Box office: Robert De Niro knocks Tenet out of first place as Hocus Pocus continues its witchy comeback

Christopher Nolan's Tenet is no longer king of the coronavirus-era box office.

The time-bending, mind-tangling spy adventure, which added another $2.1 million (down from $2.7 million last weekend) to its domestic gross, was knocked out of first place by The War With Grandpa. Director Tim Hill's family-friendly comedy about a grandfather (played by Robert De Niro) feuding with his grandson brought in $3.6 million from 2,205 U.S. venues. While that was enough to net the top box-office spot, that figure is still "the smallest debut weekend" in over three decades, according to Forbes.

Now playing in its sixth frame, Tenet has made $48.3 million domestically, while international markets netted an extra $9.8 million. To date, the blockbuster's global tally stands at $323.3 million, a so-so number that reflects the sluggish nature of the theatrical industry amid the pandemic. Key markets in New York and California are still closed, prompting studios like Warner Bros. and MGM to delay Dune and No Time to Die to next year. Even Disney decided to move Pixar's Soul out of its late November slot and into an exclusive streaming rollout on Disney+. The only big tentpole still on the 2020 calendar is Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman 1984, which is currently scheduled to hit theaters Dec. 25.

Hocus Pocus continues to make a surprisingly magical comeback after its lackluster opening in the early '90s, with another $1.2 million added to its domestic cache. A sequel is coming to Disney+ from director Adam Shankman (Bedtime Stories). The New Mutants, meanwhile, nabbed $685,000 in U.S. ticket sales this weekend, bringing its stateside total to $22 million. Globally, the X-Men project from Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) has made just over $42 million. It may fare better in home video returns when it arrives on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital next month. Check out an exclusive deleted scene here.

(via Variety)