Did coronavirus hurt the box office?
Although coronavirus seems to be making people do strange things, like stock up on endless toilet paper, it doesn't appear to have hurt the box office. According to Variety, this weekend was an exceptionally slow one for ticket sales, but experts believe it was because of the movies themselves and not the coronavirus scare. Disney and Pixar's Onward, starring Avengers buddies Chris Pratt and Tom Holland, took first place at the box office with a $40 million haul. The opening is one of Pixar's worst, and with a nearly $200 million price tag before marketing it doesn't look good for Disney. Ben Affleck's "comeback" film The Way Back also hit theaters this weekend, earning $8.5 million on a $20 million budget. It took third place, and reaffirmed Affleck as a lead actor in contemporary adult dramas.
The Invisible Man, which was released earlier this month, placed second with another $15.5 million for a total of $98.3 million worldwide. The film only cost $7 million to make, marking another big win for Blumhouse. Sonic the Hedgehog took fourth with $8 million for a total of $300 million worldwide. The family film was made on a budget of $85 million. Disney’s The Call of the Wild finished off the top five, earning $7 million for a worldwide total of $100 million. The adaptation of Jack London’s novel starring Harrison Ford cost $125 million to make.