The box office results for the weekend of March 16th – 18th sees a revamped television show from the 80s confiscate Dr. Seuss from the top spot. And in other news, last week’s releases plummet. Here are the studio estimates:
1. 21 Jump Street ($35 million)
2. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax ($22.8 million)
3. John Carter ($13.5 million)
4. Project X ($4 million)
5. A Thousand Words ($3.7 million)
6. Act of Valor ($3.6 million)
7. Safe House ($2.7 million)
8. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island ($2.4 million)
9. This Means War ($2.1 million)
10. The Vow ($2 million)
Analysis
Channing Tatum is off to a great year, box-office wise. His latest effort, 21 Jump Street, will no doubt draw the black ink. The production budget of $42 million will not be anything to worry after next weekend’s take. With stellar reviews from both the lovely critics and moviegoers, this is a Sleeper Hit that could easily reach the $100 million plateau on the domestic front. And don’t forget, it’s spring break time and this product is definitely geared toward that 18-24 demographic that will probably need to take a two-hour break from destroying their livers and taking shots out of each other’s belly-buttons.
Tatum’s other flick, The Vow, has spent 6 weeks in the top ten and has amassed $121 million stateside. Despite what one may think of Tatum’s acting talents, his asking price just went up.
Everything from last week has crapped out. John Carter is only up to $53 million domestically. And overseas’ totals will have to reach over $200 million for this sucker from Disney to have a shot just to break even. Silent House, the remake of a perfectly good Spanish horror flick from 2010, dropped almost 70% from its opening weekend. When factoring in the $13 million dollar production budget – why it’s so high is beyond my comprehension – this will end up relying on the DVD & On-Demand run for any potential profits.
Flop Alert: A Thousand Words; Eddie Murphy in a lifeless recycled comedy. Do I really need to present the numbers to justify this landing here? Fine: $12 million total gross; $40 million production budget. No more words necessary.
This Friday, it’s all about The Hunger Games. It’s time for that flick to put up or shut it (anyone else already sick of hearing about this?). In limited fashion, IFC Films release Brake and 4:44 Last Day on Earth. Reviews will be right here my fellow Shockers!
