Overview of the US business for the week of January 4th

Happy New Year 2021.  A reminder that the Chinese New Year will begin on February 12th, and we will be entering the YEAR OF THE OX.  We say goodbye to 2020, the YEAR OF THE RAT.

Wonder Woman 1984 led the box office in the first weekend of 2021, just as it did in the last weekend of 2020.  Warner Bros.' superhero sequel directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot brought in an estimated $5.5M in ticket sales, now with a 10-day North American cume of $28.5M. Universal's animated The Croods: A New Age continued to draw family audiences to theatres, bringing in $2.2M in its 6th weekend, which is up from its $1.7M performance on Christmas weekend.

Our BOX OFFICE BUZZ feature includes Part 1 and Part 2 of a four-part video series looking at Marvelous Marvel movie moments from the past 10 years.   Prepare to be amazed.

Our Industry News Summary covers the US Federal Government's $900B Coronavirus Response and Relief Act which was signed into law last week.  It sets aside $15B in grants to support live performance venues, museums, zoos and...MOTION PICTURE THEATRES.  We also highlight pronouncements from a list of industry leaders and journalists predicting a strong recovery for the movie business during 2021.  Included among them is our own Martin Grove, who predicts that a return to the Cineplex is inevitable, given the wealth of new films with proven audience appeal rolling out to theatres throughout the year.

We conclude with our regular film data tables. The Weekly Film Calendar provides details on film releases over the next two months.  We also report on the most recent studio release changes and MPAA film ratings announcements as well as the most important new trailers released last week.