New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

It gets pretty dull once we get down to fourth place, as we see a string of films that have been boringly hanging around in theaters for a while. Jack the Giant Slayer occupies that fourth place position as it falls 37% to $6.2 million. Although that decline is a fantastic improvement over its 64% drop last weekend, it’s pretty much too little, too late for this fairy tale adaptation. With a $43.6 million domestic take, it’s still far short of the studio’s expenditure, with no real hope of breaking even. It’s not John Carter-level bad, but it’s not really that far off, especially since it’s not looking like international numbers will provide much relief.

Fifth goes to the resilient Identity Thief, which keeps on hanging around even though no one really seems to like it. Its $4.5 million weekend total represents a decline of just 29% from the previous frame, and it raises its domestic tally to a magnificent $123.7 million, a number that has to have Universal execs rubbing their hands with glee. Hopefully Melissa McCarthy can use the financial goodwill earned from Identity Thief to go out and make something good.

A pair of safe, low-budget projects wind up in sixth and seventh this weekend. One of the many, many 2013 movies starring The Rock, Snitch may prove to be the most profitable of them. The Lionsgate production earned $3.5 million over the weekend, down just 31% and good enough for sixth place. Its domestic total is $37.3 million, well in excess of its $15 million budget. Seventh goes to the latest cheap college drinking comedy, 21 & Over. It earned $2.6 million, a decline of 49%. The Relativity release has now earned $21.9 million, a number that looks bad in comparison to last year’s Project X, but stands up just fine when compared to its $13 million budget.

One blockbuster and a pair of solid hits round out the top ten. Eighth place goes to Silver Linings Playbook, the Weinstein Co. release that garnered many Academy Award nominations but won only one. It finished just below 21 & Over with $2.59 million, which means it may actually be higher in the rankings when actuals come in. Its decline of 28% is consistent with its excellent holds throughout its release. So far, Silver Linings Playbook has earned $124.6 million. Safe Haven, the Nicholas Sparks book adaptation, finishes in ninth thanks to its $2.5 million, a 34% drop from the previous frame. Its domestic total is $67 million. Finally, tenth goes to Escape from Planet Earth, another Weinstein release. It dropped 28% to $2.3 million and brings its total to $52.2 million.

Also worthy of mention is the Harmony Korine-directed Spring Breakers, a low-budget thriller featuring James Franco (again) and Disney Channel stars Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens. It managed $270,000 from just three sites, a whopping $90,000 per venue average. Since Korine, the creator of 1995’s Kids, isn’t exactly synonymous with big box office, this is a spectacular result. The film will be released wider to 600+ locations next weekend.

Overall, this year’s top 12 effectively matches last year’s releases. 2013’s $97.3 million is down just 2% from 2012, which featured the opening weekend of 21 Jump Street and the third weekend of The Lorax. Next weekend will have a tough go of it, as it’s competing the opening weekend of The Hunger Games. Along with Spring Breakers in its 600 locations, the new releases will also feature The Croods, Olympus Has Fallen and Admission.

Top Ten for Weekend of
Rank	Film	Distributor	Estimated Gross	Weekly Change	Running Total
1	Oz the Great and Powerful	Walt Disney	42.2	-47%	145.0
2	The Call	Sony	17.1	New	17.1
3	The Incredible Burt Wonderstone	Warner Bros.	10.3	New	10.3
4	Jack the Giant Slayer	Warner Bros.	6.2	-37%	53.9
5	Identity Thief	Universal	4.5	-29%	123.7
6	Snitch	Lionsgate	3.5	-31%	37.3
7	21 & Over	Relativity	2.6	-49%	21.9
8	Silver Linings Playbook	Weinstein Co.	2.6	-28%	124.6
9	Safe Haven	Relativity	2.5	-34%	67.0
10	Escape from Planet Earth	Weinstein Co.	2.3	-28%	52.2
11	Dead Man Down	FilmDistrict	2.0	-62%	9.3
12	The Last Exorcism Part II	CBS Films	1.3	-58%	14.4
Box office data supplied by Exhibitor Relations

Continued:       1       2