Think Like A Man topped the North American box office for the second weekend in a row, beating out a quartet of newcomers including Judd Apatow’s The Five Week Engagement starring Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, and Pirates! Band of Misfits. However, the overall movie scene is temporarily quieting down, off 33% from this time last year when Fast Five debuted prior to the start of the 2012 summer movie season next Friday, even as The Hunger Games continues to feed moviegoers appetites.
Overseas painted a brighter picture as Disney and Marvel’s The Avengers opened to huge numbers that will be met or exceeded when the film begins its domestic box office run on May 4.
Sony’s comedy hit Think Like A Man had a solid second weekend hold as the Tim Story film eased a modest 46% to earn a solid $18 million from 2,015 screens. The lone bright spot in the top ten this weekend, Think Like A Man has earned a great $60 million in ten days time. With no real competition coming for another two weeks when Tim Burton’s comedic take on Dark Shadows arrives, Think Like A Man could cruise its way to a $90 million final haul.
Sony also laid claim to the number two spot with its latest 3D animated offering from Aardman Studios, The Pirates! Band of Misfits. Launching on a wide 3,358-theater count, the family comedy only managed to commandeer a mild $11.4 million and a meek per screen average of $3,395. The underwhelming opening for the family film is the second Aardman production released under the Sony banner that has met with indifference from audiences. But unlike last fall’s holiday-themed Arthur Christmas, Pirates doesn’t have the benefit of a holiday to keep its grosses afloat. The studio will have to look to foreign markets to make the most of its box office booty.
Warner’s romantic weepie The Lucky One lost half of its audience in its sophomore round but still managed to land in third place. Off 50%, the Zac Efron romanced an okay $11.3 million in estimated sales from 3,175 theaters. After ten days, the movie adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks’ novel has earned $39.7 million and could work its way to a decent $55-60 million at the box office when all is said and done.
Jennifer Lawrence and The Hunger Games kept up their winning ways as the movie displayed the smallest drop in the top ten during its sixth weekend of release. Off only 23%, the science-fiction drama earned another $11.25 million from 3,572 theaters to bring its domestic total to an eye-popping $372.4 million. Given the strong staying power the monster hit has displayed since its record-setting opening, there is a good chance that the movie will end its run near or just over the $400 million mark. The film currently sits just within the top twenty all-time grossing films, surpassing the $370 million final gross of 2004’s The Passion of the Christ.
The films in fifth, sixth and seventh place were all new releases and not a single one made much of an impact. In fifth place was the Judd Apatow-produced comedy The Five Week Engagement. The Jason Segel/Emily Blunt romantic comedy got plenty of advertising support from its distributor Universal Studios, but in the end it really didn’t help too much with sales. Opening on 2,936 screens, the R-rated comedy earned a weak $11.1 million. In sixth place was the latest Jason Statham action dud Safe, which could only muster $7.7 million on 2,266 screens. In seventh place was the John Cusack horror flick The Raven, which earned a tepid $7.2 million from 2,203 theaters. All three films earned weak critical ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and should see a bigger audience on Blu-ray and DVD in a couple of months (if not sooner).
The remainder of the top ten is as follows:
8. Chimpanzee (Disney) $5.46 million (-49%) $19.1 million to date
9. The Three Stooges (Fox) $5.4 million (-44%) $37.1 million
10. The Cabin in the Woods (Lionsgate) $4.5 million (-43%) $34.6 million
This upcoming weekend, The Avengers assemble on over 4,000 screens – including IMAX – starting at 12:01 am on Thursday night. The Marvel ensemble is a lot of big summertime fun that isn’t to be missed.
– Shawn Fitzgerald
