As expected, it was Will Smith that topped the box office. But Focus didn't quite live up to expectations, pulling in $19.1 million, for a per-venue average of a mild $5,748. In comparison, many were thinking this could hit $25 million. For Smith, this ranks as one of his lowest debuts of recent memory, ahead of Ali ($14.9 million) and Seven Pounds ($14.8 million), but only two-thirds of his last role in the sci-fi flop After Earth. As for co-star Margot Robbie, the film at least matched the three-day start of The Wolf of Wall Street ($18.4 million). Reviews were mixed-to-decent (56% on Rotten Tomatoes), while the CinemaScore was just an OK "B" grade. Focus will have some competition in the next couple weeks for adults from Chappie and The Gunman. However, the budget was just $50 million, so whatever financial risk distributor Warner Bros. has on this will be minimal.Holding onto second place for a third-straight weekend, Kingsman: The Secret Service held solidly, off 36% to $11.8 million. Service has earned a good $85.7 million in 17 days, and seems likely to get past $100 million by the time its done. Considering it opened against a record-breaker, that is a very strong result.
Also, holding on to third place for a third-straight weekend, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water finally stabilized after having heavier-than-expected drops the last couple weeks. The first animated hit of 2015 was off just 32% to $11.2 million, for a strong $140.3 million in 24 days. Sponge has one more week of no competition before Disney's Cinderella remake arrives.
After two weeks on top, Fifty Shades of Grey continued freefalling, though it stabilized better than last weekend. The inappropriate mess fell another 51% to $10.9 million, and has earned a strong $147.8 million, passing Spongebob to become the year's biggest-grossing movie by far. Grey looks set to finish its run around $170 million.
Debuting in fifth place with mediocre results was horror flick The Lazarus Effect. Starring Olivia Wilde, it picked up $10.6 million, for a mediocre $3,976 per-venue average. That's behind the low-to-mid-teens millions distributor Relativity Media and analysts were expecting. Considering 2015 hasn't had virtually any horror flicks (except The Woman in Black 2), many were thinking this would exceed expectations. But, apparently the mild marketing campaign wasn't enough to generate too much interest. The budget here was only $3 million, however, so this should still wind up generating a small profit for Relativity and Blumhouse.
After a modest debut last week, McFarland, USA held very well in its second weekend, off just 29% to $7.8 million, for a decent $22 million in 10 days. That's slightly ahead of Million Dollar Arm through the same point ($20.5 million), and a lighter weekend percentage drop. McFarland is likely to continue stabilizing from here.
While it only managed to take home Best Sound Editing at last weekend's Oscars, American Sniper still continued to hold very well in its seventh weekend of wide release, off just 23% to $7.7 million. Sniper is at a phenomenal $331.1 million in 70 days (since its limited release) and is set to pass The Hunger Games - Mockingjay: Part I to become 2014's biggest grossing movie by the end of next weekend.
In eighth place, The DUFF also held itself together after a solid opening, off just 34% to $7.2 million, and an OK $20.1 million 10-day gross. With no competition for teenagers next week, look for a final gross around $35 million. Not too shabby for a movie that had limited expectations. After Julianne Moore took home the Oscar for Best Actress, Still Alice expanded to over 1,300 locations and pulled in $2.7 million, for a solid $12 million since its limited opening seven weeks ago. The budget was only $5 million on this.
Rounding out the Top 10 was the disappointment Hot Tub Time Machine 2, which drained 60% to $2.4 million, and a miserable $10.3 million in 10 days. It may not even match its $14 million budget by the time its' done.
Next weekend brings Chappie, Unfinished Business and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2. Will all 3 get the Spring movie season started right?
