Weekend Box Office 2/26/2016 - 2/28/2016

Weekend Box Office 2/26/2016 - 2/28/2016

   Stop me when you heard this one...."Deadpool" was atop the weekend box office again. Now a certified megahit "Deadpool" is now the highest grossing movie in the "X-Men" franchise and it's only its third week in release!! It brought in another $31.5 million this weekend to raise its total domestically to $285 million and over $600 million worldwide. It's also now the third highest grossing R-rated movie of all time behind only "American Sniper" and "The Passion of the Christ", Not too shabby indeed.

   Also getting good news this week was Dreamworks as "Kung Fu Panda 3" became China's highest grossing animated movie of all time at $144.2 million. That in addition to its American take puts the sequel above the $300 million mark. Still not where the last movie was at but still a ton of money so expect a fourth one soon. Its also probally the last time we'll see "Kung Fu Panda 3" on this list with "Zootopia" opening soon and ready to take the childrens market by force. Its international numbers are already at $81 million which is very good news indeed.

   On the other end of the spectrum is.....pretty much everything else. The big news of the week of course being "Gods of Egypt" which did open in second place at $14 million but considering its $140 million budget before marketing (what they spent that money on noone knows) thats a pretty loud thud it landed with. It also hasn't resonated with foreign audiences either as its made $24.2 million worldwide. Needless to say we have the first bomb of 2016 and Lionsgate's attempt to kickstart a new franchise now that "Hunger Games" and "Divergent" are done didn't work out as planned.

    Every other movie that opened this week underperformed as well. "Eddie the Eagle" opened in 5th place with $6.3 million. A huge letdown for Fox as they had hoped the movie, led by Hugh Jackman and Taron Egerton, would be able to catch the inspirational sports movie crowd but now they're just hoping to make back the $23 million budget. Not to mention Hugh Jackman coulda used a non "Wolverine" related hit since he's retiring the character soon and will need to show he can draw audiences otherwise.

   Also opening badly was "Tripe 9" which despite its all-star cast and critical darling pedigree just didn't seem to resonate as it opened in sixth place at $6.1 million. Not good news for Open Road films as the movie cost them $20 million before marketing and doesn't seem to have either the critical or audience buzz to be a hit going forward. Guess they better hope that cult movie status kicks in.

       Title                      Weekend            Total

1. Deadpool                 $31,500,000        $285,600,000

2. Gods of Egypt          $14,000,000        $14,000,000

3. Kung Fu Panda 3    $9,000,000          $128,500,000

4. Risen                        $7,000,000          $22,700,000

5. Eddie the Eagle       $6,300,000          $6,300,000

6. Triple 9                    $6,103,096          $6,100,000

7. How to Be Single     $5,155,000          $39,600,000

8. The Witch                 $5,009,662          $16,600,000

9. Race                         $4,273,000          $13,800,000

10. The Revenant         $3,800,000          $170,500,000

Written by Jacob Maracle (https://twitter.com/TheDrizzle37)

Weekend Box Office 2/19/2016 - 2/21/2016

Weekend Box Office 2/19/2016 - 2/21/2016

   Another weekend another victory for "Deadpool". The little movie that could, yep i'm still calling it that, took the box office crown for the second straight week and in doing so also became the highest grossing "X-Men" movie of all time.

   In its ninth day in theatres the movie has already pulled in over $200 million and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. That 9 day total puts it in some pretty exclusive company and actually puts it ahead of where "Iron Man 2" and "Avatar" were at the same point in their runs.

   "Deadpool" pulled in an estimated $55 million over the weekend which equals about a 58% drop from the opening weekend. Thats pretty much in line with the usual drop for movies going into week 2 and with the ultra strong word of mouth look for the "Merc with the mouth" to make it a three-peat next week as well. Its also wirth noting that as a R-rated comic book movie released in winter there really is no metric to compare it too. We're blazing new trails with this one so your guess is as good as mine.

   In other Fox news "Kung Fu Panda 3" remained in 2nd place with $12.5 million and a grand total of $117 million domestic. While that may sound good, and it is, thats still $26 million less then the 2nd one made by this point and its overall gross including international is at less then half of the sequels total. That means its unlikely to reach the previous movies totals and could spell future trouble for the franchise.

   Also opening this weekend was "Risen". The faith based drama about the Romans search for Jesus after he was reserected opened strongly in 3rd with $11.8 million. Thats around what "War Room", a similar faith themed movie, opened to. That seems like a good thing until you factor in that "Risen" opened in twice as many theaters as "War Room". The movie had a pretty good Cinemascore of A- but a mediocre Rotten Tomatoes score of 59% though none of that matters to Christian viewers so we'll see how it goes from here. Still has to be considered a disappointment though so far.

