Box Office Update

[Wang Chung]

This weekend, superhero love kept Iron Man 3 in the number one spot for a second weekend in a row while the lavish period saga The Great Gatsby overperformed in second place offering effective counter-programming. It was the first time in nearly a year that two films did over $50M in business over the same frame.

Audiences still came out in droves for Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man 3 which fell an understandable 58% in its second frame to an estimated $72.5M holding steady at number one. That brought the amazing cume to a stunning $284.9M for Disney. The decline was not as good as the 50% of The Avengers from last year, however it was about even with the 59% of Iron Man 2 from 2010. Those sophomore weekends were $103.1M and $52M, respectively so the Mandarin pic's gross fell right in the middle. For a super hero threequel coming off a gargantuan opening weekend, it was a good hold. The average was a terrific $17,040 from 4,253 sites.

Iron Man 3 is now just days away from joining the list of All-Time Domestic Blockbusters and could be on course to finish in the neighborhood of $425M. Overseas, Iron Man brought in another hefty sum collecting an estimated $89.3M in its third round to raise the international total to $664.1M and the worldwide haul to an eye-popping $949M. Compared to Avengers which had mostly the same release pattern a year ago, the Marvel sequel now stands 6% ahead in overseas grosses but 5% behind in global sales thanks to the domestic difference. Avengers broke the billion dollar mark at the end of its third frame, but the fact that Iron Man 3 is in the same vicinity at all is nothing short of amazing since the super hero assembly went on to become the third highest-grossing blockbuster in history. Leading the way for Iron Man 3 overseas is still China with $95.3M followed by Korea's $54.1M, and the United Kingdom's $48.3M.

Opening with spectacular results in second place was the lavish 1920s-set saga The Great Gatsby with an estimated $51.1M from 3,535 theaters for a sizzling $14,460 average, beating industry expectations in the process. Based on the classic American novel, the PG-13 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, and Carey Mulligan played as effective female-skewing counter-programming to the male-skewing Iron Man sequel. Studio research showed that the Gatsby audience was 59% female and 69% over the age of 25. Reviews were mixed with many top critics panning it, however moviegoers came out for the brand, the starpower, and the style. Plus music from executive producer Jay Z and other current artists helped to broaden the appeal.

Michael Bay's pet project Pain & Gain followed with an estimated $5M in its third round dipping 33%. Paramount has collected $41.6M thus far.

Audiences showed that if Tyler Perry isn't writing and/or directing, they're not interested. The new comedy Peeples, which the media mogul produced, was met with empty theaters nationwide opening to only $4.9M from 2,041 locations for a dismal $2,376 average. For Perry's directorial efforts, opening weekends reach a minimum of $15M from the same level of theaters and has even reached beyond $30M on more than one occasion. The weekend estimate includes a Sunday figure that is up from Saturday as Lionsgate is hoping for a Mother's Day boost. A Meet the Parents-style flick but with a black cast instead of white, Peeples aggressively used "Tyler Perry Presents" in its marketing in an effort to tap into the filmmaker's large and loyal fan base, but ticket buyers were not fooled. Reviews were generally negative and the B- CinemaScore means word of mouth is lukewarm so don't look for legs here.

The period baseball flick 42 dipped 23% to an estimated $4.7M for Warner Bros. pushing the sum up to $84.7M. Next up was Tom Cruise's sc-fi pic Oblivion with an estimated $3.9M, down 31%, and a cume of $81.7M for Universal.

Dropping a mere 14% to an estimated $3.6M was the animated hit The Croods which has given Fox a robust $173.2M to date. Lionsgate's recent flop The Big Wedding grossed an estimated $2.5M, down 36%, for a weak $18.3M cume to date.

The Matthew McConaughey-Reese Witherspoon indie drama Mud expanded from to 854 theaters and held up well with an estimated $2.3M this weekend, up 8%. Rounding out the top ten was Disney's Oz the Great and Powerful which dropped 62% to an estimated $802,000 lifting the stellar total to $230M.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $151.2M which was down 5% from last year when The Avengers remained at number one with $103.1M; but up 19% from 2011 when Thor stayed in the top spot with $34.7M.

Iron Man 3 $72.5M
The Great Gatsby $51.1M
Pain & Gain $5.0M
Peeples $4.8M
42 $4.6M
Oblivion $3.9M
The Croods $3.6M
The Big Wedding $2.5M
Mud $2.3M
Oz the Great and Powerful $0.8M

No real shock here. Lets see how things go with Star Trek coming out this weekend and see how all the money plays out.

 

[Wang Chung]

Vulcans and their comrades came out to power the sci-fi sequel Star Trek Into Darkness into the number one spot at the North American box office, however grosses were substantially below industry expectations across the board. The Paramount franchise film had an extended release and grossed $70.6M over the Friday-to-Sunday period with a total of $84.1M since its start on Wednesday night in IMAX locations making for a debut that was smaller than its 2009 predecessor's.

