Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ruled the box office again on a quiet weekend but Santa Claus – the R-rated kind – spread holiday cheer and earned more than the analysts’ projections.

Violent Night, starring David Harbour as Santa Claus who is doing his annual duty to children around the world when he gets caught up in a home invasion, collected $13.3 million and placed second.

Surpassing predictions of $10 million to $11 million, Violent Night ho ho ho’d its way to the bank. Directed by Tommy Wirkola, the Christmas action-comedy finds Harbour as a sledgehammer-wielding Saint Nick who is protecting a child and her family from armed mercenaries.

The definitely-not-for-kids holiday movie costars John Leguizamo, Alex Hassell, Cam Gigandet, Beverly D’Angelo, Alexis Louder, Edi Patterson, and Leah Brady.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever became the first movie to lead the box office for four weekends since Spider-Man: No Way Home accomplished that feat in January. The sequel has now amassed a North American total of $393.7 million and is approaching the $400 million benchmark.

Strange World, the 61^st animated film from Disney, is not turning out to be a hit for the studio that mice built. The action-adventure, voiced by a cast led by Jake Gyllenhaal,  Jaboukie Young-White, and Gabrielle Union, dropped steeply from its low opening figures. While it ranked third, Strange World drew $4.9 million, considered weak based on second-weekend forecasts.

Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Nicholas Hoult’s The Menu grabbed the fourth slot. The dark comedy that skewers foodies and trendy chefs got $3.55 million.

In fifth was Devotion, the Glen Powell-Jonathan Majors buddy war movie that netted $2.8 million.

Making up the rest of the top ten were, in order: I Heard the Bells, director Joshua Enck’s retelling of the tale behind the writing of the Christmas carol and poem by its author, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, which debuted with $1.81 million; Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam, $1.665 million; Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans, $1.3 million; Timothée Chalamet’s Bones and All, $1.19 million; and Ticket to Paradise, $850, 000.

Impressively, Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick almost made it back to the top ten again. The star’s blockbuster put back in theaters for the awards season and to hype its streaming bow on December 22, placed 11^th with $700,000. The year’s biggest hit has garnered a total of $717.8 million domestically.

Internationally, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical, Matthew Warchus’ movie adaptation of the Tony and Olivier-winning musical, is waltzing beautifully in the United Kingdom. The film, featuring Alisha Weir in the title role, Emma Thompson (Miss Trunchbull), Lashana Lynch (Miss Honey), and Andrea Riseborough (Mrs. Wormwood) reigned at the UK box office for the second weekend and has made a total of $9.7 million so far.

Overall, Black Panther 2 is still the offshore champ, earning another $20.2 million in over 50 markets. Ryan Coogler’s latest smash has cumulatively earned $339.million overseas and $733 million worldwide.

China, the world’s biggest movie market, has not released any major Hollywood lately. However, Japan’s One Piece Film Red got theatrical distribution there and topped the market with $10.7 million.

James Cameron’s much-awaited Avatar: The Way of Water did secure a release date in China, and will open on the same date in North America on December 16. The sequel is expected to stir the box office from its slumber around the world.