OPENINGS: PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 (MGM/Sony/Columbia) was at the high end of diminished expectations with $24M. That’s roughly 25% below the $31.8M start for the first Paul Blart, not a surprise considering that the Blart franchise was far from universally beloved. The question will be whether Blart 2 can have anything like its predecessor’s staying power: Blart 1 didn’t decline more than 35% in any weekend until its 6th, which would be quite a feat to duplicate as the summer blockbusters start rolling in 2 weeks from now. (The first Blart opened in the quieter January season.) Even if Blart 2 can’t manage its forebear’s opening weekend multiple of almost 5x, it could still end up as modestly profitable on production/marketing costs of $125M. The first Blart had almost no overseas appeal (80% of its worldwide total was from the US), and Blart 2 isn’t showing much strength either with a $7.1M weekend in 41 markets.
UNFRIENDED (Blumhouse/Universal) continued its production company’s ownership of the ultra-low-cost horror genre with a $16M weekend. Despite a $1M production cost, it’s not profitable quite yet once marketing expenses are figured in, but it should get there. The opening weekend number is a bit of an underperformer, compared to recent low-rent horror starts like $26.5M for Woman In Black 2, $25.5M for The Lazarus Effect, and $19.9M for Ouija. (The latter two of those were also from Blumhouse.) That’s slightly surprising, considering that as the genre goes, Unfriended got decent reviews, with a 65% positive score on Rotten Tomatoes.
MONKEY KINGDOM (DisneyNature) opened almost exactly on par with last year’s Earth Day weekend opening Bears–$4.7M vs $4.8M–although the dynamic was different, with Monkey Kingdom having a lower opening day but a much better Saturday result, with a 8% increase compared to a 33% drop. That suggests this entry is appealing much more to kids at matinees. The final result should be much the same as Bears‘ $17.8M US total.
The weekend also featured a trio of semi-wide openings and expansions, none of which was particularly impressive. TRUE STORY (Fox Searchlight), at 831 theatres, had a $1.8M weekend, giving it a $2300 per-theatre average. That compmared to $8.5M for The Grand Budapest Hotel when it reached 977 theatres, $5M for The Theory of Everything at 802 theatres, and $4M for Wild at 1061 theatres. WHILE WE’RE YOUNG (A24) expanded to 713 theatres with similarly mild results, a $1.6M weekend and a $2200 average. That’s the widest run any Noah Baumbach film has ever had, and with $4.2M, Young is already at the total box office level of Greenberg and Frances Ha, but it also carries the extra costs of a national release. CHILD 44 (Summit/Lionsgate) showed little audience appetite for a 135-minute drama about a 1950s Soviet child murderer, with $600K at 510 theatres and a dismal $1200 average.
HOLDOVERS: FURIOUS 7 (Universal) is moving past being a mere blockbuster into becoming one of the industry’s biggest and most profitable franchises. In the US, it fell 51% to $29.1M, and is on the road to $350M. But the real story is overseas, and especially in China, where it will probably soon become the #1 film ever. Furious 7 earned $93.3M in its 2d weekend there, giving it an amazing $250.5M total, and it will soon pass the last Transformers there and its $320M total. That’s fueling an international box office that’s already at $858.3M after a $167.9M weekend. Worldwide, it’s at $1.15B and has every chance of taking in at least $300M more, which would make it the #4 movie of all time, behind Avatar, Titanic and the first Avengers, although the 2d Avengers, of course, is right around the corner, which will probably (but perhaps not definitely) push it down one more notch. It’s a spectacular accomplishment for a franchise that (more or less) takes place in the real world and not a fantasy universe.
HOME (DreamWorks Animation) continues to do well in the US, down 44% to $10.3M and a $142.6M total. But overseas, the cartoon is now in 64 territories, and its international total is $129.1M after a $10.3M weekend (yes, both weekend numbers were the same). Even with China to come, it’s unlikely to get higher than $375M worldwide, which is better than recent DreamWorks flops like Mr. Peabody & Sherman ($272.9M worldwide), but still far from the franchise-starting Kung Fu Panda ($631.7M), Madagascar ($532.7M) or How To Train Your Dragon ($494.9M) level that the studio desperately needed.
THE LONGEST RIDE (20th) won’t be a long one, as it fell 47% in its 2d weekend to $6.9M, giving it a $23.5M total, and with another romance on the way next weekend, it’s unlikely to reach $40M. GET HARD (RatPac Dune) fell 41% to $4.8M, with a $78.3M total. WOMAN IN GOLD (Weinstein) increased its theatre count by one-third and still fell 16% to $4.6M, although a $15.9M total for a very old-skewing drama, which should ultimately get to $25M or more, is still a very decent result.
INSURGENT (Summit/Lionsgate) and CINDERELLA (Disney) are heading toward the end of their runs. Insurgent fell 38% to $4.2M and a $120.6M total, plus $135.3M overseas, not likely to get much past Divergent‘s $288.7M worldwide total despite a higher budget and 3D/Imax ticket prices. Cinderella lost 46% for a $3.9M weekend and a $186.3M US total, plus $7.5M overseas, where its total is $271.4M, putting it at $457.7M worldwide and likely to hit $500M, which would put it at the same level as Oz The Great and Powerful‘s $493.3M (although Cinderella cost somewhat less to produce).
LIMITED RELEASE: EX MACHINA (A24) successfully expanded to 39 theatres with a $21K per-theatre average. It’s going to hit wide release on Friday, which will be a far greater challenge. CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA (IFC) went to 27 theatres with an OK $6400 average.
NEXT WEEKEND: The last weekend before the summer movie season begins will be quiet, with the only new wide openings the fantasy soap THE AGE OF ADELINE (Lionsgate), and the religious-themed LITTLE BOY (Open Road). As noted, Ex Machina will also head into national release. The major limited release is THE WATER DIVINER (Warners), Russell Crowe’s directing debut, which boasts perhaps the least commercially-minded title of the season.
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