Weekend Report: 'Sniper' Scores Stunning $64 Million in Second Weekend
by Ray Subers --- January 25, 2015
Coming off a very surprising opening, American Sniper reinforced its status as a box office heavyweight by scoring one of the biggest second weekends ever.
With over $200 million in the bank already, Sniper is now on track to be the highest-grossing movie from 2014 (it opened in New York and Los Angeles on Christmas Day).
Among the new releases, Jennifer Lopez's The Boy Next Door got off to a decent start, while Mortdecai and Strange Magic were dead on arrival.
Expanding to 3,705 locations—the widest release ever for an R-rated movie—American Sniper added an estimated $64 million this weekend. That ranks eighth all-time among second weekends, ahead of movies like The Dark Knight Rises, The Hunger Games and The Passion of the Christ.
That $64 million tally is off just 28 percent from the movie's opening frame, which is the best second weekend hold ever for a movie that opened above $80 million.
With fantastic word-of-mouth and a few more weeks of light competition, American Sniper should continue to hold well in the coming weeks. It will likely close north of $350 million—good enough for the top movie of 2014—and it even has an outside chance at reaching $400 million.
Playing at 2,602 locations, The Boy Next Door opened to an estimated $15 million this weekend. That's lower than The Call's $17.1 million, though it is at least noticeably higher than Lopez's last starring major starring vehicle (The Back-Up Plan, $12.2 million).
The movie's audience was 71 percent female and 60 percent over the age of 25. With mixed word-of-mouth ("B-" CinemaScore) and horrible reviews, this probably won't hold up all that well; look for a final total right around $40 million.
Paddington took third place with an estimated $12.4 million, which is off 35 percent from its opening. To date, the family flick has earned $40.1 million, and could ultimately top $70 million.
The Wedding Ringer was off 44 percent to $11.6 million. That hold is better than that of recent Kevin Hart movies Ride Along (49 percent) and Think Like a Man (48 percent). The Wedding Ringer has now earned $39.7 million, and is on its way to around $60 million total.
Taken 3 rounded out the Top Five with $7.6 million, which brings its total to $76.1 million. It remains unlikely that this reaches $100 million.
The Imitation Game expanded in to a few hundred additional theaters and was up five percent to an estimated $7.14 million. It's now earned $60.6 million, which puts it ahead of fellow Best Picture contender The Grand Budapest Hotel.
George Lucas' Strange Magic opened to an estimated $5.53 million this weekend, which is one of the worst debuts ever for a movie playing at over 3,000 locations. It's essentially in the same range as past animated bombs like Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs Evil, Valiant, Everyone's Hero and Happily N'Ever After.
Strange Magic's audience was 56 percent female and 38 percent under the age of 13. It's unlikely that Disney is able to keep these screens after the second week, which means the movie is almost guaranteed to finish below $15 million.
Selma fell 37 percent to an estimated $5.5 million. To date, the Oscar-nominated civil rights drama has earned $39.2 million.
Playing at 2,648 locations, Mortdecai took ninth place with a disastrous $4.13 million. Among Johnny Depp's recent movies, that's less than half of Transcendence's opening ($10.9 million), and also remarkably lower than The Rum Diary $5.14 million debut. It's also the worst start ever for a Lionsgate movie playing at over 2,500 theaters.
With abysmal reviews and horrible word-of-mouth ("C+" CinemaScore), Mortdecai is going to drop like a rock from here; there's a real chance that this finishes below $10 million.
Playing at 482 locations, Jennifer Aniston's Cake opened to an estimated $1 million this weekend. That estimate assumes the movie will only fall 14 percent from Saturday to Sunday, which is unlikely (a more reasonable range is 30 to 40 percent). When actuals report, it's likely that this winds up well under $1 million for the weekend, which is a bit disappointing considering the amount of attention the movie has received in the past few weeks.
Best Picture nominee Whiplash expanded to 567 theaters—its widest release yet—and earned an estimated $787,000 this weekend. To date, the movie has grossed $7.6 million.
Around-the-World Roundup: 'Hobbit' Finale Invades China, Passes $600 Million Overseas
by Ray Subers --- January 25, 2015
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ruled the international box office this weekend with $54.3 million, most of which came from its excellent debut in China.
The final installment in Peter Jackson's Middle Earth prequel trilogy opened to an estimated $49.5 million in China, which is its final major market. That's the biggest opening ever for Warner Bros. International, and is nearly on par with what the first Hobbit movie made in its entire run.
So far, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has earned $616.9 million overseas and over $866 million worldwide.
Playing in 57 markets, Taken 3 added an estimated $26.3 million this weekend. That includes a huge $8.2 million debut in France and a very good $2.1 million opening in Brazil (over twice as big as Taken 2). Taken 3 has now grossed $150 million overseas, and remains on track to ultimately pass the last movie's $236 million total.
American Sniper expanded to a total of 26 markets and earned an estimated $17.6 million this weekend. In Australia, it opened in first place with an impressive $4 million, which is Clint Eastwood's best debut ever there. In its second outing in the U.K., it actually increased four percent to $4 million.
To date, American Sniper has taken in $47.5 million overseas; it's set to reach France, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Japan and Germany in the second half of February.
Big Hero 6 added $14.9 million from 33 markets this weekend. That includes a strong $5.1 million opening in South Korea—second all-time for Disney/Pixar behind Frozen—and a solid $3.9 million in Germany. It has earned $238.6 million so far, and is scheduled to expand in to France and China next month.
