It obviously was all about Fifty Shades of Grey this weekend, which had tracked at through-the-roof levels for weeks. The adaptation of the controversial, crass novel pulled in a huge $81.7 million, for a per-venue average of a strong $22,400. The Valentine's Day number was a mystery until this morning, when it was revealed the almost NC-17 movie jumped up 20% to almost $37 million on the date-night day from its huge opening day (with V-Day's passing, however, its projected to fall a heavy 60% on Sunday to $14.5 million). For the extended frame (President's Day Monday included), Grey is likely to inch just north of $90 million (barring an unexpected huge drop-off). Regardless of how things pan out, the result is still, well (not wanting to say this for this movie though), fantastic for distributor Universal (financially this is true though, as the budget was just $40 million, half of the opening weekend). Don't expect it to hang around for long, though, as Valentine's Day has come and gone, and its core fanbase has already come out. It probably will remain #1 next weekend, but by default and drop hard (the new openers are only expected to tally $10 million apiece), before losing out to Will Smith's Focus in two weeks. For the month of February, Grey ranked just behind The Passion of the Christ for the second-biggest debut ever for the month.
Meanwhile, the other new release overperformed. James Bond spoof Kingsman: The Secret Service, which pulled in a strong $35.6 million, and a per-venue average of a great $11,111. Strategically scheduled to lure guys away from the girl-snatching Grey, the plan paid off in multiples. The film was a second-straight hit for director Matthew Vaughn, who's previous effort, X-Men: First Class, opened to $55 million a few years back. In comparison, many were thinking the four-day gross would be around $30 million. In this case, the four-day gross will likely hit in the $40-42 million range. Reviews were good (73% on Rotten Tomatoes), and the CinemaScore a good "B+". Look for better playability out of this one, with a decent chance at $100 million stateside. The budget on this one was a relatively expensive $81 million, so this one definitely needed a strong start.After topping last weekend, The Spongebob Movie: Sponge out of Water fell to third, and was down 45% to $30.5 million, for a very solid $93.7 million gross in 10 days, or just slightly off from Tangled's $96.8 million 10-day gross. That isn't a great hold for an animated movie (The LEGO Movie was off just 28% in its second weekend), but not a horrible one either. Spongebob should be able to pull in around $38 million for the four-day frame as kids flock to theaters on Monday. As for long-term prospects, look for it to stabilize better over the coming weeks. But $200 million is now out of play.
American Sniper continued to play well amongst high-grossing competition, as the Oscar contender was off just 29% to $16.4 million in its fifth weekend wide (8th since limited release). Sniper passed the $300 million milestone, and has earned a fantastic $304.1 million in 56 days. The 4-day gross should land around $20 million.
Jupiter Ascending couldn't save any face, and was down 49% to $9.4 million, in what will likely be a $12 million 4-day gross. In 10 days, the Wachowski's latest is at a disappointing $32.6 million, and at this rate, will be lucky to reach $50 million. Seventh Son also didn't save face, but its 42% second weekend drop (thanks to a stronger-than-usual Saturday bump) is actually a very light drop for its genre. Still though, the Jeff Bridges flick earned only $4.2 million on the weekend ($5.5 million for the 4-day) and is at a paltry $13.4 million in 10 days. It will be lucky to reach $20 million by the time theaters rush it out.
Tied with Seventh Son for sixth was Paddington, which continued holding on strong due to no added competition for families. It was off just 21% to $4.15 million ($5.5 million 4-day), for a solid $62.3 million pick-up in one month of release. At this rate (and no competition until mid-March), Paddington will likely close around $75 million. Fellow Weinstein Company pic The Imitation Game followed in its eighth weekend in the Top 10, off just 25% to $3.5 million ($4.4 million 4-day). The Oscar contender sits at $79.7 million in 84 days (since its limited release), and will probably finish at around $90 million (the ceremony is a week from today).
The Wedding Ringer spent a fifth-straight weekend in the Top 10, as the Kevin Hart pic fell just 28% to $3.4 million ($4 million 4-day). In one month of release, the R-rated comedy has earned a very solid $59.7 million. Rounding out the Top 10 was Project Almanac, which fell 48%, losing some of its audience to Grey and Kingsman. The found footage project earned $2.7 million ($3.3 million 4-day), and is at a soft $19.6 million in 17 days.
Next weekend brings Kevin Costner again in a Disney movie, sports drama McFarland, USA. Also opening are Hot Tub Time Machine 2 and something called The DUFF (?).
