Weekend Wrap-Up

Only The Butler Kicks Ass at the Box Office

By John Hamann

August 18, 2013

Richard Nixon wishes he looked that good.

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Third is the disappointing Elysium, which many hoped would the next big thing, but simply isn’t. Elysium is also underachieving at the box office. Last weekend, Elysium was estimated to have earned $30.5 million, but when actuals came out, it was only at $29.8 million. This weekend, things are much worse, as the Matt Damon starrer took in only $13.4 million, which gives it a devastating drop of 54%. Remember that Sony paid $115 million to acquire Elysium, and at this point, it looks like the Sony release will only earn $75 million at the domestic box office. Foreign box office will prop this one up somewhat, but it will be a tough slog for it to be profitable.

Fourth goes to Kick Ass 2. Ever since Jim Carrey dissed his own film, it seems to have been an uphill battle for this sequel as it headed toward release. Its numbers were lackluster as it grossed only $13.6 million from 2,940 screens. It saw a decent Thursday preview of $1.3 million, but has faded ever since. Reviews were the same; they started off okay, but as more people saw the film, the more the score dropped at Rotten Tomatoes. In the end, it finished with a 28% fresh rating, though it did manage a B+ Cinemascore.




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There would be no surprise this time around about how different this film is, and how violent. Producers based a greenlight decision on the breakout opening weekend of the original, which looked good on a paper with its $20 million debut against a $30 million budget. However, as usual in Hollywood, there is always more to the story. While it did have a strong debut, the original Kick Ass didn’t have a weekend drop above 50% until weekend six, as it dropped 53%, 52%, 67%, and 64%. In other words, audiences beyond the fanboys didn’t care for the original, and in reality, a sequel never should have been made. The original had an open-to-total multiplier of 2.4, a number that does not scream sequel. This one was made for $28 million, a number this one will reach domestically, but no one is getting rich with Kick Ass 2.

Fifth is the Pixar rip-off Planes, and I am pleased to see the bottom falling out of this one. Planes earned only $13.1 million in its second weekend, dropping 41%. Made for $50 million, Disney will see some profit from Planes, but families seem to be picking up on the fact that it is crap. So far, it has earned $45.1 million at the domestic box office, but it will certainly not see the heights of the Cars franchise, where the original earned $244 million, and the sequel took in $191.5 million.

Sixth is Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, and like We’re the Millers, didn’t completely fall on its ass in its second weekend like the other two openers from last weekend did. Too bad it’s too late for redemption. Percy Jackson 2 took in $8.4 million in its second weekend, dropping a not awful 42%. It’s going to struggle to get to a $50 million domestic total, but I bet foreign box office and home video make it a win for Fox. So far, it has earned $38.9 million against a $90 million production budget.


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