Despite fierce and better-received competition, nothing could stop Taken 2 from keeping its' crown. The action sequel did take a hit though, down 56% from its' bustling debut last weekend to $21.9 million, for a strong $86.1 million gross in just 10 days. That hold was nowhere near its' predecessor, which only had a 20% second weekend slip, but we need to remember that sequels usually have fan bases rushing out early to see it, plus critical reception was nowhere near as good (and it appears word-of-mouth isn't as bustling either). The movie is a lock to pass $100 million stateside, but we're going to have to wait and see if it will be able to eventually pass its' predecessor's $145 million domestic total. If it continues to see sharp drops, it won't, but if it starts to stabilize next week, it has a fair shot. Regardless of what happens though, distributor 20th Century Fox has another huge hit on their hands, and it wouldn't be surprising if a Taken 3 was green-lit within the next year or so. Overseas, the sequel continued to dominate foreign markets, with its' worldwide gross already standing close to the original Taken's final tally ($219 million vs. $226 million).
Opening in second place with better-than-expected numbers was Ben Affleck's critically-adored thriller Argo. The awards-season favorite earned a solid $19.5 million, for a per-theater average of an admirable $6,020 from around 3,800 screens at 3,232 theaters. True, that opening fell short of Affleck's last film The Town ($23.8 million), but this movie's more confusing concept made it a bit harder of a sell, especially when its' Iranian Crisis-focus did stir a bit of controversy. So, even with all of those disadvantages, the opening was still pretty solid. Add in the fact that audiences also loved the R-rated pic (a rare "A+" CinemaScore), and we could be looking at a real sleeper hit over the next several weeks. Distributor Warner Bros. Pictures was anticipating an opening of around $20 million, and they produced the film for about $45 million.
Also surprisingly making an impact this weekend was the much buzzed-about horror flick Sinister, which debuted to a strong $18 million in third place, for a per-theater average of a good $7,222 from around 2,800 screens at 2,527 theaters. Considering it has to deal with Paranormal Activity 4 next weekend, this was a fabulous start. The opening was basically the same as the three-day start of last month's The Possession and gave distributor Lionsgate (through Summit Entertainment, who recently merged with them) another major victory, as the budget was just a puny $3 million. Even if it falls apart completely next weekend (it only received a "C+" CinemaScore), its' still going to be a profitable success.
Despite more competition, Hotel Transylvania continued to thrive. The latest animated hit had another solid hold, down only 36% to $17.2 million (it actually was #1 on Sunday), for a strong $102.1 million in 17 days and becoming the years' 19th film to pass the $100 million milestone domestically. The movie should continue to hold well through Halloween, and has an outside shot at reaching $150 million domestically.
But like almost every weekend, it wasn't all good news. Kevin James' latest attempt to take in family audiences Here Comes The Boom only managed a fifth place debut this weekend, tallying $11.8 million, for a per-theater average of a mild $3,921 from around 3,600 screens at 3,014 theaters. That was the lowest start of James' career, as it was even lower than the universally-hated The Dilemma ($17.6 million). It also was only roughly two-thirds of his last family effort Zookeeper ($20.1 million). But the Fall release date wasn't exactly a good one and there was plenty of competition. Plus the MMA fighting did turn off some families with younger children. But don't call it a disaster quite yet. Despite mixed reviews (which actually are quite strong considering James' resume), audiences loved it, giving the film an "A" CinemaScore. And, its' the only real family comedy on the market for the next several weeks, so it could see some strong holds over the next several weeks or so. Produced for $42 million by distributor Columbia Pictures, it was expected to open between $10 and $15 million.
With its' positive word-of-mouth, Pitch Perfect continued to sing, with a 38% dip to $9.3 million, for a $36.1 million gross in 17 days. The musical comedy could make its' way to a $55-$60 million finish. Frankenweenie also held respectively, down 38% to $7.1 million, for a less-impressive $22.1 million in 10 days. The black-and-white animated film will be lucky to get past its' $39 million price tag, even with a Halloween bump, by the time it leaves theaters. Looper began to start to fade, down 49% to $6.2 million, for a $51.3 million tally in 17 days and will likely take a hit from Alex Cross and Paranormal Activity 4 next weekend.
The other new nationwide release, Seven Psychopaths, couldn't even match by low-ball prediction. The comedy debuted with just $4.2 million, coming in ninth place and averaging a dismal $2,821 from 1,480 theaters. Distributor CBS Films didn't promote it like the studio had faith in it, and as a result, Psychopaths even fell short of the independent studio's last month's flop, The Words. A nationwide expansion has been rumored to be planned, but with this low opening, I wouldn't count on it.
Rounding out the Top 10 and jumping into the list for the first time was independent release The Perks of Being A Wallflower, which expanded into 726 theaters and earned $2.15 million, for a not-good $2,962 per-theater average. Since its' limited opening four weeks ago, the film has earned $6.2 million.
Internationally, Taken 2 was tops again with another strong showing, $41 million from more than 50 markets. Ted returned to the runner-up position, with more strong numbers, $13.9 million from 44 markets. With $469 million worldwide (and $250 million of that coming from overseas), the foul-mouthed Teddy bear comedy has become the largest-grossing R-rated comedy of all-time. Hotel Transylvania was close behind with another $13.7 million from 24 territories, for a total of near $50 million in three weeks. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted started to wind down a robust overseas run with another $10.4 million from 29 countries, bringing its' worldwide tally to over $680 million ($465 million coming from overseas with its' final market opening next weekend). Rounding out the Top 5 was Looper, which has no official numbers yet, but is expected to gross at least $9 million from 31 markets, for a overseas tally near $60 million.
