1. The Hunger Games - $61.1M - $251M
2. Wrath of the Titans - $34.2M - $34.2M
3. Mirror Mirror - $19M- $19M
4. 21 Jump Street - $15M - $93M
5. The Lorax - $8M - $189.5M
6. John Carter - $2M - $66.2M
7. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - $1.2M - $3.1M
8. Act of Valor - $1M - $67.7M
9. A Thousand Words - $0.9M - $16.5M
10. Journey 2 - $0.8M - $98.4M
After its stunning debut, to the tune of $152M, The Hunger Games would
be up against the newcomers, Wrath of the Titans and Mirror Mirror. All
three films would impact each other, and while Wrath was arguably the
bigger competition for the top spot, the family angle of Mirror Mirror
couldn't be ignored. Next frame sees the return of the former biggest
film of all time, Titanic, in 3D for its re-release and American
Reunion, the official fourth American Pie movie.
With records well and truly shattered (too many to list, but including
the biggest opening for a non-sequel in history), the Hunger Games got
off to an unprecedented start last frame. The futuristic novel
adaptation finished up with $152M when actual figures were issued last
Monday and continued to play incredibly strong during the week - looking
at one point like it might make it to $200M in six days (it actually
made it in eight, the fourth fastest film to do so). As it entered the
fray on Friday, the flick was up to $189.9M, but with such a huge
opening weekend, were we also to see a record breaking fall, especially
with Wrath of the Titans and Mirror Mirror both vying for business?
First signs that The Hunger Games would make it two for two were once
again from online vendor Fandango, who reported that ticket sales for
the film made up 62% of all its sales - compared to 15% for Wrath and
just 8% for Mirror Mirror.
Its second Friday figure weighed in at $18.8M - a high but expected drop
of 72% on its opening day, and that's with the $19M midnight sneaks
factored in - take those out and the drop is 66% (comparable to The Dark
Knight's second Friday drop). Even by that point, there was no doubt
the film would retain the top spot. Likewise, Saturday was also strong
and by Sunday evening the flick had made $61.1M for the weekend, down
60% on its entire first weekend figure. That $61M is yet another amazing
figure for a film whose performance has already been full of surprises
and it picks up another trophy this frame - fastest non-sequel to $250M,
beating Avatar. Once again, when one compares this 'first' Hunger Games
film to the fourth Twilight picture, it comes out on top - After ten
days Breaking Dawn Part 1 had made $220M, against Hunger's $251M
(Deathly Hallows Pt 2 was up to $273M at this point). At present rate
the picture will surpass Breaking Dawn's $281M finish well before it
leaves the top ten. Overseas The Hunger Games is up to $114M so far, but
should comfortably clear $150M within the next couple of weeks as the
flick continues to expand.
Having opened just two years ago, Clash of the Titans is still
relatively fresh in cinema-goer's minds, and while it was poorly
received, with its post-production conversion to 3D being a particular
sticking point, it would go on to make $163M domestically, with a
staggering $330M on the international market. A sequel was greenlit
while the first film was still in theatres, and while Sam Worthington
would return as lead, his female co-star (played by Gemma Arterton)
would pass, instead to be replaced by a new character, Andromeda,
portrayed by Rosamund Pike. There was change in the director's chair
too, as Louis Leterrier opted to executive produce this time around,
with Battle: Los Angeles helmer Jonathan Liebesman taking the reigns.
While there was initial talk of shooting in 3D, this was ultimately
dismissed, with the studio once again opting to convert to 3D in
post-production (though Liebesman's was keen to point out that lessons
had been learnt on the first film, and that they would avoid the same
issues this time around). As mentioned, Worthington would return as
Perseus, in a story set a decade after the first film. Now a single
father, Perseus finds himself before Zeus (a returning Liam Neeson) who
informs him that people are losing faith in their gods, and thus, the
gods are losing their power - and he fears this will lead to Kronos and
the titans escaping their underworld prison. When Zeus finds himself
double crossed by Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and being used to resurrect
Kronos, Perseus must once again take up his sword and save not only the
gods, but the world itself.
While the 3D may have improved, the reviews did not, and for a short
time Wrath of the Titans found itself with a 0% rating at Rotten
Tomatoes. By the time of its release the flick had managed to score a
number of positive notices but this still left it with a 24% approval
figure, 5% less than what the original managed. With The Hunger Games
opening so strong last weekend, some had speculated that almost everyone
who wanted to see it, would have done so, leaving the way somewhat
clear for Wrath to take the top spot. However, that seemed almost out of
the question before the film had even had its first full day on general
release. After scoring only $1M from midnight sneaks, Wrath found
itself in second place with a full Friday haul of $12M, less than half
of what the first film made on its opening day. The news didn't improve
over the remainder of the weekend, with the film taking a kicking not
only from The Hunger Games but Mirror Mirror as well. Wrath of the
Titans finished up Sunday with $34.2M, again, a figure that's only
around half of what the original picture made in the same time frame.
While this isn't a total disaster, it isn't far off either as word of
mouth won't help it next frame. It's certainly not the start the studio
would have been hoping for and they'll already be looking to those
international figures to help the film out. This marks another
disappointment for Sam Worthington, who saw Man on a Ledge limp to only
$18M a few weeks ago (with two other films, Last Night and Texas Killing
Fields barely receiving a release, making less than $150K between
them).
