Fresh off its three Oscar wins, including Best Picture, Universal’s “Green Book” saw a big bump at the box office four months after its release.
Universal expanded the DreamWorks/Participant Media production to 2,641 screens this week, close to the widest count in its theatrical run. The result was a $4.5 million total, which was only beaten by its $5.5 million on opening weekend and the $5.4 million it earned on the weekend following Oscar nominations.
Made on a $23 million budget, “Green Book” had a disappointing start on Thanksgiving weekend in the face of films like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Ralph Breaks the Internet” and “Creed II.” But with an A+ from CinemaScore polls, the film steadily legged out over the winter, never grossing below $1 million in a single weekend. The film’s domestic total now sits at just under $76 million.
“Green Book” also opened in China, where interest in the Hollywood import led to a strong box office of $17.1 million. While it wasn’t the top film of the weekend in that market — “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” nearly doubled that total with $33.4 million — “Green Book” now has the second-highest opening of any Best Picture winner in China, sitting only behind “Titanic.” Amblin and Lionsgate are handling distribution of the film overseas, as its global total now hits $188 million.
“Green Book” wasn’t the only film that enjoyed an Oscar bump. Best Animated Feature winner “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” was reissued in 2,404 screens domestically and grossed $2.1 million in its 12th weekend. The Oscar winner stands as Sony Animation’s highest grossing domestic release with $187.3 million.