Weekend Wrap-Up
Box Office Sputtering as Wolverine Fades
By John Hamann
July 28, 2013
Fox and DreamWorks Animation’s Turbo slips to fourth. After a soft, $21.3 million opening in the previous frame, Turbo took in $13.3 million this weekend, giving it a 37% drop. Fox was looking for a franchise out of Turbo, but with the weak opening and only an okay hold in the second frame, franchise thoughts are pretty much out the window as the studio concentrates on trying to get as much of the $135 million investment (plus marketing) that went into it. Despicable Me 2 is not sweating the addition of Smurfs 2 next weekend, but Turbo certainly is, as this entry will likely be decimated in the next frame. Turbo is currently eyeing about $70-75 million on the domestic side, which means it will need $125 million plus overseas if it hopes to meet its budget. So far, Turbo has earned $55.8 million. Grown Ups 2 manages another weekend above $10 million, as the Sandler sequel earns $11.5 million. It declines 42% as it begins to lag behind the original. The first Grown Ups had earned $110 million after weekend three; the sequel has a gross so far of $101.7 million. RED 2 is sixth, and found no hold to dig it out of the soft opening it had last weekend. RED 2 earned only $9.4 million this weekend, which gives it a big second weekend drop of 48%. The original fell only 31% in its second weekend, and cost $26 million less than the sequel did. That’s bad news for Lionsgate, as RED 2 likely has no chance of seeing a profit against its $84 million budget. So far, RED 2 has earned only $35.1 million, well off the $43.5 million the original had earned in the same amount of time. Seventh goes to Pacific Rim, and the news continues to get worse – at least domestically – for Warner Bros. and Legendary Films this weekend. In its third frame, Pacific Rim earned only $7.5 million, off 53% compared to the $16 million take it found last weekend. With new films next weekend targeting the very young (Smurfs 2) or the older male (2 Guns), it may have a chance to hold, but it’s all too late. Pacific Rim has a gross so far of $84 million against that mighty $190 million budget. The good news for the financiers, however, is that Pacific Rim is much stronger overseas, where it has pulled in over $140 thus far. If Rim can find $250 million worldwide, it will still lose money, but it will take the sting out of this one, and may remove the flop brand that it is currently tagged with. Eighth is The Heat, which has quietly found huge success at the domestic box office. The Heat earned another $6.8 million in weekend five and dropped a slim 26%. The domestic gross grows to $141 million against the comparatively tiny $43 million budget.
Ninth is R.I.P.D., which is now the character study of a flop at the box office. After a laughable $12.7 million opening last weekend for the $130 million release, the news got worse this weekend, as R.I.P.D. earned only $5.8 million in weekend two, which means it fell 54%. Only God can save R.I.P.D. now, as it has a gross so far of $24 million. In tenth is one of our arthouse expanders this weekend, Fruitvale Station. The "ripped from the headlines" story expanded to 1,064 venues this weekend, and the move paid off, as the Weinstein release pulled in $4.7 million. That’s an increase of 530% compared to last weekend, and this small release brings its gross up to $6.3 million. Other smaller arthouse fare also excelled this weekend. The Way, Way Back took in $3.3 million from only 886 venues. The Fox Searchlight release has now earned $8.9 million. Opener The To-Do List, starring Safety Not Guaranteed’s Aubrey Plaza, took in $1.5 million from 591 venues, which isn’t bad compared to the film’s $1.5 million budget. Also in limited release is Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, which scored a best ever per location average for the director, as well as being the highest this year at $102,128. Its three-day total was $612,767, and it will certainly be expanding in the weeks to come. Thus far, its reviews would indicate that this is a good Woody film (he seems to alternate every other year). Overall this weekend, the box office is getting softer, as there isn’t enough new product to make up for the slide caused by questionable releases over the last few weekends. The top 12 this weekend earned $158.3 million. A year ago the top 12 earned $126.5 million, as the industry was reeling from The Dark Knight shooting massacre, and two films flopped. Next weekend brings The Smurfs 2 (whether I like it or not), as well as Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg in 2 Guns. It’s the weekend after, though, that is already looming, when Elysium, We’re the Millers, Planes, and the Percy Jackson sequel all face off against each other.
1 |
The Wolverine |
Fox |
$55,000,000 |
New |
$55,000,000 |
2 |
The Conjuring |
WARNER BROS. |
$22,130,000 |
- 47% |
$83,867,000 |
3 |
Despicable Me 2 |
UNIVERSAL |
$16,024,360 |
- 36% |
$306,412,945 |
4 |
Turbo |
Fox |
$13,325,000 |
- 37% |
$55,768,000 |
5 |
Grown Ups 2 |
SONY |
$11,500,000 |
- 42% |
$101,664,000 |
6 |
Red 2 |
Lionsgate |
$9,400,000 |
- 48% |
$35,074,356 |
7 |
Pacific Rim |
WARNER BROS. |
$7,540,000 |
- 53% |
$84,026,000 |
8 |
The Heat |
Fox |
$6,850,000 |
- 26% |
$141,244,700 |
9 |
R.I.P.D. |
|
$5,856,750 |
- 54% |
$24,351,730 |
10 |
Fruitvale Station |
Weinstein Co. |
$4,657,000 |
+ 530% |
$6,339,316 |
11 |
The Way, Way Back |
FOX SEARCHLIGHT |
$3,300,000 |
+ 50% |
$8,931,400 |
12 |
World War Z |
Paramount |
$2,760,000 |
- 47% |
$192,620,000 |
|
Also Opening/Notables |
|
The To0do List |
Cbs Films |
$1,500,000 |
New |
$1,500,000 |
|
Blue Jasmine |
Sony Classics |
$612,767 |
New |
$612,767 |
|
Drug War |
Variance |
$7,000 |
New |
$7,000 |
|
Girl Most Likely |
Roadside Attractions |
$185,000 |
- 75% |
$1,210,000 |
|
Only God Forgives |
Radius/twc |
$117,950 |
- 62% |
$576,645 |
|
Blackfish |
Magnolia |
$160,000 |
+ 111% |
$285,000 |
|
Act of Killing |
Drafthouse Films |
$38,697 |
+ 41% |
$81,041 |
|
Still Mine |
Samuel Goldwyn |
$96,900 |
+ 26% |
$679,595 |
|
The Lone Ranger |
|
$1,638,000 |
- 63% |
$85,275,000 |
|
White House Down |
SONY |
$950,000 |
- 60% |
$70,675,000 |
|
Monsters University |
Walt Disney Pictures |
$2,733,000 |
- 47% |
$255,345,000 |
|
Man of Steel |
Warner Bros. |
$760,000 |
- 58% |
$286,818,000 |
|
20 Feet From Stardom |
Radius/twc |
$367,872 |
- 7% |
$3,000,123 |
Box office data supplied by Exhibitor Relations
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