Weekend Box Office: 'The Disaster Artist' Trounces 'Just Getting Started'

'Coco' stays No. 1 overall on the final weekend before the year-end deluge of tentpoles; 'Just Getting Started' marks the final title from Broad Green Pictures.

James Franco's The Disaster Artist is the latest specialty release to thrive at the U.S. box office.

Shooting up the chart to No. 4 in its second frame, the dramedy grossed $6.4 million as it expanded nationwide into 840 theaters over the weekend for an early total of $8 million. A24 is handling the film domestically, while New Line/Warner Bros. — where the project was initially developed — has overseas duties.

The critically acclaimed pic, which initially launched in 19 theaters, recounts the making of Tommy Wiseau's 2003 film The Room, considered one of the worst movies ever made. In addition to directing, Franco stars as Wiseau. David Franco, Seth Rogen, Alison Brie, Ari Graynor, Josh Hutcherson and Jacki Weaver co-star.

Disaster Artist trounced the weekend's only other new nationwide offering, Just Getting Started.

Marking the final title from Broad Green Pictures, Just Getting Started bombed with $3.2 million from 2,161 theaters.

Brothers Gabriel and Daniel Hammond launched Broad Green in 2014 with the ambitious aim of building a full-fledged production and indie distribution company. They hired a number of veteran executives, but quickly encountered tough times at the box office. In August, the company went through another round of layoffs and shut down its production division. It remains to be seen whether Broad Green will go away entirely or become a production venture only.

Just Getting Started, which bowed at No. 10, stars Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones, Rene Russo, Elizabeth Ashley and the late Glenne Headly. Set in a retirement home, the story follows a former FBI agent and mob lawyer who must put their differences aside when the mafia shows up. Audiences spurned the film, giving it a C CinemaScore, while its Rotten Tomatoes score is a withering 11 percent.

The first two weekends of December are always quiet in terms of major releases as the studios gear up for the year-end deluge of holiday titles, commencing with Star Wars: The Last Jedi on Dec. 15.

Overall, Disney and Pixar's Coco stayed No. 1 in its third weekend, taking in another $18.3 million and bringing the film's domestic total to $135.5 million. Overseas, the animated tentpole danced to another $55.3 million for a foreign cume of $253 million — including more than $100 million in China alone — and $389.5 million globally.

Warner Bros. and DC's Justice League held at No. 2 in its fourth outing with $9.6 million for a domestic total of $212.1 million and a global haul of $613.4 million. On Saturday, Warners became the first studio this year to clear the $2 billion mark at the North American box office. (Disney dominates globally with well north of $5 billion, although Warners has now crossed $5 billion as well.)

Lionsgate and Participant Media's sleeper hit Wonder likewise stayed high up on the chart. The family-friendly film took in $8.5 million in its third weekend to pass the $100 million mark domestically, becoming Lionsgate's top-grossing title since 2016's La La Land. Overseas, Wonder took in $11.4 million from 56 markets for a foreign tally of $29.3 million and $129.6 million worldwide.

Disney and Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok, rounding out the top five, also achieved a milestone over the weekend upon clearing the $300 million mark in North America for a global cume of $833.2 million.

New offerings at the specialty box office over the weekend included Craig Gillespie's I, Tonya, starring Margot Robbie as figure skater Tonya Harding and Allison Janney as her mother. The movie, which opened in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles, posted a strong per-theater average of $61,400. Neon and 30WEST acquired rights to the awards contender at the Toronto Film Festival in September.

Weekend Box Office 12/10/17

3-Day Weekend Box Office Actuals - Source: comScore Weekend Cume Theaters Week 1. Coco $18.5M $135.7M 3,748 3 2. Justice League $9.7M $212.1M 3,508 4 3. Wonder $8.4M $100.3M 3,519 4 4. The Disaster Artist $6.4M $8.0M 840 2 5. Thor: Ragnarok $6.3M $301.1M 3,047 6 6. Daddy's Home 2 $6.0M $91.1M 3,263 5 7. Murder on the Orient Express $5.2M $92.8M 3,089 5 8. The Star $3.7M $32.3M 2,976 4 9. Lady Bird $3.5M $22.2M 1,557 6 10. Just Getting Started $3.2M $3.2M 2,161 1

Dec. 10, 8 a.m. Updated with weekend estimates.