The studio chose to make the highly anticipated 3D tentpole available to fans earlier via premium large-format screens. The release kicked off on Wednesday with about $2M in ticket sales from 336 higher-priced IMAX 3D screens with shows starting at 8:00pm. Thursday was the official full opening day with $11.5M in business. The figure was not too impressive, however the release date was changed very late in the game from Friday so not all moviegoers knew about the earlier debut. Friday jumped 91% to $22.1M, Saturday climbed another 25% to $27.5M and Sunday was estimated to drop 24% to $21M. Over the Friday-to-Sunday period, the new Trek averaged $18,241 from 3,868 locations.

Four years ago, Star Trek opened in a slightly different format. It was slotted into the second weekend of May with a Friday release kicking off with Thursday night shows in all theaters starting at 7:00pm. It had an IMAX release in 138 locations, but was all 2D. Its opening was $75.2M over the three-day period and $79.2M including $4M from Thursday night shows. Add in that film's Monday gross to make a similar 4.5-day start, and its $86.7M was bigger than the $84.1M of Darkness despite the new chapter having higher 2D ticket prices plus 3D surcharges plus 200 additional IMAX screens.

Studio research showed that the audience was 64% male and 73% 25 and older. A very high 16% of the gross ($13.5M) came from IMAX indicating that fans were willing to pay extra in this case given that about 30 minutes of the film were shot with those special cameras making for a premium experience. Overall, 45% of the gross came from 3D screens including IMAX.

The underperforming numbers of Into Darkness were downright baffling. Paramount made a good product and picked a fine time to release it giving it two weeks distance from the summer's other action tentpole Iron Man 3. Reviews were mostly positive (more than good enough for a sci-fi sequel) and audiences also liked the film with opening day ticket buyers giving an A grade from CinemaScore. The marketing push was strong and normal for May action tentpoles. 2009's Star Trek not only opened well, it also had solid legs with 70% of its domestic business coming after the first weekend. Sequels to leggy blockbusters like these usually open bigger, especially if 3D is added in.

Before the film's release, Paramount openly predicted a $100M opening through Sunday. Studios routinely low-ball these forecasts so the final numbers end up looking like they are above expectations. So the performance was probably much lower than what the studio internally believed was likely.

If internal factors were not to blame, it may have been external ones that were in play - namely competition and erosion of audience interest. Competition that the two Trek movies faced was almost identical, although allocated differently. The rest of the Top 15 films this weekend grossed $77M which was 10% more than the $70M that 2009's Trek faced. Factor in four years of ticket price increases and the same number of people saw competing movies each time.

But what was in fact different was how much the second and third place films dominated the rest of the marketplace while all other movies made chump change. In both years, the runnerup pic was a superhero flick (Iron Man 3 and 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and the third place film was a female-skewing pic (The Great Gatsby and 2009's Ghosts of Girlfriends Past). This year's duo grossed a stellar $58.6M, up a whopping 60% from 2009's $36.7M. This weekend's two holdovers were an awesome twosome that combined for the highest gross in box office history for the second and third place movies on the critical third weekend of May and they may have taken away some of Trek's potential audience.

Darkness also came out four years after the Star Trek reboot and some fans, especially those who are not die-hard ones, may have lost interest in the franchise during that gap. The first nine Star Trek films spanned two decades and never had a gap this big. 2002's Nemesis came out after a four-year void, ended up as the lowest-grossing film in series history, and was credited with killing the franchise. Until J.J. Abrams rebooted it six and a half years later.

Most franchises in recent years have not taken that much time off in between installments including Twilight, Harry Potter, Iron Man, Transformers, and the Star Wars prequels. Even newer ones like Hobbit and Hunger Games have told fans that they will get a new chapter every year. Last year, however, there were a pair of films that came out exactly four years after their last installments and opened bigger without even needing 3D - The Dark Knight Rises and Skyfall. Both were threequels to a reboot and followed sequels that were also very successful so audiences were more hooked to the brands. The love shown for 2009's Star Trek could have been somewhat of an anomaly. It certainly brought in a broader more mainstream crowd, but many may have lost the excitement this time around especially with popular alternative options from Mr. Stark and Mr. Gatsby out there right now.

This is not the first time this year that Paramount has found itself in this situation. March's G.I. Joe: Retaliation was the follow-up to the studio's summer 2009 hit The Rise of Cobra and also had a 3D upgrade and a shift in opening day from Friday to Thursday with Wednesday night previews. The new pic (with added starpower) opened to $51M over 4.5 days which did not match up to the $54.7M three-day opening of the 2D Cobra. The sequel is on track to end with $122M, short of the first film's $150.2M, but is seeing much better numbers from overseas markets.

