Universal Studios’ The Lorax starring the voices of Danny DeVito, Zac Efron and Taylor Swift dominated the box office during its opening weekend, besting all expectations and predictions for the Dr. Seuss inspired animated film. Warner’s Project X opened to solid numbers in second place. Alongside solid holds by films such as Act of Valor and Safe House, the record-setting business earned in February didn’t show any signs of ceasing in March. Not only did the box office surge 36% over last weekend at this time, it also jumped a healthy 28% over last year at this time.
Opening on what would have been Theodore “Dr. Seuss” Giesel’s 108th birthday, Universal’s 3D animated comedy The Lorax owned the North American box office this weekend thanks to an incredible $70.7 million opening on 3, 729 screens, topping the $56 million Despicable Me opening by director Chris Renaud. It opened with a big $17.4 million on Friday but exploded on Saturday by jumping a huge 80% in sales to an estimated $31.3 million. Sunday’s estimates are predicting that the movie will ease a mere 30% to $22 million.
The Lorax was met with mixed reviews (59% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a small degree of controversy due to its environmental message. As was the case with the feedback of the nation’s critics, the ramblings of conservative journalists were completely ignored as ticket buyers young and old turned out this weekend and came away entertained, bestowing the movie with a solid “A” CinemaScore exit poll rating. The Lorax laid claim to the second highest opening for an animated non-sequel ever, right behind the $74 million opening five years ago for The Simpsons Movie.
The latest “found footage” movie, the raunchy R-rated teen comedy Project X, landed in second place in its debut. The Todd Phillips production earned a good $20.7 million from 3,055 theaters for a decent per screen average of $6,800. The low-budget $12 million production defied the barbs of the nation’s critics (29% on Rotten Tomatoes) and connected with its target audience of late teens and young adults over 20. The title was actually meant as a placeholder until an actual title could be decided upon but stuck as interest in the “secret production” grew.
Easing into third place while losing a mild 44% of its audience was last weekend’s champ, the Relativity action flick Act of Valor. The drama earned an estimated $13.7 million to bring its ten-day total to the $45.2 million mark. It should finish with a solid $65-70 million by the time the film’s real-life Navy SEALS head off into the sunset.
Hanging tough in fourth place was Universal’s action hit Safe House with an estimated $7.2 million on 2,533 screens, easing only 34% from the previous weekend. To date, the movie has earned a great $108.2 million and is still on course to hit the $125-130 million mark domestically.
Dropping a steep 55%, Good Deeds earned a mild $7 million in sales from 2,132 theaters to bring the Lionsgate production’s ten-day total to a paltry $25 million. Without Madea to help out, Deeds should finish with no more than $35-40 million which begs the question, is Tyler Perry losing his touch?
The remainder of the top ten is as follows:
6. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (Warner Brothers) $6.92 million (-48% from last weekend) $85 million to date.
7. The Vow (Sony Pictures) $6.1 million (-38%) $111 million
8. This Means War (Fox) $5.62 million (-33%) $41.4 million
9. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (Sony) $4.7 million (-48%) $44.8 million
10. The Artist (Weinstein Company) $3.9 million (+34%) $37 million.
Despite the five Oscar wins and addition of 700+ theaters, the general public has continued to show its indifference to the recent Best Picture winner The Artist. In comparison, the other big Oscar winner this year, Hugo, only dropped 14% this weekend despite arriving on home video the prior Tuesday. In fact, the per-screen average for the Scorsese film was higher than the one for The Artist. While the final domestic total for The Artist might come close to the $50 million mark, the revenue will rank on the lower end of recent Oscar Best Picture winners.
Next weekend sees the debut of Disney’s big-budget Sci-Fi epic John Carter, the horror film Silent House and the long-shelved Eddie Murphy comedy A Thousand Words, whose 1,500 theater count suggests that Paramount is quietly dumping the picture ahead of a Blu-ray and DVD bow.
Given this weekend’s numbers, there’s a distinct possibility that The Lorax will put up a repeat victory.
– Shawn Fitzgerald
