As what many expected, sci-fi YA adaptation Ender's Game topped the bx office at the start of the 2013 holiday movie season with $27 million. That translates to a per-venue average of a decent $7,930. That's about in line with expectations, and much higher than recent YA franchise wannabes such as Beautiful Creatures, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, and it was also higher than Warm Bodies at the beginning of this year. It couldn't hold a candle to the first Twilight though (not to mention The Hunger Games). Still, for a competitive month, this is a decent debut, though far from a great one. Reviews were similarly decent, though unspectacular, and audiences gave it a "B+" CinemaScore. Strong competition in the weeks ahead won't keep this in theaters past Thanksgiving. Distributor Summit/Lionsgate was hoping for a $25 million debut, and they produced the star-studded flick for around $110 million.After topping last week, Bad Grandpa surprisingly held on quite well for a movie in its' comedy franchise. The R-rated crass fest was off 38% to $20 million, for a strong $61.6 million gross in 10 days. That's the lightest hold in the franchise's history, and if it keeps this up, its' likely Bad Grandpa will finish above $100 million.
Debuting in third place with solid results was Last Vegas, which tallied $16.3 million, for a per-venue average of a decent $5,329. That was on the high-end of analysts' expectations, which had the film debuting in the low-to-mid-teens millions. For all actors involved, its' a pretty average start. It was in line with Robert De Niro's last flick The Family, its' a return to form for Kevin Kline, its' middling by Michael Douglas standards, and way down from Morgan Freeman's other films this year (including Olympus Has Fallen). Distributor CBS Films made a wise move putting this here, as there's basically no other options for older audiences. The budget was $28 million, and with little competition over the rest of the month, its likely Last Vegas plays well through the month. CBS was hoping for a $14 million debut, and audiences awarded it an "A-" CinemaScore.
Barely shoved down to fourth was the final new release, animated comedy Free Birds. The original turkey and Thanksgiving-themed comedy opened to $15.8 million, for a per-venue average of a unspectacular $4,231. That opening was at the low-end of expectations, and was the same as earlier this year's Escape from Planet Earth. It also opened to roughly the same as 2010's Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, half of what Puss in Boots opened with, and was a third of Wreck-it Ralph's opening weekend. For a Thanksgiving movie, this isn't a particularly strong start, though it should hold well over the next few weeks in order to possibly make up the difference. The budget was held to just $55 million, which should be reachable, if not add about $5-$10 million more by the time its' done. Critics panned it, though audiences gave it an "A-" CinemaScore, and it doesn't face competition until Disney's Frozen debuts in four weeks. Relativity Media, the distributor, was hoping for a $16-$19 million debut.With its IMAX screens stolen by Ender's Game, Gravity did drop a bit from last weekend, off 36% to $12.8 million, for an incredible $218.9 million gross since its' debut one month ago. The film is still well-positioned to close with $250 million by the time its' done. Fellow adult drama Captain Phillips held well, off 28% to $8.4 million, for a strong $82.5 million gross in 24 days, and should find its' way to above $100 milllion. Expanding to 410 locations, 12 Years a Slave added $4.8 million, a solid, but unspectacular sum for an expanding awards season favorite. The film averaged $11,688 per venue and has earned $9 million in 17 days.
Despite the presence of turkeys, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 somehow still thrived, and was off a light 34% to $4.2 million. Since its' debut six weeks ago, the animated sequel has earned a solid $106.1 million, on its' way to around $115 million. The Counselor plummeted 57% to $3.4 million, for a pale $13.4 million gross in 10 days. Word-of-mouth just isn't good here, and its' likely the film will miss the $20 million mark. Rounding out the Top 10, even with Halloween's passing, the Carrie remake somehow held itself better than last weekend, and was off 46% to $3.3 million, for a relatively mediocre $31.8 million gross in 17 days, with not much more to go.
Overseas, Thor: The Dark World opened overseas, and earned a powerful $109.4 million in its' first five days of release from 70% of the international marketplace. According to Disney, the films' foreign openings were up, on average around 25% from the original Thor, which should signal a final worldwide gross of at least $550 million. The Marvel sequel is pacing to open between $85 and $100 million next weekend in the U.S. Gravity added $27.1 million from most major markets, and passed $400 million worldwide. Turbo earned an additional $12.3 million from 21 markets, and is at $270 million worldwide so far. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Captain Phillips rounded out the Top 5 with $11.5 million and $10 million, respectively, for worldwide totals of $175 million and $130 million so far.
