This Weekend @ The Box Office: 2015_Mar.16

by Ray Subers -- March 15, 2015


Earning more than the rest of the field combined, Disney's Cinderella (2015) easily took the top spot at the box office this weekend.

Liam Neeson's Run All Night got off to a very slow start, while indie horror flick It Follows had a great debut in limited release.

Playing at 3,845 locations, Cinderella opened to an estimated $70.05 million. That ranks sixth all-time among March debuts. Compared to Disney's recent live-action fantasies, Cinderella's opening was on par with Maleficent ($69.4 million), and a bit lower than Oz The Great and Powerful ($79.1 million). It also opened well above Snow White and the Huntsman ($56.2 million).

This is all the more impressive considering Cinderella's budget was a modest $95 million, which is around half as much as the rest of those movies cost.

Cinderella's audience was 66 percent female and 66 percent families. The movie received a strong "A" CinemaScore; combine that with great reviews, and this should hold well over the next few weeks. A final total north of $200 million is virtually guaranteed at this point.

Liam Neeson's Run All Night opened in a distant second place with an estimated $11 million. That's a fraction of Non-Stop's $28.9 million debut, and is also lower than A Walk Among the Tombstones's poor $12.8 million start.

Run All Night's audience was 52 percent female—oddly high, considering this is an action movie with an all-male cast—and 86 percent over the age of 25. They awarded the movie an "A-" CinemaScore, which suggests word-of-mouth will be solid. Still, it would be surprising if this made it past $30 million.

For full analysis of Cinderella and Run All Night, check the weekend forecast here.

Kingsman: The Secret Service eased 25 percent to $6.2 million, which was enough to reclaim a spot in the Top Three. The comic book adaptation has so far earned $107.4 million, and now appears on its way to over $120 million total.

In its third weekend, Focus (2015) fell 42 percent to an estimated $5.8 million. The Will Smith/Margot Robbie flick has now grossed $44 million.

Chappie rounded out the Top Five with an estimated $5.8 million. That's off 57 percent from opening weekend, which is a bit steeper than Elysium (54 percent) and District 9 (51 percent). Through 10 days, the Neill Blomkamp sci-fi movie has taken in a weak $23.3 million.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel eased 33 percent to an estimated $5.7 million. It was playing in an additional 449 theaters, which likely helped contribute to that light decline. The comedy sequel has now earned $18.1 million.

Radius-TWC released indie horror movie It Follows at four locations this weekend, where it earned an estimated $163,000. That translates to a very strong $40,800 per-theater average. Expect this to expand aggressively in the next few weeks; it's unlikely that it makes it nationwide, but it should top out with at least 200 locations.

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by Ray Subers -- March 15, 2015


Opening in 31 markets, Cinderella ruled the international box office this weekend with an estimated $62.4 million.

According to Disney, that's up 17 percent from Oz The Great and Powerful, and down 30 percent from Maleficent. It's worth noting here that those movies were in 3D, whereas Cinderella is not.

Cinderella's biggest markets were China ($25 million) and Russia ($7.3 million). It was also strong in Mexico ($5 million) and Italy ($4.6 million), while it was less remarkable in Germany ($2.1 million). The movie also had impressive first place debuts across smaller Asian markets like the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia.

Next weekend, Cinderella expands in to France, Australia, Brazil, Spain and the U.K. It reaches its final market, Japan, in late April.

Big Hero 6 continues to defy the odds in China. In the world's second-largest market, the Disney Animation movie fell a light 15 percent to $15.5 million; through three weekends, it ranks third all-time among animated movies with $66.5 million.

Big Hero 6 has now earned $633 million worldwide, which makes it the highest-grossing animated movie from 2014 ahead of How to Train Your Dragon 2.

Kingsman: The Secret Service grossed $13.7 million, which brings its overseas total to $169.3 million. It opened in first place in Germany—ahead of Cinderella—with $2.4 million. In South Korea, it added $3.5 million; through five weekends, it's earned a stunning $36.5 million there.

In its second weekend, Chappie took in $13.6 million overseas ($33.4 million total). It opened to a solid $2.8 million in South Korea, but was a disappointment in Australia ($1 million) and Spain (less than $800,000). The Neil Blomkamp flick still has Italy, Brazil and Japan on the way.

Playing in 61 markets, Focus (2015) earned an estimated $13.5 million this weekend. In Brazil, it opened in first place with $1.9 million. To date, the Will Smith/Margot Robbie con artist movie has earned $57.7 million overseas (over $100 million worldwide).

Coinciding with its domestic debut, Run All Night opened to an estimated $6.6 million from 19 markets. Its biggest territories were the U.K. ($1.3 million) and France ($1.1 million). The movie expands to Australia and South Korea next weekend.

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