The road ahead will be tricky for Into Darkness. It is well-liked for the most part and it has the Memorial Day holiday weekend on its second frame. But the core adult male audience will be tempted away with two more big sequels opening at the end of this week - Fast & Furious 6 and The Hangover Part III. Also sci-fi sequels tend to draw the bulk of their audiences upfront, even if word-of-mouth is very good.

Overall, Into Darkness is not likely to match the $257.7M final domestic gross of the last Star Trek. However, it still has a shot at $200M if it can hold up relatively well next weekend. Budgeted at $190M, the Kirk-and-Spock sequel will definitely see substantial growth on the international side as several key overseas markets have become much more lucrative since 2009.

This weekend, the new Trek launched in 33 international markets and grossed an estimated $40M from those plus seven holdover territories that bowed last week. Cume outside of North America is $80.5M with the global gross at $164.6M. Russia led the new markets with $8M (quadruple the opening of the last Trek) while the U.K. led the holdovers with a $5.9M weekend and $24M total. Half of the international marketplace has yet to open so plenty of potential is ahead with debuts scheduled in China (May 28), Korea (May 30), France (June 12), Italy (June 13), Brazil (June 14), Spain (July 5) and Japan (August 23).

Dropping a notch down to second place was two-time chart-topper Iron Man 3 which pulled in an estimated $35.2M in its third weekend of release. The Disney title declined by 52% which was not bad considering it had such direct competition to face with Trek's launch playing to the same adult male action crowd. Marvel's hit 3D threequel has now soared to a domestic cume of $337.1M putting it at number 25 on the list of All-Time Domestic Blockbusters and passing the $336.5M of 2007's Spider-Man 3. Iron Man 3 is still on a trajectory to break the $400M mark.

Overseas, the latest Tony Stark smash remained a key contender collecting an estimated $40.2M, although sales dropped by more than half from last weekend. Iron Man 3's international total climbed to $736.2M propelling the global gross to a towering $1.07 billion on its way to about $1.3 billion. Currently, it sits at number nine among all-time worldwide hits.

The lavish Leonardo DiCaprio drama The Great Gatsby enjoyed another big weekend grossing an estimated $23.4M in third place. The 53% decline was quite respectable considering the weak word-of-mouth, negative reviews, and huge upfront turnout last weekend. After ten days, the Baz Luhrmann film has raked in $90.2M driven by adult women and is already the studio's top-grossing film this year. No third place film has ever grossed this much money on the third weekend of May and Gatsby's success may have chipped away at some of Star Trek's potential. DiCaprio hardly ever does sexy heartthrob roles any more so this rare turn is pulling in audiences despite mixed buzz on the quality of the picture.

Following its debut on Wednesday as the opening night film of the Cannes Film Festival, The Great Gatsby rolled out across international markets and grossed a strong $42.1M from nearly 8,400 screens in 49 territories. Leading the way was Russia with $6.2M followed closely by the U.K. with $6.1M. Major markets still to come include the director's Australia (May 30), Mexico (May 31), Brazil (June 7), and Japan (June 14).

The rest of the top ten was filled with leftovers that attracted small crowds with each grossing in the rough range of $1-3M. Paramount's Pain & Gain dropped 38% to an estimated $3.1M for a cume to date of $46.6M. In its ninth weekend of being the only toon game in town, The Croods slipped only 24% to an estimated $2.8M boosting Fox's total to a robust $176.8M. The cavepeople comedy will finally face competition next weekend with the studio's own release of the animated adventure Epic.

The baseball drama 42 followed with an estimated $2.7M, off 41%, giving Warner Bros. a solid $88.7M. Universal's sci-fi offering Oblivion fell 47% to an estimated $2.2M giving the Tom Cruise film $85.5M so far domestically. International sales are now up to $173M putting the global gross at $258.5M.

Adding some more screens in its fourth weekend was the indie hit Mud which grossed an estimated $2.16M sliding only 15%. Roadside Attractions has collected $11.6M with the rural tale on its way to the vicinity of $20M. The Tyler Perry-produced flop Peeples tumbled 53% in its sophomore round to an estimated $2.15M and a weak $7.9M to date. Rounding out the top ten was another Lionsgate release The Big Wedding with an estimated $1.1M, down 56%, for a $20.2M cume.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $145.3M which was up 9% from last year when The Avengers remained at number one with $55.6M; but down 7% from 2011 when Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opened in the top spot with $90.2M.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N Star Trek Into Darkness Par. $70,555,000 - 3,868 - $18,241 $84,091,000 $190 1
2 1 Iron Man 3 BV $35,182,000 -51.5% 4,237 -16 $8,304 $337,073,000 $200 3
3 2 The Great Gatsby (2013) WB $23,415,000 -53.2% 3,550 +15 $6,596 $90,159,000 $105 2
4 3 Pain and Gain Par. $3,100,000 -38.0% 2,429 -874 $1,276 $46,574,000 $26 4
5 7 The Croods Fox $2,750,000 -23.8% 2,373 -277 $1,159 $176,750,000 $135 9
6 5 42 WB $2,730,000 -40.5% 2,380 -550 $1,147 $88,735,000 $40 6
7 6 Oblivion Uni. $2,222,000 -46.0% 2,077 -693 $1,070 $85,500,000 $120 5
8 8 Mud RAtt. $2,160,000 -14.9% 960 +108 $2,250 $11,588,000 - 4
9 4 Tyler Perry Presents Peeples LGF $2,150,000 -53.4% 2,041 - $1,053 $7,858,000 $15 2
10 9 The Big Wedding LGF $1,100,000 -55.8% 1,443 -855 $762 $20,198,000 $35 4

