Limitless Takes a Quiet Box Office Weekend With $19 Million It was a crowded fight for first place this weekend at the North American box office, but the new Bradley Cooper flick Limitless surged ahead of holdovers Rango, Battle: Los Angeles and fellow newcomers The Lincoln Lawyer and Paul to claim the top spot. Despite the heated competition, this weekend proved to be another quiet one as numbers lagged roughly 10% behind the top ten from last year at this time.
Opening on 2,756 screens, Limitless drew a decent $19 million in estimated sales for a solid per-screen average of $6,894. Written and directed by Neil Burger (The Illusionist), Limitless stars Bradley Cooper, Robert DeNiro and Abbie Cornish in a tale of a struggling writer (Cooper) who takes a drug that allows him to use the full potential of his mind. Reviews were mostly positive for the new thriller (64% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes) which marked Burger’s first movie in three years following his indie drama The Lucky Ones starring Tim Robbins. The number one opening for Limitless showed that Bradley Cooper could open a film without being part of an ensemble (Valentine’s Day, The Hangover) and helped cement Relativity Media’s status as an up-and-coming studio since most of their output has been released through other studios since 2005.
Holding tight in second place in its third weekend was Paramount’s 2D animated hit Rango which eased 32% to earn an estimated $15.3 million from 3,843 screens. Its cumulative total since release is now within striking distance of the $100 million mark at an impressive $92.6 million. The Johnny Depp-voiced hit film should cross that mark by next Saturday and could finish its domestic run around the $130-140 million range depending on how it holds during the remainder of its theatrical run. As of last Thursday, the Gore Verbinski-directed film has collected $48 million in overseas sales.
After opening with a big $35.5 million last weekend to lead the box office, Sony’s sci-fi action flick Battle: Los Angeles lost more than half of its battle in its second campaign. Off a sizable 59% from last weekend, the $70 million production earned an estimated $14.6 million this weekend from 3,417 screens to bring its ten day total to $60.6 million. The loud movie is looking to finish its North American run between $80-85 million.
In fourth place was the new Lionsgate legal thriller The Lincoln Lawyer which debuted on 2,707 screens for a $13.4 million estimated take. Starring Matthew McConaughey and Marisa Tomei and based on the best seller by Michael Connelly, Lawyer tells the story of a Los Angeles lawyer who lands the case of his career in the form of a Beverly Hills playboy (Ryan Phillippe) accused of rape. Reviews were the best of the three wide releases of the weekend, earning a solid 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. Lionsgate caught a little bit of flack this past week for selling approximately 190,000 discounted tickets on Groupon and then reporting the sales figures as if those cheap tickets were full-price.
The third wide opener for the weekend, the science-fiction comedy Paul, had a close encounter with mild audience indifference to land in fifth place. Directed by Greg Mottola (Adventureland, Superbad) and starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and featuring the voice of Seth Rogen, the comedy scored decent reviews with critics (71% on Rotten Tomatoes) but didn’t find much love from ticket buyers beyond those who are fans of Pegg, Frost and pop culture reference-riddled jokes. Landing on 2,802 screens, Paul probed an okay $13.2 million in its domestic debut. Overseas, where the film has been playing for approximately a month, the movie has earned $26 million to date.
The remaining top ten films were holdovers from the previous couple of weeks. Warner’s Red Riding Hood collapsed by 48% in its second round to earn $7.2 million from 3,030 screens bringing its ten-day haul to a weak $26 million. The film should finish its run near the $40 million mark. Seventh place went to Universal’s The Adjustment Bureau which also dropped by nearly half (49%) to collect an estimated $5.9 million for a $49 million total thus far. Watch for the Matt Damon film to wind down its domestic run near or just past $60 million.
After opening to a disastrous $7 million last weekend, Disney’s expensive animated film Mars Needs Moms surprised Hollywood again by having the best hold in the top ten this weekend. While a $5.3 million weekend is hardly the SOS the studio was looking for, the fact that it dropped so little without any additional advertising or new screens may indicate that word of mouth may be good. Next weekend will be the tell-tale sign as to whether the film is catching on or just caught a sophomore session lucky break. After ten days, the $150 million production has earned around 10 percent of that with $15.2 million.
Rounding out the top ten were CBS Films’ Beastly with $3.2 million from 1,810 screens and a three week take of $22 million. Warner/New Line’s Hall Pass brought up the rear in its fourth weekend. On 1,905 screens, the Farrelly Brothers comedy grossed $2.6 million this weekend to elevate its total to $39.5 million.
Next weekend, the latest fantasy flick from 300 director Zach Snyder, Sucker Punch, arrives from Warner Brothers. Also arriving on the scene via 20th Century Fox is the sequel Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules which hopes to rule the adolescent movie going scene.
– Shawn Fitzgerald
