4TH UPDATE, Sunday, 9 AM PST: So now we have a good grasp of a weekend that resulted in nearly $100 million in box office, which is up around 19% from comparable weekend last year. It is still the calm before the storm, when The Amazing Spider-Man 2 takes the stage and better do three times what The Other Woman did, or else. The story t his weekend though is how Fox found a perfect slot for The Other Woman and it hit nicely. It was clearly the most attractive choice among the new films, a comedy revolving around comedienne screen stalwarts Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann and newcomer Kate Upton, and it hit the spot. It is also positioned to be strong counter-programming next weekend when the multiplexes will be all about The Amazing Spider-man 2. In an era where films open and close so quickly, this one seems well suited to its slot. I saw the new Spidey at its New York premiere at the Ziegfeld the other night, and Sony Pictures and returning director Marc Webb have thrown a lot of VFX at the screen as they continue the 3D love relationship between Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker and Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy. She is a star, plain and simple. We’ll have to wait and see where Garfield goes in his career (he’s in the Martin Scorsese-directed Silence which probably explains the varsity wrestler haircut he sported at the premiere), but I don’t think I have seen an actor his age display more empathy and draw more sympathy onscreen. He puts those traits to good use as he battles Parker&rsquo ;s signature existential crisis issues along with not one but three villains in the Rhino (Paul Giamatti), Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan) and Electro.
The latter, the main baddie played by Jamie Foxx, is the most intimidating villain I’ve seen in a Spidey film, way different from the cartoonish comic book bad guy, and Foxx squeezes every bit of juice out of him. Sony clearly sets up its Spidey spinoff The Sinister Six, the Drew Goddard-directed film that loads half a dozen bad guys into one picture. Spidey will score, but given the rumors about the humungous budget and the pressure on Sony to see the film exceed or match the $752 million in global ticket sales turned in by the last installment, the question will be now how high but rather, is it high enough. That is a lot of pressure, to have a movie do $600 million and be considered a disappointment, but that is the reality of the tent pole game. An offshore head start of $132 million certainly helps in the run-up to Friday’s domestic opening. One other observation: many of the scenes shown in the marketing campaign aren’t what is in the finished film. I must say, I’d love to see more of that in comedies, where they give away too many good ones.
Some of our commenters have been critical of the falloff of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Cap got all he could handle this weekend from one Connor Corum, the pint-sized kid who stars in the sleeper Heaven Is For Real. It makes me wonder if the onslaught of superhero movies coming from Marvel and three different studios is going to result in spandex sluggishness. I have to say, the numbers don’t bear this out, though it seems inevitable at some point and if I had to guess where it catches up, it would be the Edgar Wright-directed Paul Rudd-starrer Ant-Man. While Captain America 2 saw its Saturday night ticket sales drop off about 31% from last weekend, the movie did pretty much everything you can ask of a sequel, something these Marvel movies have done with alarming consistency under Kevin Feige. The original, at a $140 million budget, grossed $193 million domestic and $370 million globally. The sequel, at a $170 million budget, has grossed $225 million domestic, and that pushes its global ticket sales of $645M, which is 74% bigger than the first film and higher than Iron Man 2‘s $624 million. It’s also the highest grossing April release of all time, domestically, according to Disney. And for a superhero movie, it was a damn good ride.
With Spider-Man and then a giant X-Men with both casts coming in the next five weeks, we are going to see this hero devotion sorely tested. As for the bitter weekend battle between Cap and the miracle kid from Heaven Is For Real, the latter managed to show little falloff in its second weekend and the $12 million film crossed $50 million. It could very well brush against $100 million. To put that into perspective, Noah, which cost more than 10 x Heaven Is For Real, is winding down its domestic run on 1604 screens with $2.25 million and $97.2 million this weekend. It should squeak past $100 million next weekend if it can keep the screens. Noah has done better overseas, obviously.