I figured Star Trek would take number one but how long will it keep it is the question with Fast 6 and Epic next weekend.

 

[Postman Dave]

FYI, here's the stats on Rocky's box office series so far this year.

- The Rock has been in three movie releases thus far in 2013. Here is a breakdown of how his films have performed at the worldwide box office…

G.I. Joe: Retaliation: $358.3 million - BUDGET: {$130 million}
Pain and Gain: $46,574,000 - BUDGET: {$26 million}
Snitch: $42,828,000 - BUDGET: {n/a}

It should be noted that studio recoups 55% of a film's grosses on average, meaning it needs to approximately double its budget to be profitable during its theatrical run.

Fast and Furious 6, which also features the Rock, will debut in North America on May 24th.

Notable is Pain & Gain is yet to debut internationally, so still has time to become profitable. Rock's gonna be a made man in 2013 the way things are going.

 

[Wang Chung]

FYI, here's the stats on Rocky's box office series so far this year.



Notable is Pain & Gain is yet to debut internationally, so still has time to become profitable. Rock's gonna be a made man in 2013 the way things are going.

This makes me wonder how his contracts are set up to. Does he get a flat amount or does he get a flat amount with a back loaded contract based on how the film does, because honestly with fast 6 coming out he could make some serious bank.

Sent From My Awesome EVO 3-D.

 

[Fuji Vice]

This makes me wonder how his contracts are set up to. Does he get a flat amount or does he get a flat amount with a back loaded contract based on how the film does, because honestly with fast 6 coming out he could make some serious bank.

Sent From My Awesome EVO 3-D.

I doubt he's getting points on his contract, probably just a flat fee for starring in the films. Very few people actually get back loaded contracts in Hollywood...why would the studio be willing to part with potentially way more money if they don't have to? Also, only the big draw usually has the clout to demand points, and in the case of Fast 6 that would be Diesel. Of all the movies that he's been in this year, the only one I could potentially see him getting points from is G.I. Joe: Retaliation, but again, I doubt he did.

With that being said, if his movies continue to make money there's no way he won't be getting back loaded contracts in the future. Hell, he may even get a restructured one for his Hercules movie.

 

[Wang Chung]

I doubt he's getting points on his contract, probably just a flat fee for starring in the films. Very few people actually get back loaded contracts in Hollywood...why would the studio be willing to part with potentially way more money if they don't have to? Also, only the big draw usually has the clout to demand points, and in the case of Fast 6 that would be Diesel. Of all the movies that he's been in this year, the only one I could potentially see him getting points from is G.I. Joe: Retaliation, but again, I doubt he did.

With that being said, if his movies continue to make money there's no way he won't be getting back loaded contracts in the future. Hell, he may even get a restructured one for his Hercules movie.

Or even a few for the other films he just signed on to do like GI Joe 3 or the Luke cage role for marvel. Right now he is a bankable commodity in the film industry. Sort of like Arnold and Sly were in the 80's. Speaking of which Arnnie just signed on for a remake of The Toxic Avenger.

Sent From My Awesome EVO 3-D.

 

[The Viper]

The Top Box Office results for the weekend of May 26th, 2013

Fast & Furious 6 - Universal - $98.5M
Hangover 3, The - Warner Bros. - $42.4M
Star Trek Into Darkness - Paramount - $38.0M
Epic - 20th Century Fox - $34.2M
Iron Man 3 - Disney - $19.4M
Great Gatsby, The - Warner Bros. - $13.7M
Mud - Roadside Attractions - $1.9M
42 - Warner Bros. - $1.2M
Croods, The - 20th Century Fox - $1.2M
Oblivion - Universal - $0.8M
Oz The Great and Powerful - Disney - $0.6M
Pain And Gain - Paramount - $0.6M

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/26/5449526/rentrak-announces-worldwide-box.html#storylink=cpy

My apologies if it's not as in-depth as some of the posts in here but I'm not exactly sure yet where to get a good article on the box office results, so bare with me.

Back to the results. 98.5 million....Jesus Christ. Not that I'm shocked, but sweet lord. It made over $40 mill in it's first day. First DAY. I'm not sure how much Fast Five made in it's first day/weekend but I'd like to think it isn't even close to this. With these numbers, I wouldn't be surprised if the franchise goes to "Fast Ten".

