DreamWorks Animation has to be breathing a sigh of relief right now. Because after 4 of their last 6 movies produced a combined write-down of $220 million, Home managed to blow away all expectations. The animated alien invasion flick earned a stunning $52.1 million, for a terrific $14,053 average from 3,708 locations. That ranks as the struggling studio's third-biggest debut for a non-sequel, behind Kung Fu Panda and Monsters VS. Aliens. Home also managed to out-gross than both How to Train Your Dragon movies and The Croods' opening weekends, which makes this debut look even better. Home's buzz was relatively nonexistent, until Fandango reported strong pre-sales late in the week. Even so, most analysts were thinking $35 million at most. But it goes to show, if kids are starving for entertainment, they will come out in droves. Despite down-the-middle reviews (47% on Rotten Tomatoes), Home got an "A" CinemaScore from audiences. With Spring Break and Easter coming up, Home should play especially well, and with virtually no competition (save for Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 in 3 weeks) coming up, it should have a long run in theaters. The budget was $135 million.
Debuting in second place with very good results was R-rated comedy Get Hard, which managed $33.8 million (solid $10,647 average from 3,175 locations). This was the third-biggest live-action debut for Will Ferrell, behind Talladega Knights and The Other Guys, and Kevin Hart's second-biggest debut behind Ride Along. Teaming these two was arguably a good decision, and the marketing was very strong (especially during the NCAA Tournament). Reviews weren't that great (31% on Rotten Tomatoes), and the audience reception was a "B" CinemaScore. Still though, regardless of how it plays from here, Get Hard should still wind up a success. Distributor Warner Bros. produced the flick for $40 million, and was expecting around $30 million.Following a decent, if unspectacular debut, Insurgent fell 59% to $21.5 million. In 10 days, the second installment of the latest YA franchise has earned a meh $85.9 million. That's $8 million behind Divergent through the same point, and unless it starts holding strong from here, the gap seems like it will only grow larger. How will this affect the upcoming two-part Allegiant?
Also not holding on strong, Cinderella fell 51% to $17 million, for a very good $149.6 million pick-up in 17 days. Facing direct competition from Home, Cinderella continues to be somewhat front-loaded. However, competition won't be much of a factor going forward, so the remake should see stability from here. Spring Break will also be a factor.
Opening in fifth place after a solid limited debut, It Follows managed $3.8 million, for a decent $3,129 per-venue average. That's about in line with expectations, but considering the strong critical reception (95% on Rotten Tomatoes), one might would have thought the horror flick would have done a little bit better. However, the budget was most likely on the cheap side here (no official financial information is available), so regardless of the outcome, it will end up in the black
Continuing to hold strong, Kingsman: The Secret Service was off just 36% in its seventh weekend to $3 million. In 49 days of release, the Matthew Vaughn thriller is at a very good $119.3 million. After a so-so debut last week, Do You Believe? was also off 36% to $2.3 million, for a muted $7.2 million 10-day pick-up. That's not the strong hold God's Not Dead had in its second weekend, but it is better-than-average for this type of fare. Spring Break and Easter should help Believe hold onto most of its screens for a couple more weeks and ultimately finish above the $10 million mark.
Run All Night continued to plunge, off 57% to $2.2 million, for a disappointing $23.8 million pick-up in 17 days, with not much more to go. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel followed with a 40% slide to $2.1 million, for a solid $28.1 million gross in 24 days, in the face of just a $10 million budget. Rounding out the Top 10 was The Gunman, which plunged 60% in its second weekend to $2 million, for a terrible $8.8 million gross in just 10 days. Gunman will get past $10 million, but will probably not go much higher than that.
Next weekend brings one of the year's most-anticipated films as Furious 7 finally arrives with Paul Walker's final appearance in film. Look for record-breaking numbers.
