The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films and then check back on Monday for the final figures based on actual box office.
After a slower weekend, the box office rebounded with a strong comeback as three movies grossed more than $20 million for the first time in a month with two of the three new movies bringing in over $30 million each.
DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods, their first movie marketed and distributed by 20th Century Fox and featuring the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds and Catherine Keener, opened decently with an estimated $44.7 million, getting a nice weekend bump after an $11.6 million opening day on Friday. This is slightly better than the $43.7 million opening for Croods co-director Chris Sanders’ 2010 movie How to Train Your Dragon, which also opened in late March to take advantage of school spring break. With a strong A CinemaScore, the movie should be able to carry its legs through Easter and April via strong word-of-mouth. The Croods also brought in an additional $63.3 million internationally–including $16 million from previews last weekend–to bring its total worldwide gross to $108 million.
Antoine (Training Day) Fuqua’s White House invasion movie Olympus Has Fallen (FilmDistrict), starring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett and Rick Yune, also fared very well, opening with roughly $30.5 million in 3,098 theaters, averaging just under $10 thousand per location. This was good news for Butler, who was coming off three huge bombs in Chasing Mavericks, Playing for Keeps and the comedy anthology Movie 43. It’s also the biggest opening for fledgling distributor FilmDistrict.
After two weeks at #1, Sam Raimi’s Wizard of Oz prequel Oz The Great and Powerful, starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams, dropped down to third place with $22 million in its third weekend, bringing its total to $177.6 million. Internationally, the movie has grossed slightly more with $178.8 million bringing its worldwide cume to $356.4 million.
After a solid opening, Halle Berry’s thriller The Call (TriStar Pictures) dropped to fourth place with $8.7 million, down 49% from its opening weekend with a $30.9 million gross in ten days.
Despite a ton of television ads, the Tina Fey-Paul Rudd romantic comedy Admission (Focus Features), directed by Paul (In Good Company) Weitz, disappointed with a fifth place opening, earning roughly $6.4 million in over 2,100 theaters. That’s the lowest opening for a Tina Fey live action movie despite the success she’s had with movies such as Date Night, Baby Mama and Mean Girls, but it’s on par with some of Paul Rudd’s recent comedies.
After an impressive platform release, Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers (A24), starring Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens and James Franco, expanded nationwide into 1,104 theaters where it took sixth place with $5 million or $4,620 per location.
The less-than-magical comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (New Line/WB) , starring Steve Carell and Jim Carrey, tanked in its second weekend, dropping 58% to seventh place with $4.2 million and $17.3 million total.
Bryan Singer’s Jack the Giant Slayer (Warner Bros.) took eighth place with just under $3 million, bringing its total to $59.1 million after four weeks in theaters.
Seth Gordon’s hit comedy Identity Thief (Universal) took ninth place with $2.5 million and a total gross of $127.7 million.
Rounding out the Top 10 was Dwayne Johnson’s action thriller Snitch (Summit) with $1.9 million as it crossed the $40 million mark.
This week’s box office didn’t stand much of a chance against the same weekend last year when Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games opened with $152.5 million, which was 15% more than this weekend’s Top 10 movies combined.
The Aussie musical comedy The Sapphires (The Weinstein Company) finally opened in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles following its year-long festival run, where it grossed $40.9 thousand or $10.2 thousand per site.
Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films.
