Disney Pixars Onward Tops Weekend Box Office, Despite Backlash Over Gay Character
LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — Disney Pixar’s “Onward” took top honors at the box office over the weekend, earning $40.0 million in its North American debut, according to estimates compiled by Comscore.
The animated film, which features a cast including Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Octavia Spencer, John Ratzenberger, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mel Rodriguez, Lena Waithe, Ali Wong, Mel Rodríguez, was directed by Dan Scanlon, whose previous credits include Pixar’s Monsters University.
Internationally, “Onward” earned $28.0M in 47 material territories for a global debut of $68.0M.
However, “Onward” was notably absent in some international markets, where it has not appeared on cinema schedules because it includes Disney’s first openly lesbian supporting character, according to Deadline Hollywood.
Onward, which tells the story of two teenage elf brothers who undertake a quest in a mythical world, includes a secondary character named Specter, voiced by Lena Waithe, who briefly discusses the tribulations of raising a child with her girlfriend.
“It’s not easy being a new parent – my girlfriend’s daughter got me pulling my hair out, okay?”
According to Deadline Hollywood, the single line and the character, who only appeared on-screen briefly, earned the film a ban in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait.
Other countries in the region, including Bahrain, Lebanon, and Egypt, are showing the film, Deadline reported.
Turmoil from the film’s gay characters cropped up in other markets as well. In Russia, where President Vladimir Putin recently proposed a constitutional ban on gay marriage, the film has been censored with changes that include changing the word girlfriend to the more generic term partner and removing any mention of Specter’s gender.
Universal and Blumhouse Productions R-rated “The Invisible Man” continued its success at the box office for a second week, adding $15.15 million for a North American cume to date of $52.7 million. Internationally, “The Invisible Man” added $17.3M in 65 international territories for a total estimated weekend take of $32.4M and a worldwide cume to date of $98.3 million.
Rounding out the top three for the weekend was Warner Bros. sports drama “The Way Back” which debut to $8.5 million in North America.
The film stars Ben Affleck as basketball phenom Jack Cunningham, who mysteriously walked away from the game only to return years later as a coach to revive the prospects of his alma mater’s team.
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