‘Sonic’ Leads, ‘A Complete Unknown $1.4M Previews

The Christmas Eve box office at $25M was off 19% from Monday’s $30.9M gross, but the good news is that the moviegoing off-day was ahead of last year’s — which fell on a Sunday, the worst scenario possible for the industry — by 34% at $18.6M. Turnstiles are about to spin out of control starting tonight for the next week and a half.

The fresh news was that Searchlight’s previews for James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown were off to a solid start with $1.4M on its way to an expected $15M 5-day start at 2,835 locations including Imax on January 3. Previews for the Timothée Chalamet starrer began at 2 p.m. Thursday, but that number also includes limited Alamo Drafthouse previews.

The 3x Golden Globe-nominated movie cost $60M-$70M, before P&A, , we hear, an escalated budget due to ramping up post-strike. Tuesday’s Christmas Eve previews are apples to oranges to previous music biopics that played on Thursdays during the summer, but for reference, Paramount’s Elton John movie Rocketman did $2.3M ($25.7M opening) in May 2019, while Warner Bros’ Elvis posted $3.5M ($31.2M) during June 2022. A Complete Unknown is winning over audiences with a 96% grade on Rotten Tomatoes.

RELATED: ‘A Complete Unknown’ Review: Timothée Chalamet Astonishes As Young Bob Dylan In James Mangold’s Thrilling Musical Drama

Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 led the day with $7.5M to Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King, which starting closing the gap at $7.1M.

Top 5 for the day went down as follows:

1. ) Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Par) 3,761 theaters, Tue $7.5M (-25% from Monday), Total $77.6M/Wk 1

2.) Mufasa: The Lion King (Dis) 4,100 theaters, Tue $7.1M (+1%), Total $49.6M/Wk 1

3.) Wicked (Uni) 3,296 theaters, Tue $3.2M (-31%), Total $392.4M/Wk 5

4.) Moana 2 (Dis) 3,600 theaters Tue $3M (-28%), Total $366.3M/Wk 4

5.) Gladiator II (Par) 2,397 theaters, Tue $955K (-18%), Total $156.1M/Wk 5

RELATED: ‘A Complete Unknown’ Director James Mangold, Timothée Chalamet & Cast Reveal How They Recreated The “Fable” & “Mystery” Of Dylan

We’ll update when we get previews from Amazon MGM’s The Fire Inside. A24’s Babygirl didn’t hold previews Tuesday. Both of those titles are eyeing single-digit-million openings over the Wednesday-through-Sunday period. Focus Features’ Nosferatu only held a limited number of Imax and 35MM previews last night; that Robert Eggers’ directed horror film is eyeing a $25M 5-day debut. Current RT audience score on Nosferatu is 80%.