Pamela McClintock of THR
Bradley Cooper starrer Limitless opened to a better-than-expected $19 million at the North American box office in a boost for Relativity Media’s foray into domestic distribution.
But business remained soft overall. The other new movies -- Lionsgate's Matthew McConaughey legal thriller The Lincoln Lawyer and Universal's sci-fi comedy Paul -- grossed $13.4 million and $13.2 million, respectively, not quite enough to best holdovers Rango and Battle: Los Angeles.
Paramount’s sleeper hit Rango grossed an estimated $15.3 million in its third weekend to come in No. 2. The toon fell a respectable 32%, finishing the weekend with a cume of $92.6 million.
Sony’s Battle: LA fell 58% in its second weekend to an estimated $14.6 million for a cume of $60.6 million. The sci-fi action pic placed No. 3.
Paul and Lincoln Lawyer were in a dead heat. The race between the two won’t be officially decided until Monday when final numbers are calculated.
But what really had Hollywood talking was the continued absence of young people. All three new films skewed older, with 85% of Lincoln Lawyer’s audience over the age of 25.
Of those buying tickets for Limitless, 60% were over the age of 25. Even Paul -- targeting fanboys -- played older, with 58% over the age of 25.
Lincoln Lawyer drew a strong A- CinemaScore, while Limitless and Paul each earned a B+.
Another point of debate was Lionsgate's decision to team with Groupon and offer $6 tickets for Lincoln Lawyer (in some cases it was reportedly $1). Rival studios have complained that the Groupon promotion could inflate grosses, since those tickets are counted at full price.
Lionsgate said of the 200,000 coupons purchased, 40,000 were redeemed. That equals about $320,000 in grosses. However, the discount only equals $100,000 in grosses. If the average ticket price is $8, and Groupon customers paid $6, then the lost revenues to Lionsgate was only $2 per ticket.
Elsewhere on the top 10 box office chart, Warner Bros.' Red Riding Hood fell 48% in its second weekend to an estimated $7.3 million for a cume of $26 million in its first 10 days. Film placed No. 6.
Disney's ill-fated Mars Needs Mom continued to struggle, grossing an estimated $5.3 million in its second weekend for a 10-day domestic cume of $15.4 million. Overseas, the motion-capture toon grossed a soft $3.4 million for an international cume of $7.8 million and worldwide total of $23.2 million...
Bradley Cooper's first box office champ as leading man; ''Lincoln Lawyer'' opens at No. 4, ''Paul'' at No. 5
Guess good reviews for The Lincoln Lawyer and Paul didn't matter and it was all about Limitless being PG-13 which = A wider audiences
Next Up: Zack Snyder gives audiences a cinematic Sucker Punch; It's brand new chapter of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid and this time Rodrick Rules
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