 

[Fuji Vice]

The last movie made $86 million and change on its first weekend so its about a $12 million jump but the holiday release in the US is probably another reason it did so well. Profits are up across the board though, the top 5 movies this week made almost 29% more money than last years did.

 

[Wang Chung]

Moviegoers gorged themselves on high-profile sequels powering the North American box office to a record-breaking Memorial Day frame with the top ten films grossing over $250M during just the Friday-to-Sunday portion of the long weekend. The marketplace expanded to incredible levels making for one of the five biggest overall box office weekends ever.

The busy frame was led by the high-octane opening of the action smash Fast & Furious 6 which generated the best debut in its 12-year franchise history with an estimated $98.5M over the three-day portion of the holiday frame. Starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Dwayne Johnson, the latest PG-13 installment averaged a muscular $26,927 from 3,658 theaters with no help from any 3D gimmickry. Universal is projecting an eye-popping four-day holiday opening of $122M.

Since Diesel's return to the popular series with 2009's Fast & Furious (the fourth pic), the opening weekends and final grosses have risen sharply with every new chapter. Producers know to add something new each time to keep customers interested. Instead of franchise fatigue, audiences have become even more excited and international audiences have been contributing more and more. The last film, Fast Five from April 2011, opened to $86.2M on its way to a $209.8M domestic final and $629M worldwide total - all franchise highs. Part 6 is now looking to beat all of those marks. The well-liked Five's good will is paying dividends now.

Three of the four biggest opening weekends in company history for Universal are from the last three Fast installments. So not only is this a critical franchise for the studio, it's also one that is still growing bigger which bodes well for the years to come.

From day one in June 2001, the series has invested in ethnically diverse casts which has broadened the consumer base. Sales from urban youth have always been key. And appeal has been strong with women too. This weekend's audience breakdown showed a 49% female crowd which is incredibly high for a macho action sequel. 57% were age 25 or older and 32% were Latino. Reviews were generally good and the CinemaScore grade for the $160M budgeted film was a solid A. The ending of the sixquel even sets up the new cast addition for part 7 which is already slated to open on July 11 next summer.

Overseas, Furious grossed a whopping $158M this weekend from 59 markets upping the cume to $177M including the U.K. which opened strong a week earlier. Worldwide is $275.5M and rising rapidly with many new franchise records being set. Australia is still to open in June followed by China and Japan in July. By the end of this week, the franchise six-pack will race past the $2 billion cumulative mark.

Suffering the opposite franchise trajectory was The Hangover Part III which opened in second place with an estimated $42.5M over the Friday-to-Sunday period which was half of what its predecessor did over the same holiday weekend two years ago. Both sequels opened on the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend although III was moved from a Friday release just recently so not all fans knew it was available earlier. The new chapter grossed $54.2M from Thursday-to-Sunday, down 54% from II. Though a huge commercial blockbuster, the second part was widely criticized by audiences as being a lazy copy of the first film's plot and that prompted many to lose interest in a third entry.

Over three days, the Hangover finale averaged $11,931 from 3,555 locations. Part II was powered by the good will of the first Hangover pic from the summer of 2009 and bowed to a stellar $135M over five days. Part III may not even reach that amount by the end of its run. The 2011 film went on its way to $254.5M domestically and $581.5M worldwide. Reviews were once again negative on the latest sequel and audiences gave a lukewarm B grade from CinemaScore. Overseas, Part III opened at number one in three markets - the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand - grossing $19.2M. Unlike domestic, most international markets will get a one week gap between the Hangover and Furious sequels with over 50 territories launching Part III next weekend.

Star Trek Into Darkness fell from its number one spot but held up well in its sophomore frame given the intense competition. The Friday-to-Sunday gross dropped 46% to an estimated $38M pushing the cume up to $146.8M. After opening below expectations, the Paramount release is benefiting from good word-of-mouth with a decline that was commendable for a sci-fi sequel. The domestic gross now has a chance of ending up in the vicinity of $225M (helped by 3D) which would be not far from the $257.7M of its predecessor. International rose to $102.1M and the worldwide take stands at $248.9M with major markets China and Korea to open next weekend. Those are the two highest-grossing overseas markets for another effects-heavy May actioner, Iron Man 3.

The animated adventure Epic did not fail and scored with family audiences opening to an estimated $34.2M from 3,882 theaters for a $8,810 average. The PG-rated film had young kids all to itself and is expected to pull in about $44M over the four-day holiday span. Studios have not been serving up enough options for families this year as Epic is the first animated film since March's The Croods which is now in its tenth weekend of release, and still in the top ten. Both were released by Fox. Reviews were generally good for the leaf people pic and the A CinemaScore grade bodes well for the road ahead especially since the next kidpic doesn't arrive until June 21 with Pixar's Monsters University. Epic opened in 20 new international markets this weekend with $23.1M lifting the overseas cume to $44M and the early global take to $78.2M with 26 additional territories launching next weekend.

