It was a huge day at the box office, though with almost the least-appealing fare (arguably).
Fifty Shades of Grey topped the box office, as anticipated, and like the buzz surrounding it, opened huge. The adaptation of the crass novel pulled in $30.2 million on Friday. Right now, its anyone's guess how it will play from here. Negative reviews (25% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a "C+" CinemaScore will only hurt it later in its run. Valentine's Day will either soften the blow significantly, or business could boom higher. Right now, I'm leaning for in the middle, and say Fifty holds about even for Valentine's before crashing down on Sunday. I'm going to guess $75 million for the 3-day weekend, and around $85 million for the four-day stretch. In the end, Grey will fall short of Passion of the Christ's $83 million 3-day debut back in 2004 for the biggest February opening ever.
Kingsman: The Secret Service, meanwhile, over-performed, pulling in a solid $10.5 million on Friday. At this rate, with good reviews (70% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a "B+" CinemaScore, this should hold up considerably better through the weekend. Look for around $32 million for the 3-day and a 4-day weekend anywhere from $38-40 million.
After topping last weekend, The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water fell a somewhat alarming 56% to $6.5 million on Friday. That's a rough drop for an animated film, but some parents were distracted by the new openers. Look for Spongebob to recover some though over the weekend, and the extended weekend will keep Sunday's typical drop less than normal. Look for close to $30 million for the 3-day, and a $37-40 million 4-day stretch as kids flock to the movies on President's Day.
American Sniper continued to play well with mainstream moviegoers. The Oscar contender was off 38% in the face of the new releases to $3.8 million. Look for $14 million for the 3-day and $18 million for the extended frame. Finally, Jupiter Ascending felt the brunt of the new releases, and was down 68% to $2 million on Friday, in what should be $7 million for the 3-day and $9 million for the 4-day stretch.
Below the Top 5, Paddington should pull in around $5 million for the 4-day, while The Imitation Game should end up just below that. Seventh Son, The Wedding Ringer and Black or White, as expected, are in a close race for eighth place with each expected to pull in anywhere from $3-3.5 million for the 4-day stretch. No Friday numbers are available for Project Almanac. Finally, Christian romance Old-Fashioned is likely to pull in around $1.3 million for the four-day weekend, which is very solid considering its only playing in around 200 locations.
