Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé takes the top spot at the box office...
Beyoncé’s new concert film delivered the goods at the North American box office, where it sang to the biggest opening at the early December box office in two decades.
Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé — which the superstar wrote, directed and produced — grossed a better-than-expected $21 million from 2,536 locations in its domestic debut after being graced with a coveted A+ CinemaScore from audiences and glowing reviews. Rival studios show the film coming in at $22 million, but AMC Theatres is being more cautious and sticking with $21 million until weekend actuals are calculated.
The concert movie struggled badly overseas, however, opening to an estimated $6.4 million from 94 markets, well behind an expected $20 million. It came in No. 4 in the U.K., for example, and No. 6 in Australia.
The concert movie is the second title distributed by mega-cinema circuit AMC, which is also home to blockbuster Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.
More than 70 percent of those buying tickets to see Renaissance in the U.S. were female, while 52 percent were Black moviegoers in a win for diverse programming. Nearly 70 percent of all ticket buyers were between ages 18 and 34, including 43 percent between ages 25 and 34.
The weekend after Thanksgiving is notoriously sluggish, and Renaissance is a welcome gift for exhibitors. To date, the biggest opening for the first weekend of December belongs to Tom Cruise’s The Last Samurai ($24.3 million), not adjusted for inflation. Case in point: domestic box office avenues for the Dec. 1-3 frame soared 76 percent over the same frame last year and 7 percent over 2019.
Similar to Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and her team decided to bypass Hollywood studios and struck a pact with AMC Theatres to distribute Renaissance, which chronicles her recent world stage tour, while including behind-the-scenes footage detailing the planning and execution of the concert.
Swift and AMC made history in October when Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour opened to a staggering $92.8 million domestically, by far the biggest launch ever for a concert movie. No one expected Renaissance to do the same sort of business, considering her audience is older.
Before Eras Tour, 2008’s Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana: The Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour held the record for the top domestic opening for a concert film with $31.1 million, not adjusted for inflation. That was followed by 2011’s Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, which opened to $29.5 million.
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