As expected, Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal's thriller Prisoners topped the box office. The R-rated flick opened to $20.8 million, for a per-venue average of a decent $6,386 from 3,260 locations. That was at the high-end of analysts' expectations, which ranged from the mid-teens millions to $20 million. That's in line with recent Warner Bros. openers from previous years, including Argo ($19 million) and The Town ($23 million). Considering the films' 2 1/2 hour running time and complicated premise, this is a nice-sized opening by all means. For Jackman, this is yet another win added to his X-Men and Les Miserables series of successes. Its' also one of the better starts in Gyllenhaal's career, and was ahead of last year's End of Watch. Prisoners received great reviews and a "B+" CinemaScore, which bodes well for the road ahead. However, there's a lot of competition ahead, including Runner Runner, Gravity among others. Distributor Warner Bros. released no official projection for the weekend, and they produced it for $46 million.Following one of the best debuts in September history, Insidious - Chapter Two took a plunge, as expected. The horror sequel lost roughly two-thirds of its' business, down 66% to $13.8 million, for a 10-day pick-up of a still-strong $60.2 million. The flick won't reach $100 million, but will instead settle for a finish around $80 million, in line with 2010's Paranormal Activity 2.
Also not holding well was The Family, which fell 50% to $7 million, for a $25.6 million gross in the same amount of time. The Robert De Niro thriller has over-performed and will finish near $40 million. Expanding to 978 locations, foreign hit Instructions Not Included amazingly increased 11% to $5.4 million, for a 24-day pick-up of $34 million. Looks like a $50 million finish is in the cards again.
Coming in just $45,000 away from a seventh-straight weekend in the Top 5, We're The Millers continued its' long run, off just 16% to $4.56 million, for a 51-day pick-up of a huge $138.1 million, and if it continues to hold like this, it looks like $150 million is back in play. Millers did spend a seventh-straight frame above 3,000 locations though, which is quite remarkable. Fellow August leggy hit The Butler also held strong, off 24% to $4.2 million, for a $106.3 million pick-up in 42 days. Riddick did stabilize a bit better this time, off 47% to $3.7 million, for a modest $37.2 million in 17 days.
Opening for a one-week limited engagement in IMAX 3D theaters, The Wizard of Oz returned to theaters with strong returns, earning $3.1 million, for an average of a Top 10-best $9,730 from just 318 locations. Looks like the 75-year old classic hasn't lost its' charm, and with little competition for family audiences, Wizard's IMAX 3D re-issue was much higher than that of Top Gun and Raiders of the Lost Ark from the past couple of years.
Rounding out the Top 10 was Planes, which continued to hold well, off 13% to $2.7 million. With $86.4 million in seven weeks of release (49 days), the Disney film will now reach $90 million, even with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 set to take family audiences in on Friday.
Overseas, The Smurfs 2 took the top spot for the third non-consecutive time, with $14.1 million from most markets, including a solid opening in Italy. The sequel passed $300 million worldwide this weekend. Turbo opened to a strong $9.8 million in China, and added $12.4 million overall, with its' overseas gross approaching $100 million. Despicable Me 2, which was denied a Chinese release, opened strong in Japan, with a $10.3 million frame, and is about to pass $500 million overseas (and has passed $850 million worldwide). Elysium added $10.3 million from just about all markets, with its' overseas gross passing $150 million. The Conjuring rounded out the Top 5 with another $10.1 million from just about all territories, for a $150 million overseas pick-up, and is near $300 million worldwide...
