In the end, it was crime flick End of Watch that wound up at the #1 spot, with $13.2 million (down from its' $13.6 million estimate), for a per-theater average of a not bad $4,818 from around 3,000 screens at 2,730 theaters. That was much higher than what analysts were expecting, as they were projecting a debut a few million shorter than that. Distributor Open Road Films (a joint venture owned by AMC and Regal cinemas) has to be pleased, as this is their second #1 debut this year (The Grey had a #1 debut in January), and the budget was only a reported $7 million. The film beat out the new distributor's first title Killer Elite, which opened to $9 million this same weekend last year, and it further made star Jake Gyllenhaal a draw at the box office. Critics gave the film overwhelmingly positive attention (86% on Rotten Tomatoes), and audiences liked it as well ("A-" CinemaScore). The film will have to compete against Bruce Willis' Looper next weekend, but it does seem like it could be in for a solid multiple by the time it finishes its' run in theaters.Winding up in second place and overestimated, horror flick House at the End of the Street got off to a modest start, earning $12.3 million (down from its' $13.6 million estimate), and averaging a mild $3,985 from around 3,600 screens at a very wide (for its' genre) 3,083 theaters. It was the weekend of minor/emerging distributors as Relativity Media scored a rare hit (out of many failures thus far). On a budget of just a reported $10 million, the independent studio will likely see a nice profit. One has to credit The Hunger Games' star Jennifer Lawrence for this opening, however, as her now-bustling fanbase did show up in modest numbers this weekend. Critical reception was negative however and the opening didn't exactly match what some analysts were anticipating (they were predicting at least a mid-teens opening weekend). Audiences gave the film a "B" CinemaScore (same as The Possession), which is solid for a horror flick and could signal some stability down the road. But as with all horror films, who knows?
Right behind in third place with disappointing results was the baseball drama Trouble with the Curve, which found just $12.2 million, for a per-theater average of an okay $3,786 from around 3,800 screens at 3,212 theaters. That wasn't one of the best starts in star Clint Eastwood's career, but it usually takes a while for an older audience-targeted pic to actually see audiences start to come in (Hope Springs had a $14 million debut, but saw strong legs, finishing with over four times that amount). The movie also only managed to earn about two-thirds of what the same distributor's (Warner Bros.) Moneyball took in on this same weekend last year. Budgeting information is not available, but critics gave the drama mixed critical reception, though audiences gave it more positive response ("B+" CinemaScore). With the World Series coming up plus not much competition for its' audience, Curve could still see similar legs to what Hope Springs saw earlier this year.
Following its' moderate debut last weekend, Disney's 3D re-release of Finding Nemo did jump ahead of its' second weekend competition this weekend, and dropped 42% to $9.6 million, for a respectable $30.2 million in 10 days. That hold was nowhere near The Lion King's re-release second weekend hold, but was better than Beauty and the Beast's re-release second weekend hold. If anything, Nemo appears to be running in line with Legend of the Guardians through the same point. If it isn't affected by Hotel Transylvania and Disney's own Frankenweenie over the next two weekends, then Nemo does stand a chance at closing near or maybe even slightly above that films' $56 million domestic total.
Unlike Nemo however, Resident Evil: Retribution did suffer the consequences. The fifth installment in the action horror series plunged 68% to $6.7 million, for just a $33.5 million gross in 10 days. That's the worst drop yet for an installment in the Resident Evil series, and it looks like Retribution will probably end up in the $40-$45 million range, the second-lowest tally in the series by far. But with strong international grosses by far, its' likely this won't be the last installment.
The last new release, Dredd, was a total misfire. Landing in sixth place for the weekend, the 3D action pic earned just $6.3 million, for a per-theater average of a dismal 2,505 from 2,506 theaters. That was a lot lower than what analysts were expecting (they were pegging it for a $10-$13 million opening), and was the first major disappointing opening this year for distributor Lionsgate. Despite seemingly good anticipation and overwhelmingly good reviews, the pic just couldn't connect with audiences. With the budget at a reported $50 million, this will be a major write-off.
Expanding into 788 theaters, buzzed about film The Master earned seventh place this weekend, with a solid, but unspectacular $4.4 million, for a per-theater average of a Top 10-best $5,572. Since its' limited opening last weekend, the film has earned $5.4 million. With awards season drawing closer, look for the film to remain in theaters for a while. Other holdovers didn't make a big dent this weekend. With more competition, The Possession was down 54% to $2.6 million, for a solid $45.3 million gross in 24 days. The leggy animated spookfest ParaNorman followed with another strong hold, a Top 10 best 24% to $2.34 million, for a $52.6 million gross in six weeks of release. Rounding out the Top 10 was Lawless, which dropped 47% to $2.29 million, for a 24-day tally of a moderate $34.5 million.
Overseas, Resident Evil: Retribution held the top spot with a solid hold, down 39% from last time to $30.3 million from 70 markets. In two weeks, the horror five-quel has tallied a nice $103 million overseas, and close to $140 million worldwide. But it will have to take stronger holds in the weeks ahead for it to reach its' predecessor's $236 million overseas tally. Ted continued to expand, taking second place for the weekend with a strong $9.4 million in 44 markets, bringing its' overseas tally to past $200 million and worldwide tally to near $420 million and counting. The Bourne Legacy took third with another $8.7 million from 54 territories, bringing its' overseas total to past $100 million and worldwide total to $215 million. Brave, which wrapped its' domestic run last week, continued to do modest business, jumping back into the Top 5, with another $5.7 million from 55 territories. With $275 million overseas by far (and $510 million worldwide), it will be the first Pixar movie since Cars to miss the $300 million mark overseas. Rounding out the Top 5 was fellow animated flick Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, which earned another $5 million from 36 markets, pushing its' overseas gross to an arguably more impressive $415 million and worldwide tally to almost $630 million, a franchise-high.
