Weekend Wrap-Up

'Recall' and 'Dog Days' Make for 'Wimpy' Weekend

By Tim Briody

August 5, 2012

I hate when I get newsprint on my hands.

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While the book series runs seven books deep at this point (and Dog Days combines plots from the third and fourth books in the series), there's a chance this might be the end of the Wimpy Kid film series. Not because of the box office (it only cost $22 million to make so it'll be in the black after next weekend), but due to the cast (and target audience) getting older. The main character is supposed to be in middle school but the actors are now getting ready for high school. It wouldn't surprise me for there to be another Wimpy Kid entry next year, but we may be reaching diminishing returns.

Fours are wild as in fourth is Ice Age: Continental Drift, the fourth Ice Age film in its fourth weekend. It earned $8.4 million, bringing its tally to $131 million. Inexplicably, the Ice Age franchise is wildly popular overseas, and while this is going to be the lowest domestic earner of the four films (Ice Age at $176.3 million is the current low point), the worldwide grosses mean Fox has likely penciled in an Ice Age 5 for a couple years from now.

In fifth is Ben Stiller's The Watch, down 51.1% from its opening to $6.3 million. Well, things could've been worse for the supposed comedy, directed by Akiva Schaffer of The Lonely Island fame. It's got $25.3 million after two weekends, well off of its reported $68 million cost. $40 million seems like the best case scenario here.

Breakout comedy Ted reaches a milestone in its sixth weekend, crossing $200 million with a weekend of $5.4 million. Only costing $50 million, it's one of the year's biggest hits, and what writer/director Seth MacFarlane will unleash on the world next thanks to the success here, we can only imagine.

Step Up: Revolution drops 55% from last weekend to take seventh with $5.3 million. It's got $23 million after two weekends. It's yet to earn back its $33 million production budget, but it should get there, barely. Step Up 3D made a killing overseas, and Summit is hoping Revolution will do the same.




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The Amazing Spider-Man holds well in weekend five, down 36.7% to $4.3 million, crossing the $250 million barrier in the process. The reboot won't crack the $300 million mark, and perhaps the best it can do is $275 million, almost $100 million less than Spider-Man 2 took in (and way behind the $336 million of Spider-Man 3).

Pixar's Brave is in ninth with $2.9 million, giving it $223 million in seven weekends. It's tied with WALL-E's earnings and is definitely one of the more successful Pixar releases, especially after the reputation tarnishing Cars 2. $230 million is a fine total, as Pixar enters somewhat uncharted territory next year with a prequel to Monsters, Inc.

Magic Mike takes in its final few singles as it places tenth with $1.3 million in its sixth weekend. The Steven Soderbergh hit, which also establishes Channing Tatum as an unlikely box office draw, has earned $110 million off a mere $7 million budget.

The top 12 films earned $113.6 million, way off from last year when the top 12 took in $158 million, powered by Rise of the Planet of the Apes opening to $54 million. Combine that with some disappointing performers (see both this weekend's and last weekend's openers) and some long time holdovers towards the bottom (last year seven films took in over $10 million, this year only three did), and you get a very soft box office weekend. The Bourne Legacy and the Will Ferrell/Zach Galifianakis comedy The Campaign will look to reverse that trend next weekend.


Top Weekend Box Office for 8/3/12- 8/5/12 (estimates)
Rank
Film
Distributor
Estimated
Gross
Weekly
Change
Cumulative
Gross
1 The Dark Knight Rises Warner Bros. $36,400,000 -43.1% $354,638,000
2 Total Recall Sony $26,000,000 New $26,000,000
3 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days 20th Century Fox $14,700,000 New $14,700,000
4 Ice Age: Continental Drift 20th Century Fox $8,400,000 -36.8% $131,862,859
5 The Watch 20th Century Fox $6,350,000 -51.1% $25,363,203
6 Ted Universal $5,478,660 -25.4% $203,413,895
7 Step Up: Revolution Summit $5,300,000 -55% $23,097,149
8 The Amazing Spider-Man Sony $4,300,000 -36.7% $250,640,000
9 Brave Walt Disney $2,900,000 -31.5% $223,300,000
10 Magic Mike Warner Bros. $1,380,000 -46.5% $110,894,000
Box office data supplied by Exhibitor Relations

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