Hercules was a fun movie, not great but fun.
Weekend Report: ‘Lucy' Wins Brain vs. Brawn Battle
by Ray Subers -- July 27, 2014
Scarlett Johansson easily out-muscled Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on the final weekend of a very weak month at the box office.
In another big win for Universal Pictures, Lucy took first place with over $44 million. Meanwhile, Hercules had to settle for runner-up with a lukewarm $29 million debut.
Overall, the Top 12 earned an estimated $134.6 million this weekend; that's down 15 percent from the same frame last year.
Lucy's opening weekend didn't quite match similar movies like Wanted ($50.9 million) or Taken 2 ($49.5 million). The fact that it even came close, though, is a fairly remarkable feat for this moderately-budgeted original action movie. Among other similar titles, it crushed The Bourne Legacy ($38.1 million) and Salt ($36 million).
It's also the fourth Universal Pictures release to open north of $35 million this year; the other three are Lone Survivor, Ride Along and Neighbors. This is even more impressive considering all four titles are "original" (i.e. not sequels, prequels or spin-offs) and three of the four are rated R. It's also their fifth first place opening of the year—the previously listed titles, plus Non-Stop—which is tied with 20th Century Fox.
Lucy's success can be attributed to a few factors. First, the movie had an intriguing premise (what if we could use more than 10% of our brains?) that was front-and-center in action-packed, visually-stunning advertisements. It helped that actress Scarlett Johansson's lead role here seemed like a natural extension of the butt-kicking brand she's built as Black Widow in The Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Recognizing that audiences were connecting with the material, Universal made the savvy decision to move Lucy up from mid-August—where it would have been in a Guardians/Turtles/Expendables sandwich—to this less-competitive late July date.
Lucy's audience was split evenly between men and women, and 65 percent of moviegoers were over the age of 25. It received a "C+" CinemaScore, which suggests word-of-mouth will be mixed. Still, it's a safe bet that Lucy winds up earning at least $100 million.
Opening at 3,595 theaters, Hercules took second place this weekend with an estimated $29 million. That's not a particularly strong start: in comparison, star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's The Scorpion King opened to $36 million over 12 years ago. It also started off a bit lower than Wrath of the Titans ($33.5 million) and Immortals ($32.2 million).
Still, it could have been much worse: the movie's sword-and-sandals, CGI-heavy action looked fairly generic, as did the movie's run-of-the-mill story (are moviegoers all that interested in the untold story of Hercules?). The fact that Hercules got close to $30 million is a testament to The Rock's ability to mobilize his massive fanbase. He's been aggressively promoting the movie since filming began last year, and the message connected with at least some of his 37-million-plus Facebook fans and 7 million-plus Twitter followers.
The audience for Hercules was 58 percent male and 64 percent over the age of 25. They gave the movie a decent "B+" CinemaScore. With tough competition from Guardians of the Galaxy coming up, Hercules has zero chance of making it to $100 million; still, it should eventually make it past $75 million.
Of course, Hercules is the type of movie that is going to make the majority of its money outside of the U.S. Check the Around-the-World Roundup for first impressions on its overseas potential.
After holding well last weekend, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes took a beating from the two newcomers. The simian sequel fell 55 percent to an estimated $16.4 million, which brings its 17-day total to $172.1 million. In a few days, Dawn will pass Rise of the Planet of the Apes ($176.8 million), and remains on pace for at least $210 million total.
The Purge: Anarchy added $9.9 million this weekend, which represents a steep 67 percent drop from its opening. In comparison, the first Purge fell 76 percent in its second weekend. Anarchy has now earned $51.3 million, and should ultimately close ahead of the first movie's $64.5 million total.
Planes: Fire & Rescue rounded out the Top Five with $9.3 million (down 47 percent). Meanwhile, Sex Tape plummeted 59 percent to $6 million.
Michael Douglas/Diane Keaton rom-com And So It Goes opened at 1,762 theaters and earned $4.6 million. That's not a particularly good opening, though it is a vast improvement over the first release from distributor Clarius Entertainment (May's Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return at $3.7 million).
Playing at 361 theaters, spy thriller A Most Wanted Man cracked the Top 10 with $2.7 million. That's the second-biggest opening ever for distributor Roadside Attractions, and is noticeably higher than last year's Mud ($2.2 million). With strong reviews and built-in curiosity surrounding the final lead role from Philip Seymour Hoffman, this should be a solid performer in the weeks ahead.
Richard Linklater's Boyhood expanded to 107 theaters and earned $1.73 million this weekend ($16,121 average). The movie has now earned $4.1 million, which ranks fifth all-time for distributor IFC Films. According to IFC, there will be an aggressive expansion over the next few weeks that will include a national television advertising campaign. It's unclear exactly how high this can go, but a total north of $15 million seems like a likely outcome.
Gabriel Iglesias stand-up flick The Fluffy Movie opened to $1.3 million from 432 theaters. In comparison, Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain opened to $1.9 million at less than 100 locations.
Zach Braff's Wish I Was Here expanded to 625 theaters and earned a disappointing $1.1 million. Braff's first movie, Garden State, grossed $3 million in its nationwide expansion back in 2004. Ultimately, the Kickstarter-funded movie will take in a fraction of Garden State's $26.8 million.
Woody Allen's Magic in the Moonlight opened at 17 locations and earned $426,000 this weekend. That's less than Blue Jasmine and Midnight in Paris took in when they debuted at six theaters. With mixed reviews, Magic in the Moonlight could have a tough time matching 2012's To Rome with Love ($16.7 million).
Around-the-World Roundup
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes moved in to first place at the international box office this weekend with $54.1 million. It opened to $13.1 million (including previews) in Mexico and $9.3 million in Brazil. To date, it has already earned $181.9 million, and is set to expand in to 11 more markets (including France and Italy) next weekend.
Transformers: Age of Extinction added $37.5 million this weekend. On Sunday, it became the first movie to ever pass $300 million in China. The fourth installment in the Michael Bay franchise has now banked $730 million overseas, which ranks 11th all-time. With Spain and Japan on the way, Transformers is going to easily close over $800 million. Also of note: its worldwide total reached $966 million this weekend, and it will likely pass $1 billion next weekend.
Coinciding with its domestic debut, Hercules opened to $28.7 million overseas. It had a fantastic $12 million start in Russia, though it was less impressive in Australia ($3.5 million) and the U.K. ($2.4 million). With plenty of major markets left to open, it's a safe bet that Hercules winds up with at least $200 million overseas.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 added $24 million this weekend to bring its foreign total to $258.5 million. In Germany, it opened in second place (behind Transformers) with $6.1 million. The DreamWorks Animation sequel still has Spain, Italy, China and Japan on the way, and could be on track for over $400 million total.
Godzilla finally opened in the legendary monster's home country Japan this weekend. It took in just shy of $7 million in its first three days; according to Warner Bros., it was roughly on par with Transformers: Dark of the Moon and twice as high as Pacific Rim. The movie is now a day or two away from passing $300 million overseas and $500 million worldwide.
