The box office results for the weekend of July 22nd – 24th sees a traditional hero trump this decade’s phenom. “Captain America” opened solid while the record-breaking Potter finale nearly disappeared in round two. Here are the studio estimates:
1. Captain America: The First Avenger ($65.8 million)
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 ($48 million)
3. Friends with Benefits ($18.5 million)
4. Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($12 million)
5. Horrible Bosses ($11.7 million)
6. Zookeeper ($8.7 million)
7. Cars 2 ($5.7 million)
8. Winnie the Pooh ($5.1 million)
9. Bad Teacher ($2.6 million)
10. Midnight in Paris ($1.9 million)
Analysis
Dropping 72% from its opening weekend would be disastrous for any theatrical release….unless you’re Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. The box office juggernaut is now up to $274 million domestically and is well on its way to becoming the highest grossing Potter installment, finally knocking off the first entry, Sorcerer’s Stone (2001). Expect the drop to continue next weekend, but at a slower pace, for rabid Potter-heads will be going for multiple viewings. Plus, the weekday’s totals have been more than kind, as evident by the impress 10-day domestic total. And some fans have been waiting for the massive crowds to subside at theaters, too.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is now up to $325 million on the domestic front. Harry Potter should dethrone 2011’s box office king sometime in August.
The last major comic property to enter in theaters this summer is Captain America: The First Avenger. Marvel Comics’ pioneer superhero performed better than Green Lantern and X-Men: First Class, and grossed slightly more than Thor’s opening weekend. What is being labeled an “old-school” summer blockbuster by critics, this production budget totaled $140 million. Based on how the other adapted comic heroes performed, who as mentioned, had similar opening weekends this summer, Captain America is going to need international support (oh the irony).
Friends with Benefits did alright in its first few days. The $35 million flick is getting decent reviews for the most part and these R-rated rom-coms usually end up hanging around in the summer months. Next weekend’s take will tell the tale on where this is heading for Screen Gems.
Cars 2 and Bad Teacher currently have the longest streak in the top ten with 5 weeks. Pixar’s worst performing animation in the studio’s history is up to $176 million domestically; while Columbia Pictures’ Bad Teach is at $94 million. The latter is making money. (And yes, Midnight in Paris has been out for 10 weeks, but it did not debut in the top ten. So zip-it.)
Flop Alert: Winnie the Pooh. Although this classic animated treasure only required $30 million to produce, the generations of fans are just not responding well enough (my prediction on this was way off, I’ll admit it). Factoring the nominal overseas totals, Pooh is only up to $24 million. The flick will more than likely have to do about $30 million in DVD & On-Demand sales for Disney to draw black ink on the balance sheet.
Sleeper Hit: Midnight in Paris – now Woody Allen’s all-time highest grossing domestic title – has reached $44 million stateside off a $30 million production budget. And that’s not factoring in the overseas totals that have eclipsed the budget. Sony Pictures Classics apparently embraced, “slow and steady” wins the race.
This Friday, the box office will get crowded with three high profile summer movies: Cowboys & Aliens has the pedigree to attract tons of moviegoers, especially ones still yearning for more popcorn flicks. The Smurfs 3D will attract fam-friendly auds and will get an assist from the generation that grew up with the little blue guys. Crazy, Stupid, Love will represent the comedy genre and open wide, but the limited promotion could affect opening weekend grosses, despite an all-star cast. Reviews will be right here my fellow Shockers.
Report by Joe Belcastro
