Tavern Talk: Video Review - ABOMINABLE

While I'd hoped to be able to review Roadside's Judy this week on Tavern Talk, the Renee Zellweger biopic about Judy Garland, only opened in 461 theaters nationwide and none of those theaters were in my neck of the woods (in fact, the closes theater playing the film was nearly 300 miles away). While that film will expand this weekend, our only other option for a new, wide release to review this past weekend was that of Universal's release of DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio's animated title Abominable. With Abominable, Universal once again finished atop the weekend box office while also taking second place with Focus Features' Downton Abbey (Focus is owned by Comcast through Universal Pictures, a division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal). Downton, now in its second weekend, followed up a strong debut last weekend by bringing in $14.3 million, pushing the film over $58 million domestic and over $111 million internationally on a reported budget between $13-$20 million. Meanwhile, Abominable debuted with $20.6 million, but given it carries a $75 million price tag, the film has a lot of work to do if it's going to justify itself and with The Addams Family just around the corner it needs to work fast. While it doesn't say much for this year's line-up of original animated films, Abominable's performance was enough to earn it the title of "largest opening for an original animated film in 2019" joining Universal's Us and Good Boys as the only original films to open at number one in North American in 2019. Furthermore, this is the seventh Universal title to top the charts this year (eight if you include Downton) which would give the studio the most number one finishes for 2019. Additionally, Abominable earned an "A" CinemaScore from opening day audiences and holds an 81% Tomatometer score and 96% audience score, which could bode well for its the film's potential, especially as alternative programming to this weekend's Joker. Internationally, Abominable is now playing in thirty overseas territories and brought in an estimated $8.8 million over its first weekend for an global total near $34.5 million with several major markets yet to still open in. As always, be sure to follow the official TAVERN TALK by Initial Reaction YouTube channel as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter where you can find a new review (or reviews) each week!