Weekend Wrap-Up: Fury et al are a Little Calmer than Expected
October 21, 2014
The weekend box office was a little softer than expected, with Fury earning first place, but with much less than some were expecting. I was a little more conservative and I was still off by close to $10 million. The rest of the top five, on the whole, were also not quite as strong as expected, so the overall box office fell 11% from last weekend. However, it was 26% higher than the same weekend last year, which is the much more important figure. 2014 is still behind 2013 by more than $300 million, or 3.6%, at $8.05 billion to $8.36 billion, but if we can close the gap a little bit each week, we can at least make it a respectable race in the end.
Despite having Brad Pitt in the lead and earning 79% positive reviews, Fury only managed $23.70 million during its opening weekend. That's not a terrible opening, but not a good start for a film that cost $80 million to make. Unless the film has long, long legs or is a surprise hit internationally, the studio will struggle to earn back its money.
Gone Girl was pushed into second place with $17.51 million over the weekend for a total of $106.78 million after three weeks of release. It became the 23rd film of the year to reach that milestone, and it won't be the last. In fact, The Equalizer and The Maze Runner are both on pace to get to $100 million, maybe. It could be very close.
The Book of Life was very close behind with $17.01 million. This is a little less than what The Boxtrolls opened with at the end of September. Both films earned similar reviews, so they will likely have similar legs. The Book of Life might benefit a little from Halloween, so that might help it do a little better. However, even if it gets past $60 million, it will still be a disappointing run for a family film at this time of year.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day landed in fourth place with $11.46 million over the weekend for a ten day total of $36.29 million. The film will likely get to $60 million, which will be enough to pay for the entire production budget and a solid chunk of the P&A budget. I think there's someone at Disney trying to figure out how to turn this film into a franchise.
The Best of Me rounded out the top five, just, with $10.00 million, which is the lowest opening for a Nicholas Sparks film in his career. Additionally, the Tomatometer Score remains in the single digits, so its legs will likely be very short.
Dracula Untold led the best of the rest of the sophomore class earning sixth place with $9.99 million. The film fell 58% from its opening weekend, which is on par with expectations, while its running tally rose to $40.83 million. If this were a low-budget horror movie, like Annabelle, then it would be a hit. However, it cost $70 million to make, so the studio have to hope it is a massive hit overseas to break even.
The Judge was next with $7.92 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $26.82 million after two weeks of release. A 40% decline isn't a bad result, but it won't be enough to save the film's domestic run. Addicted fell 54% to just $3.47 million over the weekend to just $12.84 million after two weeks of release.
-Thumbnail.jpg)
Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Dracula Untold, The Equalizer, The Boxtrolls, The Book of Life, The Maze Runner, Fury, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, The Judge, Addicted, Gone Girl, The Best of Me, Annabelle, Brad Pitt, Nicholas Sparks