LOS ANGELES, May 23 (U.S.): The Crowley family continues to enjoy a royal touch at the box office. Downton Abbey: A New Era, a sequel to the popular British television show’s continuation to the big screen, took in $16 million from 3,815 North American theaters in its domestic debut. Although down slightly from the initial projects, these returns are an encouraging start at a time when older audiences have been selective about going to the movies.
There was understandable concern about the second “Downton Abbey” in terms of commercial prospects, and not because long-time fans of the series had grown tired of devouring the on-screen mansion plot and the drama of the class system. Other than “House of Gucci” and the James Bond sequel “No Time to Die,” many pandemic-era films catering to adults (such as a remake of Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” and Will Smith’s sports drama “King Richard”) have struggled to sell tickets online. Despite the positive reviews. So it’s no small feat that nearly 50% of ticket buyers for “Downton Abbey: A New Era,” a fun story set in a familiar franchise, are 55 or older, Reuters reported.
Those ticket sales landed at number two, but it wasn’t enough to get the Disney movie “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse” out of madness. The latest Marvel movie, which topped the box office charts for three consecutive weekends, added another $31.6 million from 4,534 theaters between Friday and Sunday. To date, “Doctor Strange” has grossed $342 million in North America and $461 million internationally, pushing the film to surpass $800 million at the global box office. If “Doctor Strange” can maintain the momentum, the superhero adventure could become only the second film in COVID times to cross $1 billion at the box office after “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Since the “alien” sequel (such as “No Way Home”) is not shown in China or Russia due to geopolitical tensions, it has been difficult for pillars of support to reach the coveted billion-dollar mark.
At the international box office, “Downton Abbey: A New Era” grossed $35 million, bringing his global tally to $51.7 million.
“Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes is back to write the sequel, directed by Simon Curtis. The first “Downton Abbey” movie was a huge box office success in 2019, grossing $31 million at the domestic box office, and eventually grossing $96 million in North America and $192 million worldwide.
The warmly-accepted sequel picks up as the wealthy Crowley family journeys to southern France to unravel a mystery about their newly inherited villa (played by Maggie Smith). The cast also includes Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Joanne Frogget, and Brendan Coyle. Peter Abbey of Variety described the film as an “affectionate group hug,” which is of course the kind of escape that “Downton Abbey” want in their historical TV series.
Description of David A. Gross, who runs film consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research, Fellows “George Lucas’ Drama in the English Sitting Room.”
“This is a very good opening… The reviews are as excellent as they were in the first movie,” Gross said. “Downton Abbey” is a unique and accomplished series. “
MI