“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” led the box office gain – marking the final weekend of a great year for Walt Disney Co., the film’s owner, but a mediocre 2019 for pretty much everyone else.

“The Rise of Skywalker” brought in $72 million this weekend in U.S. and Canadian theaters, researcher Comscore Inc. estimated Sunday, easily outdrawing two new movies – Sony Corp.’s “Little Women” and “Spies in Disguise,” from Disney’s Fox studio. Analysts had expected as much as $100 million for the “Star Wars” feature. The gross was down 59 percent from last week, Comscore said.

With the exception of Disney, which set global records with its slate of live-action and animated movies, the year was lackluster for most of Hollywood’s film companies. The industry headed into the weekend with 2019 ticket sales in the U.S. down 4.6 percent from a year ago and most observers expecting 2020 to be a challenge as well.

Two new films opened in wide release this weekend. “Little Women,” a new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s tale of four sisters coming of age in the aftermath of the Civil War, opened in third place with sales of $16.5 million. Box Office Pro was projecting $18 million.

“Spies in Disguise,” an animated film featuring the voices of Rachel Brosnahan, Will Smith and Reba McEntire, took in $13.2 million to land in fifth place. Box Office Mojo was forecasting $11 million.

A24’s “Uncut Gems,” starring Adam Sandler as a jewelry dealer in New York’s Diamond District, expanded to more theaters and delivered $9.6 million in sales to land in seventh place. That fell in line with forecasts of $8.5 million to $10 million this weekend.

« Previous

Art review: Controversies, cultural shifts shaped Maine art over the past decade

Next »

Barack Obama reveals his favorite books of 2019