The box office results for the weekend of July 12th – 14th has veteran funny guys taking down robots and creatures, yet couldn’t handle Despicable Me 2’s minions. Grown Ups 2 led the way for new releases while the prototypical summer blockbuster that is Pacific Rim failed to make a monster impact. Here are the studio estimates:
1. Despicable Me 2 ($44.7 million)
2. Grown Ups 2 ($42.5 million)
3. Pacific Rim ($38.3 million)
4. The Heat ($14 million)
5. The Lone Ranger ($11.1 million)
6. Monsters University ($10.6 million)
7. World War Z ($9.4 million)
8. White House Down ($6.1 million)
9. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain ($5 million)
10. Man of Steel ($4.8 million)
Analysis
Clearly, humans can be trained. And perhaps film criticism really doesn’t matter anymore.
Grown Ups 2 is one of the worst reviewed films ever, though Adam Sandler & (out-of-work) pals managed to finagle another strong opening weekend. Being made for the standard Happy Madison budget of $80 million, the domestic total, along with the overseas mindless padding, will have this reaching profitability by the time its theatrical run has concluded. Even with audiences, and the Sandler loyalists, not enthused with the products he’s put out the last five years, they simply cannot break the habit of entering the theaters.
On the other side of the spectrum is the well-reviewed Pacific Rim. Guillermo del Toro big-budget sandbox fantasy of giant robots battling alien creatures on Earth (or as I like to call it: a Syfy channel movie on steroids), won’t have the domestic backing to offset the huge production budget of $190 million. The silver lining is that perhaps the international crowd, who have more of an attachment to classic monster flicks (i.e. Godzilla), could become Warner Bros. saving grace.
Man of Steel currently holds the longest streak in the top ten with 5 weeks. Zack Snyder’s vision of Superman has now reached $281 million stateside and has soared to over $600 million worldwide. That hefty production budget of $225 million is no longer a concern.
Other highlights:
–The Heat crossed the $100 million plateau domestically ($112.3 million).
–Despicable Me 2 flew to $229.2 million after a successful weekend #2 ($76 million production budget)
–The Lone Ranger is still shooting blanks; now up to just $71.1 million after experience a 62% from last weekend (note: film opened on a Wednesday).
This week moviegoers will receive a small army of new arrivals: Turbo (on Weds.), R.I.P.D., The Conjuring, and Red 2. Reviews will be right here my fellow Shockers!
