s powerful installment into the Rocky franchise, Creed, held steady at the No. 3 spot for a second straight week adding on an extra $15.54 million to barely outdo The Good Dinosaur, which landed at No. 4 this week with $15.51 million. And rounding out the top five is the latest James Bond flick, Spectre, which was able to gross another $5.4 million.
For the full weekend top 10, check out the list below:
1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 2 – $18.6M
2. Krampus – $16M
3. Creed – $15.54M
4. The Good Dinosaur – $15.51M
5. Spectre – $5.4M
6. The Night Before – $4.9M
7. The Peanuts Movie – $3.5M
8. Spotlight – $2.9M
9. Brooklyn – $2.4M
10. The Secret In Their Eyes – $1.9M