One other note here on the top slot film The Other Woman. I’ve heard from a few sources that, despite winning the weekend, The Other Woman will have to keep it up for awhile if it is going to make real profit. It might well do that, because studios don’t make enough comedies for women, though Fox certainly is exploiting that with filmmakers like Paul Feig in the fold. Cameron Diaz gets well paid for these kinds of films–she has gotten 15% of first dollar gross, and when she deferred on Bad Teacher she made over $40 million. So let’s not organize a parade just yet. The other thing: I’ve been slammed by some for being a naughty frat boy by chauvinistically hailing this film for its “well rounded cast,” which I thought was playful. And that its weekend dominance indicated was a powerful display of girl power. I don’t want to objectify women or wrongly assert that Fox is doing anything like that in sell ing what, from the perspective of commenters, is clearly a sophisticated female empowerment comedy. So rather than wax on and get in more trouble, I instead offer some photographs from the film that were an easily accessible part of the film’s marketing.
Moving on. We gave a hard look last week at the shocking failure of the Johnny Depp-starrer Transcendence, but yowza did that film have a bad weekend in just its second frame. Try a weekend drop off of 62% or so; the $100 million film won’t come out of its second weekend breaking the $20 million gross mark and overseas is not going well either. As for the other newcomers, Brick Mansions will finish the weekend with a $9.6 million domestic gross, on 2647 screens. A Relativity spokesperson said this was good for a film that cost $28 million. Pic is a remake of Luc Besson’s parkour action pic Banlieue 13, which did gangbusters overseas in its original incarnation. It’s possible this is too challenging a premise here in the U.S., where we are all so fat we can barely jump over the dog to get to the refrigerator, much less fling ourselves from rooftop to rooftop or through glass windows and then have the steam left to beat up bad guy s.
Also new is The Quiet Ones, yet another low budget film sold by quick edit jump cuts that project scary images in marketing campaigns which are all starting to seem the same to me. And maybe to genre audiences as well, who don’t at all seem possessed by a picture that will finish the weekend barely crossing $4 million on 2,027 screens.
On to the numbers:
1). The Other Woman (FOX), 3,204 theaters / $9.3 million Fri /$9.6 million Sat (+4%)/ $6.2 million Sunday (-35%)/ 3-day cume: $25.1 million/ Wk 1/Per Screen Average $7,836
2). Captain America: The Winter Soldier (DIS), 3,620 theaters (-205) / $4.5 million Fri. / $7.4 million Sat (+66%)/ $4.8 million Sunday/3-day cume: $16.7 million (-35%) / Total cume: $225 million/ Wk 4/ Per Screen Avg $4,629
3). Heaven Is For Real (SONY), 2,705 theaters (+288) / $4 million Fri. / $5.8 million Sat (+43%)/$4.3 million Sunday (-25%)/ 3-day cume: $13.9 million (-38%) / Total cume: $51.9 million /Wk 2/ Per Screen Average $5,245
4). Rio 2 (FOX), 3,703 theaters (-272) / $3.3 million Fri. /$6.4 million Sat (+93%)/ $4.3 million Sunday (-30%)/3-day cume: $12.7 million (-42%) / Total cume: $96.3 million / Wk 3/ Per Screen Avg $3,730
5). Brick Mansions (REL), 2,647 theaters / $3.5 million Fri. / $3.5 million Sat (0)/$2.3 million Sunday, -35%/ 3-day cume: $9.4 million / Wk 1/ Per Screen Avg $3,542
6). Transcendence (WB), 3,455 theaters (-0) / $1.3 million Fri. / $1.7 million Saturday (35%)/ $1.1 million (-40)/ 3-day cume: $4.1 million (-64%) / Wk 2/ Per Screen Avg $1,204
