Black filmmakers are experiencing remarkable success on the big screen this year. Films like The Butler, Twelve Years a Slave, Fruitvale Station and About Last Night, were embraced by audiences
Joining the unprecedented year of black film favorites, the 2013 box-office hit The Best Man Holiday which opened on Friday, Nov. 16, earned an estimated $30.6 million over opening weekend. The film came in just behind Thor: The Dark World — which pulled in $38.5 million in its second weekend. The Best Man Holiday reunites a formidable class of A-List black actors, including Terrance Howard, Taye Diggs, Morris Chestnut and Harold Perrineau with four top-notch leading ladies
On Friday, The Best Man Holiday grossed roughly $200,000 more than Thor: The Dark World, indicating it was a genuine “must see” for its core audience.
Every demographic, meanwhile, out-and-out loved the film: The film earned an equally rare A+ from the audience polling firm CinemaScore — and that’s from men and women, both over and under 25 years old.
• Over the full weekend, The Best Man Holiday had the best per theater average among all wide releases, with $15,100 per location.
So, in essence, audiences will pay to see really good movies with black casts that aren’t directed by Tyler Perry.
Here are the estimated top 10 box office figures for Friday to Sunday, courtesy of Box Office Mojo:
1. Thor: The Dark World — $38.5 million
2. The Best Man Holiday* — $30.6 million
3. Last Vegas — $8.9 million
4. Free Birds — $8.3 million
5. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa — $7.7 million
6. Gravity — $6.3 million
7. Ender’s Game — $6.2 million
8. 12 Years a Slave — $4.7 million
9. Captain Phillips — $4.5 million
10. About Time — $3.5 million
*Opening weekend
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