   Also opening this weekend was the much hyped horror movie "The Witch" and it debuted with a mixed bag. Sure it wasn't supposed to get a theater release at all so on that front its $8.5 million debut is good but it also opened in over 2000 theaters, more then the most recent "Paranormal Activity" movie. It also is getting savaged by fans with a Cinemascore of only C- despite an 88% from Rotten Tomatoes. This means while critics love it audiences are much more lukewarm on it and that could spell trouble for it moving forward.

   "Race", the Jesse Owens biopic, also opened this weekend but sadly was kinda ignored. While it did meet studio expectations the $7.2 million it didn't exactly set the world on fire and not encouraging when you consider "McFarland, USA" opened the same weekend last year to $11 million, and thats the most anyone has talked about it since then, things don't look good for the movie to make much of an impact. check out the rest of the weekends box office numbers below.

Here’s the current top ten, based on studio estimates:

---

	Title	Weekend	Total
1.	Deadpool	$55,000,000	$235,400,000
2.	Kung Fu Panda 3	$12,500,000	$117,000,000
3.	Risen	$11,800,000	$11,800,000
4.	The Witch	$8,685,000	$8,600,000
5.	How to be Single	$8,220,000	$31,700,000
6.	Race	$7,275,000	$7,200,000
7.	Zoolander 2	$5,500,000	$23,700,000
8.	Star Wars: The Force Awakens	$3,836,000	$921,600,000
9.	The Revenant	$3,800,000	$165,100,000
10.	Hail, Caesar!	$2,640,000	$26,100,000

Weekend Box Office 2/12/2016 - 2/14/2016

Weekend Box Office 2/12/2016 - 2/14/2016

As if anyone else was gonna win

  

 It was pretty much assumed that "Deadpool" was going to take the Box Office crown over the Valentines day weekend but no one expected it to be the runaway hit that it was! "Deadpool" won the weekend Box Office with an estimated $135 million dollars! That total is nearly twice what the analyst were expecting it to make and is easily the highest grossing R-Rated movie of all time, that's right of ALL time! The holiday weekend, a harsh sub zero weather system all over the east coast and the fact its an ultra violent comic book movie opening on Valentines Day makes this the biggest, but most welcome shocker, the movie industry has seen in a long time and could have major repercussions for movies down the line but we'll talk about that later.

   Record after record fell to a movie that no one even saw coming even 2 years ago. Here's a few of that fell over the weekend according to Box Office Mojo: 

Largest February Opening Weekend: $85.1 million; Fifty Shades of Grey

Largest 4-Day President’s Day Weekend: $93 million; Fifty Shades of Grey

Largest R-Rated Opening Weekend: $91.7 million; The Matrix Reloaded

Largest R-Rated Comic Adaptation Opening: $70.8 million; 300

Largest Winter Opening Weekend: $89.2 million; American Sniper

Largest Opening for 20th Century Fox: $108.4 million; Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

   

   That's a pretty impressive list of records to win and that's not even all of them. "Deadpool" was able to cut across pretty much every demographic and its word of mouth and reviews were also amazing which no doubt led people off the couch to see what all the buzz was about. This makes "Deadpool" the 4th highest grossing opening weekend of all-time, that's not just R-rated either that's all movies period, and had a higher opening then movies like "Guardians of the Galaxy","Iron Man 2" and all "Harry Potter" movies except for the second "Deathly Hallows". That's impressive enough but when you also consider that the total was reached without extra 3D money since the movie was only released in 2D. Needless to say a sequel is on the beyond fast track at Fox and helps them erase the memory of "Fantastic Four" from earlier this summer.

   Speaking of people who are over the moon today is Ryan Reynolds. The actor has been trying to get this movie made since the day he came to Hollywood and he has been proven prophetic on the mass appeal the character has. Reynolds was also very much in need of not only a hit at the Box Office but a movie to remove the stigma of "Green Lantern" from his head and he's now done that and more. The opening is the highest of his career, easily beating "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" $85 million ironically, and now gives him the franchise he's been dying for for years. The fact that its with the character he knew could do it all along and that he was born to play has to make it all the more sweet.

   Now with "Deadpool" sucking all the air out of the room and taking all the audience the weekends other 2 new releases both suffered as well. The Warner Brother movie "How to be single" came close to its projections by making about $18.75 million over the weekend to open in 3rd place. The R-rated comedy starring Rebel Wilson should be able to reach $23 by the end of Monday which should put it safely in the profitable if not exactly hit territory.

   "Zoolander 2" however....well that's a different story. The sequel was unable to catch even the fire of  the under performing original and debuted with a woeful $16.5 million. That's a full $30 million lower then "Zoolander" and an absolute dreadful start. The fact it looks unlikely to even reach $20 million after the holiday Monday which meanswe have a certified bomb on our hands so don't be looking for a third one at any point well ever. You're on the clock for a hit now Ben Stiller, its been awhile.

