Braekhus, Shields win decisions on HBO's last boxing show

Cecilia Braekhus defended her welterweight titles with a dominant unanimous decision over Aleksandra Magdziak-Lopes on Saturday night in the final fight of the last HBO boxing telecast.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields also defended her middleweight titles with a dominant unanimous decision over Belgium's Femke Hermans, winning every round on every scorecard to improve to 8-0 in her two-year pro career.

A small, chilly crowd at the famed outdoor arena at StubHub Center south of downtown Los Angeles witnessed the final show in the 45-year history of HBO's boxing coverage. The premium cable network has been a driving financial force behind the sport for decades, but its management has decided to bow out of the game amid stiff competition from Showtime, ESPN and new streaming service DAZN.

Claressa Shields celebrates her win against Belgium's Femke Hermans during their WBCIBFWBA middleweight title boxing match, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, in Carson, Calif. (AP PhotoChris Carlson)

Claressa Shields, left, hits Belgium's Femke Hermans during their WBCIBFWBA middleweight title boxing match, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, in Carson, Calif. (AP PhotoChris Carlson)

Claressa Shields, left, swings at Belgium's Femke Hermans, during their WBCIBFWBA middleweight title boxing match, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, in Carson, Calif. (AP PhotoChris Carlson)

Claressa Shields celebrates her win against Belgium's Femke Hermans during their WBCIBFWBA middleweight title boxing match, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, in Carson, Calif. (AP PhotoChris Carlson)

Australia's Louisa Hawton, left, hits Lorraine Villalobos during their WBC atomweight interim title boxing match, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, in Carson, Calif. (AP PhotoChris Carlson)

“Venom: The Last Dance” enjoyed another weekend at the top of the box office. The Sony release starring Tom Hardy added $26.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

It was a relatively quiet weekend for North American movie theaters leading up to the presidential election. Charts were dominated by big studio holdovers, like “Venom 3,” “The Wild Robot” and “Smile 2,” while audiences roundly rejected the Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Robert Zemeckis reunion “Here.” Thirty years after “Forrest Gump,” “Here” opened to only $5 million from 2,647 locations.

“Venom 3” only fell 49% in its second weekend, which is a notably small drop for a superhero film, though it didn’t exactly open like one either. In two weeks, the movie has made over $90 million domestically; The first two opened to over $80 million. Globally, the picture is brighter given that it has already crossed the $300 million threshold.

Meanwhile, Universal and Illumination’s “The Wild Robot” continues to attract moviegoers even six weeks in (and when it’s available by video on demand), placing second with $7.6 million. That's up 11% from last weekend. The animated charmer has made over $121 million in North America and $269 million worldwide.

"'The Wild Robot' has quietly been this absolute juggernaut for the fall season," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “For that film to see an increase after six weeks is astounding.”

“Smile 2” landed in third place with $6.8 million, helping to push its worldwide total to $109.7 million.

The time-hopping “Here,” a graphic novel that was adapted by “Forrest Gump” screenwriter Eric Roth, was financed by Miramax and distributed by Sony’s TriStar. With a fixed position camera, it takes audiences through the years in one living room. Critics were not on board: In aggregate it has a lousy 36% on Rotten Tomatoes.

“It was a slow weekend anyway, but it didn’t resonate in a way that many thought it might," Dergarabedian said. "There are a lot of films out there for the audience that ‘Here’ was chasing."

Despite playing in almost 1,000 more locations, “Here” came in behind Focus Features' papal thriller “Conclave,” which earned $5.3 million. Playing in 1,796 theaters, “Conclave” dropped only 20% from its debut last weekend and has made $15.2 million so far. Two Indian films also cracked the top 10 in their debuts, “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” and “Singham Again.”

Overall box office continues to lag behind 2023 by almost 12%. But holiday moviegoing will likely give the industry an end-of-year boost with titles like “Gladiator II” and “Wicked” on the way.

“In a couple of weeks, it’ll get a lot more competitive,” Dergarabedian said.

Jesse Eisenberg’s film “A Real Pain,” a comedic drama about cousins on a Holocaust tour in Poland, launched in four theaters this weekend in New York and Los Angeles. It made an estimated $240,000, or $60,000 per screen, which is among the top three highest per theater averages of the year. Searchlight Pictures will be expanding the well-reviewed film nationwide in the coming weeks, going wide on Nov. 15 to over 800 theaters.

Box office charts don’t always paint a full picture of the moviegoing landscape, however. This weekend several relatively high-profile films playing in theaters did not report full grosses for various reasons, including the Clint Eastwood film “Juror #2,” Steve McQueen’s WWII film “Blitz” and the Cannes darling “Emilia Pérez.” Netflix, which is handling “Emilia Pérez,” never reports box office. Apple Original Films is following suit with “Blitz,” a likely awards contender, which is in theaters before hitting Apple TV+ on Nov. 22.

“Juror No. 2” is a Warner Bros. release, and a well-reviewed one at that. The film directed by Eastwood stars Nicholas Hoult as a juror on a murder case who faces a big moral dilemma. Domestic ticket sales were withheld. The studio did say that it earned $5 million from international showings, where it played on 1,348 screens.

Even major studios withhold box office numbers occasionally. Earlier this year, Disney did not report on the Daisy Ridley movie “Young Woman and the Sea.” Results were most notably withheld during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It’s really up to the distributors," Dergarabedian said. “Often times the reason that certain movies may not be reported is that there’s a chance that the quality of the movie will be conflated with the box office number.”

Final domestic figures will be released Monday. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore, were:

1. “Venom: The Last Dance,” $26.1 million.

2. “The Wild Robot,” $7.6 million.

3. “Smile 2,” $6.8 million.

4. “Conclave,” $5.3 million.

5. “Here,” $5 million.

6. “We Live In Time,” $3.5 million.

7. “Terrifier 3,” $3.4 million.

8. “Singham Again,” $2.1 million.

9. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” $2.1 million.

This image released by Netflix shows Zoe Saldaña in a scene from "Emilia Pérez." (Shanna Besson/Netflix via AP)

This image released by Apple TV+ shows Saoirse Ronan, left, and Elliott Heffernan in a scene from "Blitz." (Apple TV+ via AP)

This image released by Warner Bros. Entertainment shows Leslie Bibb, top center, Chikako Fukuyama, from bottom left, Nicholas Hoult, Adrienne C. Moore, J.K. Simmons, Drew Scheid, and Hedy Nasser in a scene from "Juror #2". (Warner Bros. Entertainment via AP)

This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Kieran Culkin, right, and Jesse Eisenberg in a scene from "A Real Pain." (Searchlight Pictures via AP)

Tom Hanks arrives at the AFI Fest premiere of "Here" on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Tom Hanks, from left, Robin Wright, and Robert Zemeckis arrive at the AFI Fest premiere of "Here" on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

This image released by Sony Pictures Entertainment shows Tom Hanks, left, and Robin Wright in a scene from "Here." (Sony Pictures via AP)

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Tom Hardy in a scene from "Venom: The Last Dance." (Columbia-Sony Pictures via AP)

This image released by Sony Pictures shows a scene from "Venom: The Last Dance." (Columbia-Sony Pictures via AP)