7). The Quiet Ones (LGF), 2,027 theaters / $1.5 million Fri. / $1.4 million Saturday (-5%)/ $940,000 (-40%)/ 3-day cume: $4 million / Wk 1/ Per Screen Avg $1,985
8). Bears (DIS), 1,720 theaters (-0) / 1.2 million Fri. / $1.1 million Saturday (-5%)/ $1 million (-30%)/ 3-day cume: $3.7 million (-23%) / Wk 2/ Per Screen Avg $2,126
9). Divergent (LGF), 2,066 theaters (-420) / $1 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.3 million (-40%) / $3.6 million Saturday (+40%)/ $1 million (-40%)/ Total weekend cume: $$3.8 million/ Total domestic cume 139M (-36%)/ Wk 6/ Per Screen Avg $1831
10). A Haunted House 2 (OPRD), 2,310 theaters (-0) / $930,000 Fri. / $1.2 million Saturday (25%)/ $741,000 (-45%)/3-day cume: $2.8 (-69%) / Wk 2/ Total cume $14 million/ Per Screen Average $1,311
3RD UPDATE Sunday 1 am PST: Fox’s The Other Woman continued to set the pace in what shapes up to be a lackluster weekend before The Amazing Spider-Man 2 spins its web next weekend. Here are the early Saturday night numbers:
1). The Other Woman (FOX), 3,204 theaters / $9.3 million Fri /$9.6 million Sat (-3%)/ 3-day cume: $25.4 million/ Wk 1
2). Captain America: The Winter Soldier (DIS), 3,620 theaters (-205) / $4.5 million Fri. / $7.4 million Sat (+64%)/ (3-day cume: $15.9 million (-39%) / Total cume: $223 million/ Wk 4
3). Heaven Is For Real (SONY), 2,705 theaters (+288) / $4 million Fri. / $5.8 million Sat (+43%); 3-day cume: $13.9 million (-38%) / Total cume: $51.9 million /Wk 2
4). Rio 2 (FOX), 3,703 theaters (-272) / $3.3 million Fri. /$6.4 million Sat (+93%)/ 3-day cume: $12.7 million (-42%) / Total cume: $95.5 million / Wk 3
5). Brick Mansions (REL), 2,647 theaters / $3.5 million Fri. / $3.5 million Sat (0)/ 3-day cume: $9.6 million / Wk 1
6). Transcendence (WB), 3,455 theaters (-0) / $1.3 million Fri. / $1.7 million Saturday (35%)/ 3-day cume: $4 million (-64%) / Wk 2
7). The Quiet Ones (LGF), 2,027 theaters / $1.5 million Fri. / $1.4 million Saturday (-5%)/ 3-day cume: $3.8 / Wk 1
8). Bears (DIS), 1,720 theaters (-0) / 1.2 million Fri. / $1.1 million Saturday (-5%)/ 3-day cume: $3.1 million (-35%) / Wk 2
9). Divergent (LGF), 2,066 theaters (-420) / $1 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.3 million (-40%) / $3.6 million Saturday (+40%)/ Total cume: $139M (-36%)/ Wk 6
10). A Haunted House 2 (OPRD), 2,310 theaters (-0) / $930,000 Fri. / $1.2 million Saturday (25%)/ 3-day cume: $2.8 (-69%) / Wk 2
2ND UPDATE: The gals are going to own this weekend, as The Other Woman is emerging solidly as the weekend’s No. 1 film with a $25 million gross. Kudos to Fox’s Emma Watts and Jim Gianopulos for hitting what will be a solid double. The film got a B+ CinemaScore, and it was high time for a movie that women want to see, dragging their mates kicking and screaming. For those guys, should I note that this was a well-rounded cast (you wouldn’t get that sharp, chauvinistic observation from Anita Busch), it is dark in the theaters and if your guy friends see you, it means they too were dragged and can’t hassle you, and that the sister-loving one-handed Game Of Thrones swordsman Jaime Lannister is the male lead? So what if he is brought to heel in his womanizing ways by the three beauties he has been fooling? The same three have done the same thing to Captain America this weekend. Now , if the budget estimates of $40 million on this film are right, the movie’s going to have to have a few more good weekends to pan out, but it certainly will have bragging rights this weekend.