Dropping 46% to fifth place was the year's biggest hit Iron Man 3 which pulled in an estimated $19.4M in its fourth weekend. The Marvel smash upped its cume to $367.5M putting it at number 22 on the list of All-Time Domestic Blockbusters right behind the $373.4M of 2004's Spider-Man 2. Disney's megahit is now the fifth biggest global blockbuster of all-time with a jaw-dropping $1.14 billion, 68% from international markets.

Leonardo DiCaprio scored the eighth $100M blockbuster of his career with The Great Gatsby which ranked sixth. The Warner Bros. pic grossed an estimated $13.7M, down 43%, giving the lavish film a solid $114.4M to date. Despite weak reviews and a lackluster audience score, Gatsby has been holding up well against all the competition in part due to an audience of mature women not as interested in the other major offerings. The global gross hit $200M this weekend.

The rest of the top ten featured films taking in small morsels. Indie hit Mud eased just 14% to an estimated $1.9M while losing some screens. The Roadside Attractions release has grossed $14.5M to date. Warner Bros. saw its baseball hit 42 take in an estimated $1.2M, off 56%, for a $91M cume.

With families flocking to a new toon, The Croods tumbled 60% to an estimated $1.2M making for a total of $179.6M for Fox. The Tom Cruise sci-fi drama Oblivion took in an estimated $815,000, down 65%, with a total tally of $87.3M for Universal. Worldwide sums are $565.6M and $266.8M, respectively.

The Ethan Hawke-Julie Delpy indie drama Before Midnight platformed to sensational results thanks to a built-in audience and stellar reviews. Sony Classics opened the pic in New York, Los Angeles, and Austin and grossed an estimated $274,000 from only five locations for a sizzling $54,800 average. Midnight expands out to about 30 total theaters next weekend.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $251.4M over the Friday-to-Sunday span which was up a stunning 90% from last year when Men in Black 3 opened at number one with $54.6M; and up 18% from 2011's record holiday when The Hangover Part II debuted in the top spot with $85.9M.

Here is the whole article.


The only film I saw was Epic and it wasn't to bad of a film. Looks like I have a lot of movie watching to get caught up on.

 

[Lover Boy]

Fast and Furious 6 is amazing, I can see why it grossed so much.

 

[Fuji Vice]

Fast and Furious 6 is amazing, I can see why it grossed so much.

Actually, the gross this weekend has little to do with the quality of the film. Universal has marketed and milked the concept so well it's virtually impossible for it not to do huge business even if it sucks ass.

My favourite part of that article was this line in regards to The Hangover series..

Though a huge commercial blockbuster, the second part was widely criticized by audiences as being a lazy copy of the first film's plot and that prompted many to lose interest in a third entry.

As if the writers had a hope in hell of making the second one an original movie, the concept doesn't lend itself to that. I'm willing to bet the third one is just more of the same as well, but I won't be watching it since I thought the original was one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

Glad to see Star Trek Into Darkness hanging on and even grossing more than Epic, something I didn't expect to happen.

 

[Postman Dave]

Damn, I'm missing so many big hitters right now.

 

[The Viper]

The action sequel Fast & Furious 6 held onto the top spot at the North American box office despite decelerating sharply and facing off against competition from a pair of new releases. But it was Will Smith who crashed and burned as his big-budget sci-fi action pic After Earth was rejected by paying moviegoers proving that the once-bulletproof star is no longer invincible. In fact, it was beaten out for the number two spot by the magician heist thriller Now You See Me which posted a strong debut beating expectations.

Six movies in and the Fast and Furious franchise finally scored its first hit to top the charts over back-to-back weekends. Vin Diesel's latest action entry tumbled by 65% to an estimated $34.5M in its sophomore frame which was enough to beat all rivals. After ten days, the Universal hit has grossed a stellar $170.4M, up 22% compared to the pace of its 2011 predecessor Fast Five which ranks as the top-grossing installment of the series - for now. That film opened in late April and fell by 62% in its second weekend while the prior chapter, 2009's Fast & Furious, fell by the same rate after its early April launch.

Part 6 should end its domestic run near the $250M mark, a new high for a franchise which has now grossed over $2 billion worldwide across 12 years. And with this new blockbuster, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has now spent a total of 15 consecutive weeks in the top ten dating back to the February 22 release of Snitch followed by G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Pain & Gain, and of course Furious.

Fast & Furious 6 pulled in another $75M from international markets this weekend boosting the overseas cume to $310.2M and the global gross to a stellar $480.6M.

Delivering a surprise number two debut was the magician heist thriller Now You See Me with an estimated $28.1M from 2,925 locations for a sturdy $9,590 average. The PG-13 pic starring Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman played to a broad audience which helped to bring in sales from all sectors, especially those not interested in recycled sequels.

