The box office results for the weekend of July 13th – 15th sees a calm before the “Dark” storm “Rises.” Ice Age had a mediocre return to theaters while Spider-Man and the breakout hit, Ted, held strong. Here are the studio estimates:
1. Ice Age: Continental Drift ($46 million)
2. The Amazing Spider-Man ($35 million)
3. Ted ($22.1 million)
4. Brave ($10.6 million)
5. Magic Mike ($9 million)
6. Savages ($8.7 million)
7. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection ($5.6 million)
8. Katy Perry: Part of Me ($3.7 million)
9. Moonrise Kingdom ($3.6 million)
10. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted ($3.5 million)
Analysis
The lone newcomer this week was Ice Age: Continental Drift. And while the opening is on-par with the overall franchise norm, this has to be somewhat of a letdown since there was no competition, and, it was armed with 3D ticket pricing. Even with Madagascar 3 and Brave, the two other animations in wide release mode, this probably should have gone north of the $50 million mark. But as most flicks this year, the international total (over $200 million) has already melted away any concerns regarding the production budget of $100 million. This money-grab did its job.
Sticking with animations, the highest grossing, domestically speaking, is Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax; which opened back in early March. The $213.6 million Universal’s release has mounted could hold up as the three above are starting to fade. Brave, currently sitting at $195.6 million, may have a shot if Disney elects not to quickly pull it from theaters; something that studios tend to do after the 4-week mark.
Haven’t done this in a while (since international markets have rendered it obsolete), but we have a Sleeper Hit. Magic Mike, made for just $7 million, will straddle over the $100 million domestic plateau in the next week or two. And to ensure that, it was no surprise that Channing Tatum recently announced that a sequel is already in the works, hoping to stuff a few more dollars into his skimpy product.
The Amazing Spider-Man dipped just 44% from its first official weekend (opened on a Tuesday before 4th of July). Now up to just over $200 million stateside, the superhero darling needs to scrap together all the money it can before the clock strikes midnight – ushering in July 20th and what could be the 2nd highest grossing film this year.
And with that, this Friday brings us the finale to Christopher Nolan’s vision of Batman with The Dark Knight Rises. That’s all there is and expect it to knock on the door of $170 million in its first weekend. Reviews will be right here my fellow Shockers!
