LOS ANGELES - The Crawley family still has the royal touch at the box office."Downton Abbey: A New Era," a sequel to the big-screen continuation of the beloved British television show, captured $16 million from 3,815 North American theaters in its domestic debut. Though down slightly from initial projects, those returns mark an encouraging start at a time when older audiences have been selective about going to the movies.
Those ticket sales landed"Downton" in second place, but they were not enough to dethrone Disney's"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." The latest Marvel movie, which has towered over box office charts for three weekends in a row, added another $31.6 million from 4,534 theaters between Friday and Sunday.
"Downton Abbey" creator Julian Fellowes returned to write the sequel, which was directed by Simon Curtis. The first"Downton Abbey" movie became a surprise box office hit in 2019, opening to $31 million at the domestic box office and ultimately grossing $96 million in North America and $192 million globally.