Weekend Report: 'Sniper' Sets Super Bowl Record
by Ray Suber --- February 1, 2015
American Sniper easily led the box office for the third weekend in a row, while the three new wide releases flopped with less than $18 million combined.
American Sniper added $31.85 million, which is a new record for Super Bowl weekend ahead of Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour ($31.1 million). Unfortunately, it was off 51 percent from last weekend, which suggests that the intense interest surrounding the movie has cooled off quite a bit. Still, that $31.85 million ranks 17th all-time among third weekends, and that's with a hand tied behind its back thanks to the Super Bowl.
To date, American Sniper has earned $248.9 million, which ranks sixth among 2014 releases. It could still wind up becoming the highest-grossing movie from 2014 ahead of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 1, though that no longer seems guaranteed.
In second place, Paddington eased 31 percent to an estimated $8.51 million. To date, the family-friendly adventure has earned $50.54 million, and is on its way to at least $70 million total.
Playing at 2,893 locations, Project Almanac flopped with an estimated $8.5 million. That's the second worst debut ever for Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes production company, ahead of 2007's The Hitcher ($7.8 million). It's also a fraction of the openings for teen-friendly Super Bowl fare like Chronicle (2012), The Woman in Black and Warm Bodies, all of which opened over $20 million.
When Project Almanac originally went in to production back in mid-2013, the found footage genre still seemed to be in its prime: in 2012, four different titles earned north of $50 million in the U.S. Due to a major release date delay, though, Project Almanac arrived in theaters after a year in which all six found footage movies earned less than $50 million. This is a risk inherent to chasing after trends—a movie may feel fresh and exciting when it gets the greenlight, but winds up seeming stale when it eventually reaches theaters.
Paramount is reporting that Project Almanac's audience was 55 percent male and 63 percent under the age of 25. They awarded the movie a "B" CinemaScore, which suggests word-of-mouth will be lukewarm. Ultimately, look for Project Almanac to end its run with less than $25 million total.
Playing at 1,823 locations, Kevin Costner drama Black or White opened in fourth place with an estimated $6.46 million. That's noticeably lower than Costner's last movie, Draft Day ($9.8 million), and is in the same general range as past Super Bowl weekend misses Big Miracle ($7.8 million) and Labor Day ($5.18 million).
The audience was 64 percent female and 78 percent over the age of 25, and they gave the movie a solid "A-" CinemaScore. The movie could hold up decently in the coming weeks, though there might be a problem hanging on to screens against the barrage of major releases hitting theaters in the next two weeks. Ultimately, look for Black or White to wrap up its run in the $15 to $20 million range.
In its second weekend, The Boy Next Door fell 59 percent to an estimated $6.09 million, which brings its total to $24.7 million. Meanwhile, The Wedding Ringer was off 50 percent to an estimated $5.7 million. To date, the movie has earned $48.1 million, and will pass Kevin Hart's About Last Night (2014) in the next few days.
At 1,841 locations, The Loft was a non-starter with $2.88 million. The movie completed principal photography back in 2011, and was originally scheduled for release last August via Universal. Ultimately, Open Road Films took over the project, and seems to have spent very little on a marketing campaign. At the end of the day, The Loft should wind up earning less than $7 million total.
After four weeks in limited release, A Most Violent Year expanded to 818 locations and earned an estimated $1.7 million this weekend. That's roughly on par with star Oscar Isaac's Inside Llewyn Davis, which took in $1.88 million in its nationwide expansion last January (albeit after grossing quite a bit more in limited release). To date, A Most Violent Year has earned $3.17 million total, and it should eventually top writer/director J.C. Chandor's Margin Call ($5.35 million) and All Is Lost ($6.26 million).
Playing at 205 locations, the Game of Thrones IMAX event earned an estimated $1.5 million. That's a bit lower than the Raiders of the Lost Ark IMAX re-release ($1.67 million) and Top Gun's 3D re-release ($1.97 million).
Still, this seems to reinforce that big-screen re-releases can be a decent way to make a few bucks on existing intellectual property, so long as the marketing spend remains low (which seems to be the case here). It will be interesting to see if IMAX, Warner Bros. and HBO decide to do this again for episodes from the fifth season of the popular show.
.Around-the-World Roundup: 'Hobbit' Hits $900 Million Worldwide
Thanks to strong numbers in China, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies reached $900 million worldwide this weekend.
It joins the other two Hobbit movies—and the last two Lord of the Rings movies—in that $900-million-plus club.
In its second weekend in China, the final chapter in the Hobbit trilogy added $20.2 million, which brings its total there to an estimated $92.6 million. Overall, it has now earned $664.2 million overseas and $916 million worldwide.
Ultimately, it could wind up passing The Desolation of Smaug's $960 million total; however, reaching $1 billion now seems to be out of the question.
Taken 3 added $21.1 million this weekend, which included a solid $3.5 million start in Mexico. To date, the final installment in the action franchise has earned $162.7 million overseas.
Playing in 37 territories, Big Hero 6 earned an estimated $20.1 million this weekend. It opened in second place in the U.K. with $6 million ($6.8 million including previews), which is 15 percent lower than Frozen. It also held on to first place in Japan, where it has now grossed $63 million. To date, Big Hero 6 has earned $266.6 million overseas, and still has France and China on the way in February.
American Sniper added $11.1 million, which brings its total to $67.3 million. The Clint Eastwood war drama still has France, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Japan and Germany on the way in late February.
A week ahead of its U.S. debut, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water opened to an estimated $8 million across five markets. Most of that came in Mexico, where the movie took in a very strong $6.7 million. Along with the U.S., SpongeBob also reaches Brazil and Spain next weekend.
Kingsman: The Secret Service opened to an estimated $6.7 million in the U.K. this weekend. The comic book adaptation, directed by Matthew Vaughn, expands to the U.S. on February 13th