Here’s this weekend’s top ten, based on studio estimates:

	Title	Weekend	Total
1.	Deadpool	$135,050,000	$135,000,000
2.	Kung Fu Panda 2	$19,650,000	$93,900,000
3.	How to be Single	$18,750,000	$18,750,000
4.	Zoolander 2	$16,650,000	$16,650,000
5.	The Revenant	$6,900,000	$159,100,000
6.	Hail, Caesar!	$6,590,000	$21,300,000
7.	Star Wars: The Force Awakens	$6,194,000	$914,800,000
8.	The Choice	$5,250,000	$13,200,000
9.	Ride Along 2	$4,130,000	$82,600,000
10.	The Boy	$2,913,000	$30,700,000

 Title

Weekend

Total

1.

 Deadpool

$135,050,000

$135,000,000

2.

 Kung Fu Panda 2

$19,650,000

$93,900,000

3.

 How to be Single

$18,750,000

$18,750,000

4.

 Zoolander 2

$16,650,000

$16,650,000

5.

 The Revenant

$6,900,000

$159,100,000

6.

 Hail, Caesar!

$6,590,000

$21,300,000

7.

 Star Wars: The Force Awakens

$6,194,000

$914,800,000

8.

 The Choice

$5,250,000

$13,200,000

9.

 Ride Along 2

$4,130,000

$82,600,000

10.

 The Boy

$2,913,000

$30,700,000

Weekend Box Office 2/5/2016 - 2/7/2016

Weekend Box Office 2/5/2016 - 2/7/2016

Our returning champion

   Well it was Superbowl Weekend everyone which means traditionally pretty much no one goes to the movies and this weekend seemed to keep to that. "Kung Fu Panda 3" was able to hold on to the top spot this weeked pulling in an estimated $21 Million. While not terrible that's a pretty steep drop for a childrens movie at about 49% from opening weekend. While the movie will still be a pretty big hit due to international markets i'm sure the producers were hoping it would have made a bigger splash domestically.

The Clooney abides

   Also opening this weekend was the new Coen Brothers movie "Hail, Caesar!" which opened right in line with projections at about $11.4 million. That's pretty much in line with what Coen Brothers movies usually make and what the studio expects. The duo while huge critical and cult darlings have never been known for movies that make alot in the theatres and they usually gain steam the longer their out. Luckily despite the star-studded cast with the like of George Clooney, Channing Tatum, Josh Brolin, Scarlet Johansson and so on the brothers reputation allows them to get these stars cheaper then normal which keeps cost down which makes the low grosses palatable and gives them the space to let the movie grow post home release which gains them buzz so they can get funded for another movie. Gotta love the movie business right?

Just based on the poster....hard pass on this one

   On the not so bright side of things the new Nicolas Sparks movie "The Choice" opened without its usual Channing Tatum bump and was pretty much ignored with a gross of $6 million. Its terrible Rotten Tomatoes score of 6% isn't going to help that number go up at all despite the Valentines weekend coming up. 

Thats right, fight off those critics

   Now onto the just dreadful news. "Pride and Predjudice and Zombies", the looonnnnggg in production adaption of the once popular Seth Grahame-Smith book was expected to open to an already disappointing $10 million but it wasn't even able to get their. It opened completely DOA with a paltry $5.2 million. That's a third of his last movie adaptation "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" which opened with $16 million in 2012. Horror Comedies are traditionally a very tough sell but with the success of "Krampus" the producers of "PPZ" were hoping they'd be able to tap into that vein. The weird premise didn't have the same draw however and when you add in Jane Austen books have never made much money you had a perfect storm of failure brewing.Now despite a decent Rotten Tomatoes score of 40 and a cinemascore of B- this one looks destined to be out of the theatres and buried very quickly so if you want to see it better make it fast.

   "Pride and Predjudice and Zombies" isn't the only huge flop as "The Finest Hour" and "Dirty Grandpa" continued to perform terrible. "Dirty Grandpa" is for sure yet another bomb for Zac Efron and continues to cast doubt on his ability to draw an audience on his own. Meanwhile "The Finest Hour" is a big old stinking failure and is set to loss a ton of money with a budget over $100 million and only making $15 million is 2 weeks. See ya in "Star Trek" movies for the rest of your career Chris Pine.

Check out the whole Top Ten below:

Title	Weekend	Total
1.  Kung Fu Panda 3	$21,000,000	$69,000,000
2. Hail, Caesar!	$11,440,000	$11,440,000
3. The Revenant	$7,100,000	$149,700,000
4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens	$6,890,000	$905,900,000
5. The Choice	$6,085,000	$6,085,000
6. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies	$5,200,000	$5,200,000
7. The Finest Hours	$4,715,000	$18,300,000
8. Ride Along 2	$4,520,000	$77,200,000
9. The Boy	$4,098,000	$26,800,000
10. Dirty Grandpa	$4,050,000	$29,300,000