Studio research from Lionsgate showed that females made up 51% of the audience, 52% were under 30, and 52% were non-white. Reviews were mixed but a slick trailer got the crowds in. Now was expected to open closer to the $20M mark and proved that originality can still sell in a brand-dominated summer movie season. The CinemaScore grade was an encouraging A-.

Will Smith suffered the worst summer opening of his career with the big-budget flop After Earth which settled in at number three with an estimated $27M, about half of what the former bulletproof box office star would normally attract for this kind of movie. Panned by critics, and likely setting itself up for multiple Razzies next year, the Sony release averaged $7,939 from 3,401 theaters.

The father-son project starred his son Jaden Smith (who got top billing) and was directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Since hitting it big with The Sixth Sense, the filmmaker has only had one movie open worse - 2006's the Lady in the Water with $18M. With horrible reviews and awful buzz, audiences stayed away from the futuristic action pic. After Earth even fared worse that Smith's Wild Wild West from 1999 which bowed to $27.7M over the three-day portion of a long holiday weekend on its way to $113.8M.

The $130M space ranger pic might top out in the $60-70M domestic range as there are no signs that it will have legs. The B CinemaScore indicates lukewarm word-of-mouth and Shyamalan films routinely collapse in the second weekend. All his films over the past decade had sophomore drops of 59-68%. After Earth's audience was 51% male and 60% over 25. Sony is counting on the effects-heavy pic to score better numbers overseas but there is only so much a weak product can take in.

Enjoying a respectable decline coming off of a holiday session was the animated film Epic which dropped 51% to an estimated $16.4M boosting the total for Fox to $65.2M. Tied with the same amount was Star Trek Into Darkness which fell 56% in its third weekend and raised its cume to a good $181.2M for Paramount.

The comedy sequel The Hangover Part III fell apart again in its third round tumbling 62% to an estimated $15.9M. Warner Bros. has banked $88.1M to date and is running 53% behind the pace of The Hangover Part II from two years ago over the same time period. That film had a similar 64% fall in its sophomore frame which was also coming off of Memorial Day weekend.

2013's biggest smash Iron Man 3 followed with an estimated $8M, off 59%, for a domestic haul of $384.8M. The Disney release has amassed $795.2M overseas pushing the global tally to $1.18 billion. Dropping 54% to an estimated $6.3M was Leonado DiCaprio's The Great Gatsby which has grossed $128.3M to date for Warner Bros.

Fast & Furious 6 - $34,538,000
Now You See Me - $28,050,000
After Earth - $27,000,000
Star Trek Into Darkness - $16,400,000
Epic - $16,400,000
The Hangover Part III - $15,930,000
Iron Man 3 - $8,006,000
The Great Gatsby - $6,265,000
Mud - $1,226,000
The Croods - $615,000

Not shocked at all Fast 6 is still on top. Finally saw it a couple of days ago. Thought it was excellent. I also wanna see "Now You See Me". Looks interesting.

 

[Fuji Vice]

At $1.18 billion worldwide, Iron Man 3 is now the 5th highest grossing film of all time. RDJ is serious box office right now. It also has the top opening of the year at a whopping $174 million. I don't think Man of Steel is going to come close to that and it may be the film with the highest earning potential for the rest of the summer.

No shock at Fast 6 holding on to the top spot but it's nice to see Jaden Smith fail as a top-billed "action" star. That Matthew McConaughey movie Mud is quietly doing well for having little to no advertising. It's made almost $17 million in three weeks, which is very respectable given the big budget competition its faced.

 

[Wang Chung]

Man of Steel Sets June Record

This weekend, Superman was reborn at the box office as the big-budget gamble Man of Steel paid off handsomely with a spectacular opening weekend in North America plus impressive launches overseas in only a portion of the international marketplace. The Warner Bros. summer tentpole grossed an estimated $113.1M domestically, breaking the record for the biggest June opening ever. Adding in $12M from Thursday night group sales led by Walmart's promotion for 7:00pm shows, the total stood at a stellar $125.1M. The Friday-to-Sunday portion for the PG-13 film averaged a muscular $26,879 from 4,207 theaters including 331 IMAX screens. Toy Story 3 held the June record since 2010 with $110.3M.

The 3.5-day performance exceeded the extended seven-day holiday opening of 2006's reboot Superman Returns which amounted to $108.1M during the week leading up to Independence Day. That mega-budgeted film eventually inched its way into the double century club ending with $200.1M but was seen as a creative and commercial disappointment which failed to lead to a new franchise being born. The new reboot may match the last one's gross by the end of next weekend.

