Pamela McClintock of THR:
Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros.' inspiriational Dolphin Tale took the No. 1 spot in its second weekend with $14.2 million, wresting the box office crown from fellow family pic The Lion King.
Dolphin Tale fell only 27 percent--proving again the clout of an A+ CinemaScore—and ended the weekend with a domestic cume of $37.5 million. The movie's staying power is a victory for Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove's Alcon, the same production company behind The Blind Side, another film that played to both general moviegoers and faith-based audiences.
"It's resonating with audiences everywhere in North America, from big cities to small towns," Warner executive vice president of domestic distribution Jeff Goldstein said.
Moneyball also stayed in the limelight in its second outing, declining 37 percent to an estimated $12.5 million for a cume of $38.5 million an and coming in No. 2.
The Lion King re-release came in No. 3, grossing an estimated $11.1 million for a domestic total of $79.7 million.
The weekend’s four new films paled in comparison to Dolphin Tale, Moneyball and Lion King, although faith-based pic Courageous pulled off its own surprise upset in nearly beating Joseph Gordon-Levitt-Seth Rogen cancer dramedy 50/50, and easily besting Anna Faris-Chris Evans R-rated comedy What’s Your Number? and Daniel Craig-Rachel Weisz horror pic Dream House.
50/50 and Courageous ended the weekend in a virtual tie. From Summit Entertaiment and Mandate Pictures, 50/50 grossed an estimated 8.9 million to take No. 4, although Courageous was right behind with $8.58 million. The order won’t be resolved until Monday morning.
"What a great weekend for us, between Moneyball and Courageous. Moneyball had a tremendous hold, while Courageous, only costing $2 million to make, was a huge success. It hit home for that core audience," Sony worldwide president of distribution Rory Bruer said.
50/50, from Summit Entertainment, came in on the lower end of expectations, considering it is a critical darling and received an A- CinemaScore. However, Summit believes the film, which placed No. 5, will have strong legs,
Sherwood Pictures and Tri-Star’s Courageous played in only a fraction of the locations its competitors were and, like Dolphin Tale, received an A+ CinemaScore. The film scored a location average of $7,151, the best of any pic in wide release.
Courageous, about four police officers who grapple with their faith and fatherhood, did big business in the Southeast and Bible Belt. Courageous is the fourth title from the film unit of the Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, and cost $2 million to produce.
Morgan Creek’s Dream House opened to No. 6 with $8.2 million, and received a B CinemaScore. Universal is distributing the pic for Morgan Creek. The film was beset with controversy over conflicts between Morgan Creek and director Jim Sheridan, and wasn’t screened for critics.
New Regency and Fox’s What’s Your Number? opened to No. 8 with an even softer-than-expected $5.6 million. Regency fully financed the R-rated comedy, which had to battle poor reviews, although it drew a B CinemaScore.
What's Your Number was narrowly beat out by holdover Abduction, which fell 48 percent in its second weekend to an estimated $5.7 million for a domestic cume of $19.1 million.
The specialty box office brought mixed results. Sony Pictures Classics' Michael Shannon-Jessica Chastain starrer Take Shelter grossed an estimated $56,171 from three theaters in New York and L.A. for a solid per location average of $18,724.
Kenneth Lonergan's long-delayed Margaret grossed $7,496 from two theaters in L.A. and New York for a muted average of $3,748.
Top 10 Domestic Box Office Sept. 30-October 2
1. Dolphin Tale (Warner Bros./Alcon, 3,515) $14.2 million.
2. Moneyball (Sony, 2,993) $12.5 million.
3. The Lion King (Disney, 2,340) $11.1 million.
4. 50/50 (Summit, 2,458) $8.9 million.
5. Courageous (TriStar/Sherwood, 1,161) $8.85 million
6. DreamHouse (Universal/Morgan Creek, 2,661) $8.2 million
7. Abduction (Lionsgate , 3,118) $5.7 million.
8. What’s Your Number? (Fox/New Regency, 3,002) $5.6 million
9. Contagion (Warner Bros./Participant, 2,744) $5 million.
10. Killer Elite (Open Road Films, 2896) $4.9 million
Next Up: Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly and Dakota Goyo train robots to fight in Real Steel; Ryan Gosling and George Clooney face politial woes in The Ides Of March; Juno Temple is one Dirty Girl; And Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová share The Swell Season
No comments:
Post a Comment