There was a bit of a surprise this weekend at the national box office as the much-anticipated Lionsgate action comedy Kick-Ass did anything but in its debut. If estimates hold, the film will have been narrowly beaten by the four-week old animated hit How to Train Your Dragon for the top spot. Overall, the box office continued its pre-summer siesta.
Following a so-so opening a month ago, Dragon has held on strongly each successive weekend, the benefactor of strong word-of-mouth and, of course, higher-priced tickets for 3D presentations. Off only 20% from last weekend’s haul, the estimated $20 million in weekend sales put the film’s gross at a strong $158.6 million to date with the $200 million milestone still a strong possibility.
Despite being well-received by the majority of the nation’s critics (Roger Ebert aside) and arriving with a healthy marketing campaign, the $19.75 million brought in by Kick-Ass’ 3,065 screen count was lower than many had anticipated. Pundits had speculated that the graphic novel, penned by Wanted scribe Mark Millar, was known well enough outside of fanboy circles to reach a mainstream audience. Apparently, it was not. The hard “R” rating and its cast of unknowns (outside of Nicholas Cage) may have also limited attendance as well. Still, the movie’s $30 million price tag was a relatively cheap one, which was largely recouped by the amount Lionsgate paid for the American distribution rights. Lionsgate might not recoup all of their investment at the box office, but home video and cable should prove more than capable of helping on that end.
A pair of comedies occupied the next two positions. Fox’s Date Night held up quite well in its second weekend to land in third, dropping only 31% from last weekend to court an estimated $17.3 million to bring its ten-day total to $49 million. Look for the Tina Fey and Steve Carell comedy to finish in the $70-80 million mark. In fourth was Neil LaBute’s remake of the 2007 Frank Oz film Death at a Funeral with an estimated $17 million from 2,459 screens. Its $6,913 per screen average was the highest of any film in the top ten this weekend.
Warner’s “Clash of the Titans” commanded $15.7 million to bring its gross to the $133 million mark. Thanks for those higher-priced 3D presentation tickets, Titans still has a very good shot of hitting the $160-165 million domestic mark. In sixth place was the Miley Cyrus drama The Last Song, which added $5.8 million to its total. Off 41%, the $20 million drama has amassed an estimated $50 million to date.
Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too continued its downward spiral by dropping 62% to an estimated $4.1 million and a new to-date haul of $55 million. Showing some decent legs was MGM’s time-travel comedy Hot Tub Time Machine, which fell only 35% to bring gross another $3.5 million. The R-rated John Cusack comedy has teleported a decent $42.5 million to date. The $36 million production should finish near or just past the $50 million mark.
Despite being announced this week for a June 1 home video release (didn’t see that one coming, huh?), Disney’s Alice in Wonderland continued to pull viewers in to place ninth this weekend. Dropping 34% from last weekend, Tim Burton’s blockbuster added $3.5 million to its total which now stands at an impressive $324 million to date. Overseas, the film has pulled in $503 million to date. Dropping a scant 24% (the second smallest drop in the top ten) was the Jennifer Aniston action comedy The Bounty Hunter, which added $3.2 million to its total that now stands at an estimated $60.4 million.
Just outside the top ten, a pair of Fox films added some additional coin to their coffers. Diary of a Wimpy Kid added $2.8 million to its total which now stands at $57.1 million. In the final weekend of its first run, now approaching the five month mark, James Cameron’s Avatar jumped 21% to add another $1 million to its record-breaking domestic total of $745 million to date.
Next week, Disney Nature releases Oceans on April 22 while next Friday sees the arrival of the new Jennifer Lopez comedy The Back Up Plan as well as the Warner Bros action comedy The Losers. Predict what these films might make their opening weekend in our Weekend Box Office Prophet Game.
– Shawn Fitzgerald