Man of Steel was directed by Zack Snyder with Henry Cavill taking on the title role and also featured an Oscar-caliber cast including Russell Crowe, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Michael Shannon and Laurence Fishburne. Christopher Nolan, who successfully rebooted the Batman franchise for the studio, produced Steel and lent much to the box office pull of the film. After getting the origin story out of the way in 2005's Batman Begins, grosses soared even higher for the next two chapters leading to a $2.5 billion global trilogy, so it was crucial for Warner Bros. to relaunch Superman in a way that brought in the masses.

Reviews were mixed but paying audiences gave the super hero flick an encouraging A- grade from CinemaScore. Friday debuted to $44.1M including $9M in midnight shows. Saturday fell an understandable 18% to $36.3M while Sunday was projected to dip by only 10% to $32.7M thanks to the Father's Day holiday. Much of the film's story involves Superman's two dads from Krypton and Earth and how they molded him.

Studio research showed that Man of Steel skewed towards men as expected with 56% being male. But that made for a better female turnout than usual for a comic book pic. Iron Man 3 and Avengers were both 61% male and last summer's Spider-Man reboot played 58% male. The stronger cross-gender appeal could allow it to play well over the coming weeks especially with the Fourth of July holiday around the corner.

3,350 theaters offered a 3D option with those screens accounting for 41% of the gross. With conversions, even for effects-driven action pictures, audiences nowadays typically prefer the original 2D version at regular prices instead. IMAX venues contributed 12% of the total gross with $13.3M and a sturdy average of $40,181 since Thursday night. Tickets cost as much as $21.50 to experience Man of Steel in IMAX 3D in New York City. Massive cross-promotions with brand partners helped to drive in business too for the event film.

The international launch for Man of Steel was also quite strong even though many top markets open later. The weekend saw $71.6M from 24 markets led by the U.K., Mexico, and Korea which were the only majors to open this week. 27 new countries will launch next weekend including key territories like France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia and China so Man of Steel has much more ahead this summer. But so far, the first weekend delivered $196.7M in global sales.

Opening far behind in second place was the new doomsday comedy This is the End with an estimated $20.5M over three days and $32.8M since its launch on Tuesday night with 7:00pm shows. It was a respectable opening for the Sony release especially considering the distraction Clark Kent had over the target audience of young men. Playing in 3,055 locations, the raunchy R-rated comedy starring Seth Rogen, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill and Jay Baruchel averaged $6,710 over the Friday-to-Sunday period. The full gross was below the $41.3M five-day debut of Pineapple Express in August 2008 which was from many of the same team members.

Reviews were very solid for End but the CinemaScore grade was a B+ which is commendable, not glowing. The road ahead features plenty of new action movies which will continue to lure in young men so it will not be easy. But Rogen and company hope that word-of-mouth will help it reach many more moviegoers over the weeks ahead, especially those who want a rowdy laugh and are all actioned out. Studio research showed that the crowd was 60% male and 52% over 25. With a $32M production budget and marketing costs not in the same league as summer tentpoles, the comedy should turn out to be a moneymaker regardless of how it plays overseas.

Holding steady in third place was Lionsgate's heist thriller Now You See Me with an estimated $10.3M, down 46%, for a robust cume to date of $80M. Now the top-grossing installment of the franchise, Universal's Fast & Furious 6 followed with an estimated $9.4M dropping 52% pushing the domestic tally to a muscular $219.6M. Worldwide, it's also the highest-grossing Furious flick with a total now of $636.9M and still growing.

Last week's top film The Purge got beaten down tumbling a frightening 76% to an estimated $8.2M. The micro-budgeted $3M pic has nonetheless raked in a healthy $52M in ten days for Universal. The Fox comedy The Internship fell a troubling 60% in its second weekend to an estimated $7M putting the Vince Vaughn-Owen Wilson pic at a disappointing $31M.

Dropping 50% to an estimated $6M in its fourth round was the animated film Epic which has collected $95.4M to date for Fox. Star Trek Into Darkness followed with an estimated $5.7M, off 51%, for an impressive $210.5M for Paramount.

The summer's most notable flop so far, Will Smith's critically panned father-son sci-fi adventure After Earth, crumbled 65% to an estimated $3.8M for a lousy $54.2M cume to date for the pricey $130M gamble. Flirting with the quadruple century mark, Iron Man 3 rounded out the top ten with an estimated $2.9M in its seventh weekend, down 50%. Disney has grossed $399.6M to date and $1.2 billion globally.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $186.8M which was up a stellar 55% from last year when Madagascar 3 remained at number one with $34.1M; and up 29% from 2011 when Green Lantern debuted in the top spot with $53.2M.

Top Box Office
Man of Steel $116.6M
This Is the End $20.7M
Now You See Me $11.0M
Fast & Furious 6 $9.6M
The Purge $8.3M
The Internship $7.1M
Epic $6.3M
Star Trek Into Darkness $6.3M
After Earth $4.1M
Iron Man 3 $3.0M

Might be seeing Man of Steel tomorrow so I can help it's tally. We will see.