Two weeks in and 2014 already has its first major hit. Following a limited awards qualifying run starting on Christmas day Universal (a division of Comcast Comcast) unleashed Lone Survivor in wide release against one new release and a handful of other expansions. It s no contest with the Mark Wahlberg war thriller earning $14.4 million on its first day. In terms of winter war dramas I hedged my bets last month comparing Lone Survivor to Act of Valor ($24m debut in February 2012) as opposed to the high water mark that is Black Hawk Down ($29m debut in January 2002). It s no secret that I m reluctant to predict break out success for fear of poisoning the well so count this as another happy surprise. And yes once again Mark Wahlberg is a real movie star in that star concept kind of way.
Depending on how front loaded Lone Survivor is the film could merely end up over/under $35m or it could end up over/under $40m for the weekend which is extra impressive as it only expanded to 2 875 theaters. So yes we could be looking at a record January opening weekend with the current record holder being Cloverfield s $40m Fri Sun debut in 2008. The number two January debut (Star Wars Special Edition with $35m) is surely in jeopardy. Presuming it gets to just $29 million on Sunday (which would be a terrible 2.0x weekend multiplier) it will have become (I believe) the biggest grossing film explicitly set during the Afghanistan/Iraq wars in just three days of release trumping the $28.5m domestic total of the Jake Gyllenhaal/Natalie Portman/Tobey Maguire drama Brothers from 2009.
The Peter Berg helmed drama concerning a real life botched Navy Seal raid in 2005 cost just $48m so it will surely be a massive hit from domestic grosses alone (I don t see how it doesn t top $100m at this point) a rare thing these days. Despite my misgivings about the film (I think it somewhat sensationalizes the deaths of US combat troops audiences who gave it an A Cinemscore grade either disagree or don t care) Lone Survivor is the kind of film we should want more of. It s an adult skewing R rated star driven genre entries that are cheap enough not to have to earn record worldwide grosses to qualify as hits. Moreover it highlights the genuine box office draw of major studio releases that play more to proverbial flyover country than New York or LA. This is one of those cases where I m happy that a film I didn t like is doing well.
The lone new release this weekend was The Legend of Hercules. The Renny Harlin would be epic the first of two Hercules films to be released this year was distributed by Lionsgate but financed elsewhere which is good since the $70 million picture earned just $3.08 million on its first day. Despite the unquestionable box office drawing power of Kellan Lutz the terribly reviewed picture (it s at 2% on Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 2.4/10) will struggle to top $8m for the weekend which is frankly better than I thought it would do. Lionsgate s financial exposure is very limited and the picture may well break out overseas so I ll refrain from casting too much judgment at the moment. But from a domestic point of view this one feels like a template for everything wrong with Hollywood thinking.
The next major expansion of the weekend was the Weinstein Company s August Osage County. The all star adaptation of the acclaimed Tracy Letts play earned $2.2 million on its first day of semi wide (905 screens) release. The Meryl Streep/Julia Roberts/Benedict Cumberbatch/etc. family melodrama (which is quite good by the way) is banking on Oscar attention next Thursday specifically for Streep s hammy but award friendly starring turn as a cruel drug addicted matriarch (ironically she s arguably the least good performance among the large cast). The film cost $25m so this isn t a terrific debut. It may well have gotten lost in the Oscar shuffle while everyone was raving about Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle. Still like Lone Survivor this one will play outside the big city so I wouldn t remotely count it out yet.
Spike Jonze s Her finally went semi wide this weekend only to be met with relative indifference. The Joaquin Phoenix/Scarlett Johansson romantic comedy about a man who falls for the voice of his computer operating system (think Siri ) expanded to 1 729 theaters and earned $1.8 million bringing its total to $5.19m domestic. The Warner Bros. (a division of Time Warner) release is hoping for major Oscar nominations on Thursday and whether or not it gets them will likely determine if this offbeat and somewhat challenging picture plays beyond the likes of film geeks. Sadly so far playing to the converted is Inside Llewyn Davis which CBS Films expanded this weekend to 729 screens after playing in limited release for well over a month. It s earned $7.9m as of Friday so at least it will out gross A Serious Man ($9m) this weekend or soon after. Like Her this one has much to gain from Oscar traction. These are two of the best films of the year so I hope they get what they deserve.
In general holdover news Frozen earned another $3.11m bringing its cume to $305m. The Disney release may well top $312m by the end of tomorrow officially surpassing the original theatrical release total of The Lion King to become Walt Disney s top non reissued animated feature. The Hunger Games Catching Fire is officially the top grossing film in America of 2013 surpassing Iron Man 3 on Thursday. It earned $1.2m Friday and is now over the $410m hump. The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug earned another $2.05m yesterday bringing its domestic cume to $236.5m ($33m in IMAX alone). The Wolf of Wall Street earned another 2.73m on Friday bringing its cume to $72m. Paranormal Activity The Marked Ones dropped 75% from last Friday earning $2.1m and bringing its cume to $24.2m. 47 Ronin earned another $462k and brought its domestic total to $35m.
Grudge Match earned $575k bringing its cume to $27m. The Stallone/De Niro boxing comedy won t match its $40m budget domestically. Saving Mr. Banks earned $1.95m yesterday and sits with $64m total. It will be near double its $35m budget by tomorrow in domestic earnings alone. American Hustle earned another $2.58m yesterday giving it a $95m cume and setting the stage for $100m tomorrow. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty earned $1.32m yesterday to bring its cume to $49.6m. Philomena earned $397k and brought its domestic cume to $20.9m. Anchorman 2 The Legend Continues earned another $1.88m bringing its domestic total to $114.3m.
That s it for today. Join us tomorrow for weekend estimates and more analysis.
How 'Lone Survivor' Became Peter Berg's 'Hope Floats' Scott Mendelson Contributor Box Office Outlook And Review 'Lone Survivor' (Sadly) Ennobles Deaths Of U.S. Troops Scott Mendelson Contributor Is Meryl Streep's Disney Bashing Just Oscar Season Mudslinging Scott Mendelson Contributor Review 'Her' Is Inventive Thoughtful And Humane Scott Mendelson Contributor
{ 0 comments... Views All / Send Comment! }
Post a Comment