Weekend Wrap-Up
Apes Smite Smurfs to Top Box Office
By John Hamann
August 7, 2011
New release The Change-Up with Jason Bateman and The Green Lantern finishes fourth, pretty much on par with expectations. Even with the R rating, the tired concept of the body switch didn't work all that well, as The Change-Up earned $13.5 million. It debuted at 2,913 venues and had a venue average of $4,635. Made for $50 million, The Change Up is going to need legs of the six-million-dollar-man to break even. This one was 19% fresh at RottenTomatoes so will very likely disappear quickly. We will all be better off.
Captain America: The First Avenger finished fifth, but the daisy is wilting pretty quick for this one. After opening to $65 million, Captain America lost 60% of that audience last weekend, and earned only $13 million this weekend, which means it tumbled another 49%. It's too bad, as this one is 79% fresh at RT, and sounds like it's not a bad film whatsoever. The First Avenger cost Paramount $140 million to make, and has a stateside gross so far of $143.2 million. The good news for Paramount is that it has picked up another $80 million overseas.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II stays above the $10 million mark for another weekend, as the last chapter in the great adventure grossed $12.2 million. It dropped another 45%, but brings its domestic gross up to $342.8 million. That's enough to move it into the top 20 domestic films of all time, and will likely top out in the top 15.
Steve Carell's Crazy, Stupid Love is seventh, down only two spots from last weekend, but takes a hit regardless. Crazy, Stupid Love took in $12.1 million and was off 37%. Like Captain America, this is a very good movie that might be getting lost under the ton of product that is currently out there. The good news for Warner Bros. is that this one cost a sane $50 million to make, and has a gross after only two weekends of $42.2 million.
Friends with Benefits is eighth, as I think North Americans are getting a little tired of the R-rated comedy. Friends earned $4.7 million and is off 49%, similar to last weekend's drop of 50%. So for, the Mila Kunis/Justin Timberlake comedy has earned $48.5 million against a budget of only $35 million.
Horrible Bosses drops to ninth this weekend, as a successful run begins to wrap up. In its fifth weekend of release, the comedy earned $4.6 million and dropped 36%. It crossed the $100 million mark during the week, and now has a cume of $105.2 million..
Finally in tenth is Transformers: Dark of the Moon. In its sixth weekend of release, the Michael Bay sequel took in $3 million and dropped 50%. The $200 million film now has a running total of $344.1 million in the US, and has crossed the billion dollar mark internationally. Huzzah.
Overall this weekend, the box office enjoys having seven films earn more than $10 million, as that, along with the rise of the apes, tallies $159.4 million from the top 12. A year ago, The Other Guys was on top with $35 million, but could only lead the top 12 to $122.5 million. Next weekend, four new films open: The Glee 3D Concert Movie, Final Destination 5, The Help with Emma Stone, and 30 Minutes or Less, which re-teams Jesse Eisenberg with his Zombieland director, Ruben Fleisher.
| 1 |
Rise of the Planet of the Apes |
Twentieth Century Fox |
$54,000,000 |
New |
$54,000,000 |
| 2 |
The Smurfs |
Paramount |
$21,000,000 |
- 41% |
$76,200,000 |
| 3 |
Cowboys and Aliens |
Universal |
$15,748,000 |
-57% |
$67,368,095 |
| 4 |
The Change-Up |
Universal |
$13,501,755 |
New |
$13,501,755 |
| 5 |
Captain America: The First Avenger |
Paramount Pictures |
$13,000,000 |
- 49% |
$143,182,000 |
| 6 |
Harry Potter And the Deathly Hallows Part 2 |
WARNER BROS. |
$12,160,000 |
-45% |
$342,801,000 |
| 7 |
Crazy, Stupid, Love |
Warner Bros. |
$12,100,000 |
-37% |
$42,185,000 |
| 8 |
Friends With Benefits |
Sony/Columbia |
$4,700,000 |
- 49% |
$48,500,000 |
| 9 |
Horrible Bosses |
New Line Cinema |
$4,620,000 |
- 36% |
$105,162,000 |
| 10 |
Transformers: Dark of the Moon |
Paramount |
$3,015,000 |
-50% |
$344,133,000 |
| 11 |
Zookeeper |
SONY |
$2,150,000 |
-50% |
$73,595,000 |
| 12 |
Cars 2 |
Walt Disney Pictures |
$1,135,000 |
- 52% |
$184,719,000 |
| |
Also Opening/Notables |
| |
Whistleblower |
Idp |
$58,100 |
New |
$58,100 |
| |
Gun Hill Road |
Motion Film Group |
$37,826 |
New |
$37,826 |
| |
Bellflower |
Oscilloscope |
$24,000 |
New |
$24,000 |
| |
Attack the Block |
Sony/Columbia |
$0 |
-100.0% |
$0 |
| |
The Devil's Double |
Lions Gate |
$198,000 |
+105% |
$341,715 |
| |
The Guard |
Sony Pictures Classics |
$193,971 |
+152% |
$309,144 |
| |
The Future |
Roadside Attractions |
$85,000 |
+213% |
$125,000 |
| |
Sarah's Key |
Weinstein Co. |
$532,409 |
+45% |
$1,264,000 |
| |
Another Earth |
FOX SEARCHLIGHT |
$165,000 |
+51% |
$447,221 |
| |
Midnight in Paris |
Sony Pictures Classics |
$991,608 |
- 15% |
$48,495,281 |
|
Box office data supplied by Exhibitor Relations
|
Continued:
1
2
3
|
|
|
|
Print this column
