The Hunger Games as expected, easily held the top spot, and held OK for a blockbuster, down 62% to $58.6 million, for a per-theater average of an excellent $14,153 from around 9,600 screens at 4,137 theaters and has picked up a dynamite $248.5 million tally in 10 days. That marks the fifth-largest 10-day gross of all-time, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, The Dark Knight, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, and reached the $250 million mark faster than any other non-sequel (even Avatar). The reason why though its' 10-day total has fallen behind more movies is that it didn't have the Summer or Thanksgiving weekend to boost it, and its' drop was more precipitous than Alice in Wonderland through the same point. Still though, its' the years' biggest film by far, and will likely be headed for at least $350 million by the time it leaves theaters.
Also as expected, Wrath of the Titans crashed to earth in second with mediocre results. The sequel to the much-disliked Clash of the Titans earned $33.5 million, for a per-theater average of a good $9,438 from around 7,500 screens at 3,545 theaters (65% of business coming from 3D presentations). That was a little over half of the original Clash's $61.3 million start, and was even below distributor Warner Bros. Pictures expectations, who had predicted an opening in the high-30's millions. On a positive note, it earned a pretty good "B+" CinemaScore grade despite negative critical reception (24% at Rotten Tomatoes) and at least it didn't bomb as badly as the other throw-away sequel of the year, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (which is struggling to earn over $50 million for its' entire run). On a much more positive note, the film opened in most of the international markets and saved a lot of face with an impressive $78 million. But, a disappointing domestic performance probably won't greenlight a third film, as the budget was a hefty $150 million.
The other new release, family adventure and the first of two Snow White movies this year, Mirror Mirror, fared better than Titans, but still underwhelmed in third place with $18.1 million, for a per-theater average of a modest $5,032 from around 5,000 screens at 3,603 theaters. That was below distributor Relativity Media's expectations, who were expecting an opening in the low-to-mid 20's millions. However, it was a modest start considering that more kids will be out for Spring Break next week, and with no real competition for its' target audience until The Pirates! Band of Misfits come out at the end of April, it should be able to see good legs. Critical reception was mixed (50% on Rotten Tomatoes), while audiences gave it primarily positive reception ("B+" CinemaScore). The film was produced for $85 million, though about $35-$40 million of it was foreign rights were sold off to another studio (at least that's what I've heard).
21 Jump Street slid to fourth place, but posted a strong hold, down just 28% to $14.8 million, for a $92.9 million gross in 17 days. If it keeps going in this direction, the R-rated comedy could finish as high as $130 million. Dr. Suess' The Lorax rounded out the Top 5, and held well in the face of Mirror Mirror, easing 41% to $7.8 million, for a $189.3 million gross in one month of release. The animated blockbuster should get a bump over Easter week, and could cross the $200 million mark by the end of next weekend.
The rest of the Top 10 wasn't anywhere near as impressive.
John Carter, Disney's sci-fi catastrophe, plunged another 60% to sixth place to $2 million for a lackluster $66.2 million gross in 24 days. Expanding to 483 theaters, independent film Salmon Fishing in the Yemen broke into the Top 10 and earned seventh place with $1.3 million, and has earned $3.2 million since its' limited opening four weeks ago.
Act of Valor followed with a 51% drop to $1 million, for a $67.7 million gross in six weeks. Eddie Murphy's A Thousand Words dropped 54% to $900,000, for a forgettable $16.5 million gross in 24 days, though ahead of Meet Dave and Imagine That through the same point. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island rounded out the Top 10 once again in its' eighth weekend, and held well with a 40% drop to $800,000, for a $98.5 million gross in 56 days and should break the $100 million mark within the next couple weeks.
Overall box office was up 19% from the same time last year when Universal and Illumination scored an Easter hit with live-action/CGI film Hop, which debuted to an impressive $37.5 million, on its' way to just south of $110 million stateside and around $200 million worldwide. Jake Gyllenhaal action thriller Source Code opened in second place with a good $14.8 million, while independent horror flick Insidious debuted in third with a much stronger than expected $13.3 million. Both films would see great legs (the latter being much greater since horror films are usually front-loaded) and finish close to $55 million. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules and Limitless rounded out the Top 5 with 58% and 38% drops to $10 million and $9.3 million.
Here is the final Top 10:
# Movie Final Numbers Studio Estimates My Predictions
1 The Hunger Games $58,551,063 $61,100,000 $68,000,000
2 Wrath of the Titans $33,457,188 $34,200,000 $42,000,000
3 Mirror Mirror $18,132,085 $19,000,000 $21,000,000
4 21 Jump Street $14,830,066 $15,000,000 $12,500,000
5 Dr. Suess' The Lorax $7,784,645 $8,000,000 $7,500,000
6 John Carter $2,029,500 $2,005,000 $2,100,000
7 Salmon Fishing in the Yemen $1,272,643 $1,274,000 ----
8 Act of Valor $1,001,906 $1,006,000 $1,200,000
9 A Thousand Words $902,587 $915,000 $1,100,000
10 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island $810,388 $835,000 ----
# Movie Final Numbers Studio Estimates My Predictions
1 The Hunger Games $58,551,063 $61,100,000 $68,000,000
2 Wrath of the Titans $33,457,188 $34,200,000 $42,000,000
3 Mirror Mirror $18,132,085 $19,000,000 $21,000,000
4 21 Jump Street $14,830,066 $15,000,000 $12,500,000
5 Dr. Suess' The Lorax $7,784,645 $8,000,000 $7,500,000
6 John Carter $2,029,500 $2,005,000 $2,100,000
7 Salmon Fishing in the Yemen $1,272,643 $1,274,000 ----
8 Act of Valor $1,001,906 $1,006,000 $1,200,000
9 A Thousand Words $902,587 $915,000 $1,100,000
10 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island $810,388 $835,000 ----