Related: Specialty Box Office Preview
The storyline that interests me here is the battle for second place. Some of the estimates kindly given to me by studios have Captain America: The Winter Soldier playing the bridesmaid role to The Other Woman in its fourth week, but others are giving that runner-up slot to TriStar’s Heaven Is For Real in its second week. That is kind of unreal, if you ask me. This is a comparatively tiny movie that started with a faith-based crowd and has crossed over to a more mainstream audience. Between this and God Is Not Dead, and Noah crossing $300 million globally, it’s a matter of time before Hollywood begins forming faith-based film divisions to serve this hungry audience, and probably pound a growing genre into the ground. For right now, though, the prospect of such films as The Shack, Exodus and Ben-Hur seem pretty enticing. Not sure I am a true believer, though, and at t his point, I’m going to go with the faithless and give the second spot to Captain America. There’s also a battle between Brick Mansions and Rio 2 for the next slot. The latter film is one of the last to star Paul Walker, who died tragically last year. He was an understated actor coming into his own as a leading man, and it wasn’t until after he died that we discovered what a pretty terrific guy he was offscreen. That included him putting up his own money to arrange travel for first responders to areas hit by emergencies. And just as Universal did when it released Fast & Furious 6 on video, Relativity and EuropaCorp are making a donation to Walker’s charity Reach Out Worldwide. Here are the updated weekend numbers:
1). The Other Woman (FOX), 3,204 theaters / $9.3 million Fri / 3-day cume: $25.4 million/ Wk 1
2). Captain America: The Winter Soldier (DIS), 3,620 theaters (-205) / $4.5 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $14 million (-42%) / Total cume: $223 million/ Wk 4
3). Heaven Is For Real (SONY), 2,705 theaters (+288) / $4 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $13.8 million (-39%) / Total cume: $51.9 million /Wk 2
4). Rio 2 (FOX), 3,703 theaters (-272) / $3.3 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $13 million (-41%) / Total cume: $95.5 million / Wk 3
5). Brick Mansions (REL), 2,647 theaters / $3.5 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $8.9 million / Wk 1
6). Transcendence (WB), 3,455 theaters (-0) / $1.3 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.7 million (57-%) / Wk 2
7). The Quiet Ones (LGF), 2,027 theaters / $1.5 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.8 / Wk 1
8). Bears (DIS), 1,720 theaters (-0) / 1.2 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.4 million / Wk 2
9). Divergent (LGF), 2,066 theaters (-420) / $1 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.3 million (-40%) / Total cume: $139M / Wk 6
10). A Haunted House 2 (OPRD), 2,310 theaters (-0) / $930,000 Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.7 (-69%) / Wk 2
PREVIOUS, 12:12 AM PST: Anita Busch is getting a much-needed vacation, and so you’ve got Mike Fleming back at the helm of this weekend’s box office. Now, that is a lot like finally getting your tickets to the Raisin In The Sun revival on Broadway, and sitting down to the announcement, “Denzel Washington has the night off, and tonight the role of Walter Lee will be played by his understudy…” Onward. The weekend belongs to the Fox female-driven comedy The Other Woman, which finally knocks Captain America: The Winter Soldier out of the top slot for the first time in four weeks. It proves the continued viability of Bad Teacher star Cameron Diaz in edgy comedies. And while this is a fairly mundane box office weekend before The Amazing Spider-Man 2 hits, there is a milestone that happens this weekend. Frozen will become the sixth Disney release to reach $400M domestic — fo llowing Marvel’s The Avengers and Iron Man 3, Pixar’s Toy Story 3 and Disney’s Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and The Lion King. This is rarefied territory reached by only 14 other films (not counting those that reached the milestone in re-release).
Related: ‘Frozen’ Is Highest Animated Int’l Grosser Of All Time As Disney Reaches $1B In Record Pace
The other major storyline here is the continued strong performance of the sleeper Heaven Is For Real, which performed strongly during the week, and the expected dropoff of Transcendence, which as I’ve written is a big disappointment. And besides The Other Woman, the new films in the countdown are the Paul Walker starrer Brick Mansions, and the horror film The Quiet Ones in the top 10.
1). The Other Woman (FOX), 3,204 theaters / $9.6 million Fri / 3-day cume: $25.4 million/ Wk 1
2). Captain America: The Winter Soldier (DIS), 3,620 theaters (-205) / $4.4 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $14 million (-42%) / Total cume: $223 million/ Wk 4
3). Heaven Is For Real (SONY), 2,705 theaters (+288) / $4 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $13.8 million (-39%) / Total cume: $51.9 million /Wk 2
4). Rio 2 (FOX), 3,703 theaters (-272) / $3.3 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $13 million (-41%) / Total cume: $95.5 million / Wk 3
5). Brick Mansions (REL), 2,647 theaters / $3.2 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $8.9 million / Wk 1
6). Transcendence (WB), 3,455 theaters (-0) / $1.5 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.7 million (57-%) / Wk 2
7). The Quiet Ones (LGF), 2,027 theaters / $1.5 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.8 / Wk 1
8). Bears (DIS), 1,720 theaters (-0) / 1.3 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.4 million / Wk 2
9). Divergent (LGF), 2,066 theaters (-420) / $1 million Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.3 million (-40%) / Total cume: $139M / Wk 6
10). A Haunted House 2 (OPRD), 2,310 theaters (-0) / $930,000 Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.7 (-69%) / Wk 2
For more estimates listed by title, see box office results here...
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