Mirror Mirror is the first of two new takes on the Snow White fairy tale
that will grace theatres this year (the second being the action
orientated Snow White and The Huntsman with Kristen Stewart, Charlize
Theron and Chris Hemsworth). The picture follows a similar plot to the
Grimm fairy tale (and consequently the Disney feature) and sees an evil
witch plot and scheme to take the throne from its rightful heir - the
orphaned Snow White. When the prince, upon whom the now queen has
designs, falls for Snow White, she is banished to the forest. All alone,
Snow White is saved from a man-eating beast by a group of seven dwarves
(who this time around are highway men), and with their help becomes
determined to take back her realm. Director Tarsem, who began work on
the film while his previous release, Immortals, was still in
post-production, cast Julie Roberts in the role of the evil queen, with
the Social Network's Armie Hammer as the prince and Lily Collins
(daughter of singer, Phil) as Snow White. The director described the
film as sickeningly kiddie, and while the first trailer was well up to
the helmer's visual standard, its actual content left a lot to be
desired. This wasn't helped when the trailer for Snow White and The
Huntsman appeared and showed a much darker, more action packed side to
the story.
Reviews were stronger than Wrath of the Titans but still left the film
as 'rotten', with 50% of critics finding something to like about it.
With the trailers keen to play up the childishness of the film,
distributor Relativity Media hoped to steal some of The Lorax's market
while playing as the alternative choice to teen-25 year old centric
Hunger Games and Wrath - especially with an $85M budget attached. Out
the gate on Friday the film managed a third place finish with a very
subdued $5.9M - only a million or so better than the three-week old 21
Jump Street. Fortunately, thanks to that family angle, the movie gained
some ground on Saturday and into Sunday, leaving it with a slightly
more respectable three day total of $19M. While this still isn't great,
it may see a better hold next frame than Wrath, especially if word of
mouth picks up. It will also continue to benefit from limited
competition for the family market. Mirror Mirror opened earlier on the
international market and has so far made $11M.
With competition from Mirror Mirror, not to mention time itself (the
film is now in its fourth frame), The Lorax dipped 39% this weekend,
adding $8M in the process. Made for only $70M, the Dr.Seuss adaptation
should top out around $215M domestically, with an equally strong
overseas figure likely, once expansion gets underway (it currently has a
$21M total from a handful of locations).
Having ridden The Hunger Games wave well last weekend, 21 Jump Street
found itself down just 27%, in this, its third frame on general release.
The Hill/Tatum comedy re-imagining is working on some great word of
mouth (plus a badge of honour R-rating) and that helped it add another
$15M this weekend, to give it a running total of $93M. While American
Reunion will take the wind out of its sales next weekend, 21 Jump Street
should be north of $100M by that point.
With Wrath hijacking a number of its remaining 3D locations (and its
demographic), John Carter could muster just $2M this frame. While its
domestic performance is all but done at this point, the flick continues
to play well overseas and that has helped it cross the $250M barrier in
total global ticket sales (which is incidentally what Disney claimed the
film cost to produce - though costs to profit technically don't break
down that way). Carter has so far made $66M in North America, with a
further $188M abroad.
A surprise entry into the top ten, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a
romantic comedy drama starring Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt and is
based on the successful novel by Paul Torday. It sees McGregor as Fred
Jones, a fisheries expert, who is asked by Blunt's Harriet
Chetwode-Talbot as whether it would be possible to fish for salmon in
the Yemen. Thinking the idea ridiculous, Jones ends up on a good will
mission in an attempt to make it a reality (albeit a potentially
disastrous one), ultimately finding love (and conflict) with Harriet and
her life. The film was directed by Lasse Hallstrom and was actually
released in a limited capacity four weeks ago. Up until Friday, it had
made $1.8M but an expansion into a still limited 483 locations helped
the film secure a top ten spot (the advantage one assumes, of being an
above average film in a somewhat tired chart - see also October Baby and
Casa de Mi Padre). Salmon Fishing in the Yemen has a total so far of
$3.1M. With further expansion in a quiet market, the film may yet see
another top ten placing.
Again, the rest of the top ten is made up of hanger-ons. Act Of Valor is
now its sixth frame of release and has managed to surprise more than a
few analysts who wrote it off after its first weekend. With its screen
count now slashed to just above a thousand, the film made $1M this
frame, but given it was in profit after its first weekend, its unlikely
anyone will be too concerned. With just two new entries next frame, it
may yet see one more weekend in the top ten.
Thanks to the lack of new releases, A Thousand Words also gets another
shot in the top ten, but Paramount have already begun the film's exit
from theatres, perhaps hoping to make a few more dollars from a quick
home release. Made for $40M, A Thousand Words has a running total of
$16.5M.
Journey 2 snatches a last minute top ten placing, adding $835K this
frame. The family action flick sits just a million and half dollars shy
of $100M.
In a limited release of five locations, the controversial documentary
Bully managed $115K. After losing an appeal with the MPAA, despite a
300,000 signature petition to reduce the rating from an R to a PG-13
(and thus allow more teenagers to see it and enable the film to be
screened in schools) the Weinstein company opted to release the film
without a rating. Despite this, theatre chain Regal claimed they would
show the film without a rating, but treat it as an R rated picture
(Generally unrated films are refused screenings from the main theatre
chains). In Canada, which has a separate ratings board, the doc received
a PG certificate.
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