Weekend Wrap-Up
Divergent Rises While Muppets Fall
By John Hamann
March 23, 2014
Eighth is Non-Stop, which is now in its fourth weekend. The Liam Neeson actioner earned another $6.3 million this weekend, and declined 40%. The $50 million Universal release has now earned $78.6 million stateside, and another $63 million overseas.
Ninth goes to The LEGO Movie, as it starts to run out of gas. This weekend, the little LEGO movie that could earned another $4.1 million, dropping 47%. The LEGO Movie has now earned $243.4 million domestically and more than $145 million overseas, all against a budget of only $60 million. This was the tone that Muppets Most Wanted needed to strive for.
Sadly, Frozen is no longer a top ten film, so Tyler Perry’s Single Mom’s Club is tenth. After opening to $8 million last weekend, this one falls drastically. It earned only $3.1 million, giving it a drop of 62%. Single Mom’s Club has now earned only $12.9 million, and will be the blot on Tyler Perry’s resume.
A year ago, the top 12 earned $130 million, thanks to decent opens from The Croods ($43.6 million) and Olympus Has Fallen ($30.4 million). A weekend ago, I would have laughed if you said that Divergent and Muppets Most Wanted would gross less than the top two last year, but that’s exactly what happened. The top 12 this weekend brings in $133.1 million, so instead of an exciting frame, we are left with one that is virtually identical to the previous year in terms of earnings.
Next weekend, Russell Crowe and Noah should bring the excitement, as the Darren Aronofsky film debuts on 3,400+ screens. Noah is already getting decent reviews, and should do well with faith based and non-faith based audiences alike. It is joined by the latest Arnold Schwarzenegger comeback attempt, Sabotage, and Cesar Chavez, the biopic about the boxer and social activist, which will be released in 600 locations but comes from Pantelion films, which has had success reaching Latino audiences recently.
Top Ten for Weekend of
|
Rank |
Film |
Distributor |
Estimated Gross |
Weekly Change |
Running Total |
1
|
Divergent
|
Lionsgate
|
56.0
|
New
|
56.0
|
2
|
Muppets Most Wanted
|
Walt Disney
|
16.5
|
New
|
16.5
|
3
|
Mr. Peabody & Sherman
|
Fox
|
11.7
|
-46%
|
81.0
|
4
|
300: Rise of an Empire
|
Warner Bros.
|
8.7
|
-55%
|
93.8
|
5
|
God's Not Dead
|
Pure Flix
|
8.6
|
New
|
8.6
|
6
|
Need for Speed
|
Walt Disney
|
7.8
|
-56%
|
30.4
|
7
|
The Grand Budapest Hotel
|
Fox Searchlight
|
6.8
|
+86%
|
13.0
|
8
|
Non-Stop
|
Universal
|
6.3
|
-40%
|
78.6
|
9
|
The LEGO Movie
|
Warner Bros.
|
4.1
|
-47%
|
243.4
|
10
|
Tyler Perry's The Single Moms Club
|
Lionsgate
|
3.1
|
-62%
|
12.9
|
11
|
Son of God
|
Fox
|
2.7
|
-52%
|
55.6
|
12
|
The Monuments Men
|
Sony
|
1.0
|
-53%
|
75.7
|
Continued:
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4
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