‘Downton Abbey’ Enjoys a Royal Opening, Beats Brad Pitt Film

(Bloomberg) -- Film fans had clear choices to make this weekend: a new picture with the British aristocrats of TV’s “Downton Abbey,” “Ad Astra” starring Brad Pitt as an astronaut, or “Rambo: Last Blood” featuring aging action hero Sylvester Stallone.

And the clear winner was “Downton Abbey.” It’s the biggest opening ever for one of Comcast Corp.’s Focus Features films.

• Based on the TV series that first aired in the U.S. in 2011, “Downton Abbey” opened with weekend sales of $31 million in North American theaters, researcher Comscore Inc. said Monday. The period drama was expected to bring $22 million to $24 million.

Key Insights

• “Downton Abbey” benefited from 85% approval by critics on the Rotten Tomatoes website. That may have helped the picture expand its audience beyond the older female demographic that was its anticipated target group. The previous top opening for a Focus Features film was “Insidious: Chapter 3” at $22.7 million in 2015.

• Walt Disney Co.’s “Ad Astra” opened in second place with sales of $19 million. It was expected to bring in $16 million to $19 million.
• “Rambo: Last Blood,” starring the 73-year-old Stallone, opened with sales of $18.9 million. It was expected to bring in about $20 million for Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. and Millennium films.
• The Rambo franchise returned after more than a decade and drew just a 29% favorable rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Stallone, who created the role of the unstoppable Green Beret in 1982, has scored with a couple of successes in recent years, such as “Creed” in 2015 and its sequel “Creed II” last year.

Get More

• See the weekend release schedule.
• See Box Office Pro’s long-range forecast.

To contact the reporter on this story: Hailey Waller in New York at hwaller@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Rob Golum, Kevin Miller

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