As expected, The Expendables 2 took the top spot, but it surprisingly didn't live up to its' predecessor. The action sequel earned $28.6 million, for a per-theater average of a solid $8,622 from around 4,500 screens at 3,316 theaters. Most analysts were expecting a debut north of $40 million, and against a budget of $90 million, its' clear that this was a pretty disappointing start for an ensemble tale that seemed to have high anticipation. The original Expendables opened to $35 million on its' way to $103 million. One thing that could help it though is that word-of-mouth was more positive this time around ("A-" CinemaScore, 62% on Rotten Tomatoes), and with no real competition for the next few weeks, it could see strong legs. But that's all going to have to depend on if the films' core audience came out already this past weekend or not. Distributor Lionsgate, who has had their best year yet, is on solid ground financially, as they acquired the sequel for just $35 million, and they were anticipating an opening in the mid-30's millions.
After topping last weekend, The Bourne Legacy took a hit, down 55% to $17.1 million, for a 10-day tally of a lackluster $69.6 million, or just slightly more than what The Bourne Ultimatum earned on it's opening weekend. Its' still ahead of the first Bourne movie, but its' going to need to stabilize really well over the next few weeks if it wants to break even (it had a $125 million budget).
The next-strongest new release, animated spookfest ParaNorman got off to a somewhat disappointing start, with $14.1 million and averaging a mild $4,108 from around 5,900 screens at 3,429 theaters. That was a few notches below studio Laika's previous movie Coraline, which had earned $17 million on its' debut weekend. With no new competition until mid-September, plus very positive reception from critics (87% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences ("B+" CinemaScore), Norman could still see good legs over the next few weeks. Distributor Focus Features was reported to have produced the film for close to $60 million, and they were hoping for a debut in the high-teens millions.
In its' second weekend, The Campaign also took a hit, down 51% to $13.1 million, for a 10-day tally of a solid $51.4 million. The latest R-rated comedy doesn't seem to have good word-of-mouth in its' favor, and isn't a good sign for the road ahead.
Opening in fifth place was musical drama Sparkle, which got off to a good start, with $11.6 million, for a per-theater average of a decent $5,189 from around 2,800 screens at just 2,244 theaters. Starring Jordin Sparks and featuring the final performance of the late Whitney Houston, the movie opened in line with expectations. Distributor Sony (through TriStar Pictures) had produced the film for just $14 million, which means this will likely be the most profitable of the new releases. The film did have a front-loaded opening weekend, which may not be a good sign. Audiences clearly loved it ("A" CinemaScore), but critics were more mixed (57% on Rotten Tomatoes), which could give it some legs over the next few weeks. The film was expected to debut in the low-to-mid teens millions.
The Dark Knight Rises continued to thrive in its' fifth weekend, down 42% to $11 million, and in the process becoming the years' third movie to pass $400 million domestically. Today it passed The Hunger Games to become the years' second-biggest movie (behind The Avengers). In one month of release, the finale to Christopher Nolan's trilogy has earned a huge $409.8 million.
The final new release of the weekend landed in seventh place. Disney's family drama The Odd Life of Timothy Green opened exactly as expected, $10.8 million, averaging an acceptable $4,166 from 2,598 theaters. Since its' Wednesday start, the film has earned $15.1 million. The movie landed in the same range as recent August family openers, last year's Spy Kids: All The Time in the World ($11.6 million) and 2010's Nanny McPhee Returns ($8.8 million). Critics gave it negative reviews (39% on Rotten Tomatoes), but audiences enjoyed it ("A-" CinemaScore). Again, there's no new competition until mid-September, and with a Labor Day bump expected, it could wind up with a solid multiple by the time it leaves theaters. Disney produced the film for between $25 and $40 million, and was expecting a low-to-mid teens millions 5-day start.
The only other strong movie in the Top 10 this weekend was Hope Springs, which was able to hold itself together, down 38% to $9.1 million, for a 12-day total of $35.1 million. With no competition, the romantic comedy could go as high as $65 million stateside if legs are persistent. With more competition around, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is beginning to quickly leave theaters, down 52% to $3.8 million, and has earned a good $38.7 million in 17 days. Its' now guaranteed to be the lowest-grossing installment of the franchise, but with just a $20 million budget, it may not be the last installment.
The Total Recall remake rounds out the Top 10 in its' third weekend, and does plunge once again, down 57% to $3.5 million, for a 17-day tally of a weak $51.8 million.
Internationally, The Dark Knight Rises narrowly eked out a fifth-straight victory with $20.6 million (down 42% from last round) from 61 markets, pushing its' overseas gross to nearly $500 million, and past its' predecessors' final overseas gross (its' earned close to $900 million worldwide so far). Not far behind, Total Recall turned in solid grosses in second place with another $19 million from 53 markets, bringing its' overseas gross close to $60 million. The Bourne Legacy expanded into 18 territories and earned a solid $18.2 million. The Avengers expanded into its' final countries of its' massive overseas run, earning an impressive $18 million in Japan alone, bringing its' overseas total to a huge $864 million and worldwide total to $1.482 billion. The years' biggest-grossing blockbuster is set to reach $1.5 billion worldwide and close to $900 million overseas alone. Rounding out the Top 5 internationally was Pixar's Brave, which earned $14.4 million from 46 territories, bringing its' international tally to $180 million and a worldwide tally past $400 million, marking the 11th straight Pixar title to go past that milestone.
