Taking the top spot was 3D horror flick Resident Evil: Retribution, which was able to nab $21.1 million this weekend, for a per-theater average of a solid $6,989 from 3,012 theaters (with 66% of sales coming from 3D showings). The fifth installment of the popular Resident Evil franchise posted the second-least grossing opening of its' history (with only the original Resident Evil behind it, but its' the least-attended due to years of ticket price inflation). The most recent installment, Afterlife, was out nearly two years ago, and earned $26.7 million on its' opening weekend, on its' way to $60 million stateside. With negative critical reception and a discouraging "C+" CinemaScore grade, its' very likely Retribution will fall short of that installment's final gross. Produced for a reported $65 million by distributor Screen Gems, analysts were expecting the film to open in the low-to-mid 20's millions.
Largely expected to take the top spot this weekend, Finding Nemo returned to theaters with a 3D upgrade, and instead settled for the second spot with $16.7 million, for a per-theater average of a decent $5,746 from 2,904 theaters (96% of business coming from 3D). That was the lowest-opening for a 3D re-release to date, and was just over half of last year's The Lion King. However, despite falling short of expectations, the start was still respectable, and thanks to this (and an additional $5 million overseas), Nemo's lifetime gross propelled close to the $900 million mark. With no new G-rated films being released over the next couple of months, Nemo should see strong playability, and could end up closing ahead of both Beauty and Titanic. With still many international markets left to open, the lifetime worldwide tally does have a shot at passing the $1 billion mark. Analysts projected a mid-20's millions debut for Nemo and Disney and Pixar spent less than $5 million on converting it to 3D.
Even with Resident Evil 5 as competition, The Possession miraculously held itself together, down only 38% to $5.8 million. In 17 days, the Sam Raimi-produced horror flick has earned a solid $41.1 million, and should finish between $50 and $55 million. Also holding on strong was Lawless, which was down only 28% to $4.3 million, for a $30.3 million gross in the same amount of time. The western drama will likely close just shy of $40 million.
The Expendables 2 slid to fifth place, but held decently with a 37% drop to $3.1 million, for an $80.4 million gross in one month of release, and probably doesn't have much further to go. Just $50,000 behind it and holding amazingly well (in the face of Finding Nemo), ParaNorman saw its' best hold yet. The animated spookfest was down a Top 10-best 26% to $3.1 million, for a $49.4 million gross in the same amount of time. Following its' dismal start last weekend, The Words dropped 40% to $2.9 million for a still bad $9.1 million gross in 10 days, and will likely earn only another $3-$4 million. Holding more impressively was The Bourne Legacy, which was down 28% to $2.85 million, for a $107.8 million gross in six weeks of release.
Even with a new release from the same distributor, The Odd Life of Timothy Green dropped just 29% to $2.6 million, for a $46.4 million gross in 32 days. The family drama has become a sleeper hit for Disney. Rounding out the Top 10 in its' sixth weekend was The Campaign, which was down just 28% to $2.4 million, for a strong $82.9 million in 37 days.
Overseas, Resident Evil: Retribution debuted in 65 markets and topped the international box office with a sensational $49.6 million (up 25% over Afterlife). Last week's last-minute foreign winner The Expendables 2 took second place but its' foreign numbers have yet to be reported. The Bourne Legacy took third with $8.9 million from 52 territories, pushing its' foreign gross past $90 million. In 42 territories, Ted continued to take the international box office by storm, with another $8.5 million, and is set to pass the $400 million milestone this week, and passing The Hangover to become the biggest-grossing non-sequel R-rated movie of all-time. In terms of American debuts, expanding into its' final territories, Prometheus drew another $8.3 million, pushing its' overseas gross to a strong $265 million, and its' worldwide tally close to $400 million.
