“Renaissance” Tops Box Office

By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Concert films are proving a big draw this season as theatrical releases. Over the weekend the biggest high profile and most successful film released was “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,”& It was the followup to “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” though it opened in over 1,000 fewer theaters than “Eras” did. “Renaissance” opened in 2,539 theaters on Friday, the movie brought in an estimated $21 million to lead the weekend. Audiences& gave it an “A+” on CinemaScore, same as “The Eras Tour.”& “Renaissance” made another $6.4 million overseas for a global opening of $27.4 million. Lionsgate’s hit prequel “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” took second place with $14.5 million, down 50 percent from Thanksgiving weekend, but bringing its domestic total to $121.2 million, making it the first movie since “Five Nights at Freddy’s” in October to cross the $100 million mark. Venerable Japanese studio Toho Entertainment took North American distribution into their own hands for the prequel “Godzilla Minus One,” which opened in 2,308 theaters Friday after receiving stellar reviews. After making $2.1 million in Wednesday and Thursday previews (rolled into its $4.7 million Friday), the monster movie ended up...