By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
Stone Age family The Croods took top spot with weekend moviegoers at $43.8 million. Fanciful political thriller Olympus Has Fallen also opened well at $30.2 million. Audiences failed to audit the funny in Admission, slotted at fifth with $6.4 million.
Spring Breakers expanded nationally to an encouraging $4.6 million. Following its Oscar-qualifying run, On the Road re-hitched with a sputter of $106,000 at 42 roadsides.
In the niches there was a giggle of interest for InAPPropriate Comedy of $164,000 from 292 screens but not a lot of gung ho for nonfiction Murph: The Protector with a $128,000 gross at 178 locations.
Few incoming exclusives stood out, with a couple of exceptions. Urban Gimme the Loot had a single screen bow of $23,200 while WeinsteinCo’s delayed Australian import The Sapphires tuned up $38,600 from four playdates. Another émigré, South Korean New World bowed with $123,000 from 25 debuts.
Session revenues fell shy of $140 million, boosting box office 29% from last weekend. Conversely, ticket sales couldn’t compete with last year’s $152.5 million bow of The Hunger Games and slumped (comparatively) by 36%.
The Croods had tracked to debut in excess of $40 million and in that regard there was no disappointment. To no great surprise 68% of opening weekend viewers fell into the family category though overall 55% were aged 25-years and older. It also tilted 57% female. 3D engagements accounted for 38% of total gross. The prehistoric laugher also bowed in 47 international territories, painting an estimated $63 million on its cave wall. Russia provided the biggest box office, at about $13 million, followed by a Mexican debut of roughly $9.5 million.
A North Korean invasion provided the impetus for Olympus Has Fallen. Males accounted for 53% of opening weekend viewers per studio exit polling.
| Weekend (estimates) March 22 – 24 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| The Croods | Fox | 43.8 (10,820) | NEW | 4046 | 43.8 |
| Olympus Has Fallen | FilmDistrict | 30.2 (9,750) | NEW | 3098 | 30.2 |
| Oz The Great and Powerful | BV | 22.1 (5,800) | -47% | 3805 | 177.6 |
| The Call | Sony | 8.8 (3,500) | -49% | 2507 | 31 |
| Admission | Focus | 6.4 (2,970) | NEW | 2160 | 6.4 |
| Spring Breakers | A24 | 4.6 (4,190) | 1660% | 1104 | 5 |
| The Incredible Burt Wonderstone | WB | 4.2 (1,340) | -58% | 3160 | 17.3 |
| Jack the Giant Slayer | WB | 2.9 (1,140) | -54% | 2560 | 59 |
| Identity Thief | Uni | 2.5 (1,160) | -43% | 2166 | 127.7 |
| Snitch | Lionsgate | 1.9 (1,060) | -45% | 1807 | 40.3 |
| Silver Linings Playbook | Weinstein Co. | 1.6 (1,510) | -37% | 1044 | 127.2 |
| Safe Haven | Relativity | 1.1 (890) | -54% | 1279 | 68.9 |
| 21 and Over | Relativity | 1.0 (850) | -64% | 1134 | 24.1 |
| Life of Pi | Fox | .71 (1,450) | -42% | 489 | 122.5 |
| Quartet | Weinstein Co. | .59 (1,390) | -37% | 425 | 15.9 |
| Escape from Planet Earth | Weinstein Co. | .44 (290) | -81% | 1494 | 53.3 |
| Stoker | Searchlight | .36 (1,290) | 34% | 275 | 1.1 |
| The Last Exorcism II | CBS | .34 (750) | -73% | 455 | 15 |
| Dead Man Down | Film District | .31 (500) | -85% | 612 | 10.6 |
| A Good Day to Die Hard | Fox | .29 (640) | -75% | 448 | 66.2 |
| Django Unchained | Weinstein Co. | .27 (1,080) | -3% | 253 | 162 |
| Emperor | Roadside | .27 (1,140) | -57% | 237 | 2.6 |
| Side Effects | Open Road | .26 (1,170) | -52% | 225 | 31 |
| Warm Bodies | Lionsgate | .24 (820) | -57% | 299 | 65 |
| Lincoln | BV | .21 (720) | -47% | 292 | 181.8 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $132.40 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | -36% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | 29% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| No | Sony Classics | .20 (3,310) | 10% | 60 | 1 |
| The Gatekeepers | Sony Classics | .18 (1,910) | -21% | 94 | 1.6 |
| InAPPropriate Comedy | FreeStyle | .16 (560) | 292 | 0.16 | |
| Murph: The Protector | Mactavish | .13 (720) | 178 | 0.13 | |
| New World | Well Go | .12 (4,920) | 25 | 0.12 | |
| On the Road | IFC | .11 (2,530) | 42 | 0.45 | |
| Ginger & Rosa | A24 | 87,100 (2,490) | 103% | 35 | 0.15 |
| From Up on Poppy Hill | Gkids | 59,700 (9,950) | 4% | 6 | 0.13 |
| Swamy Ra Ra | Cinema 5 | 43,300 (2,890) | 15 | 0.04 | |
| The Sapphires | Weinstein Co. | 38,600 (9,650) | 4 | 0.04 | |
| Home Again | eOne | 25,400 (5,080) | 5 | 0.03 | |
| Gimme the Loot | IFC | 23,200 (23,200) | 1 | 0.02 | |
| The Pardon | Hallelujah | 14,900 (1,850) | 8 | 0.01 | |
| Starbuck | eOne | 14,600 (4,870) | 3 | 0.01 | |
| My Brother the Devil | Paladin | 9,700 (4,850) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Pooja Kiven AA | Saga | 7,500 (750) | 10 | 0.01 | |
| A Resurrection | Archstone | 6,900 (410) | 17 | 0.01 | |
| Dorfman in Love | Brainstorm | 5,300 (380) | 14 | 0.01 | |
| Rangrezz | UTV | 4,500 (410) | 11 | 0.01 | |
| Eden | Phase 4 | 3,300 (3,300) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Love and Honor | IFC | 3,100 (1,550) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Hunky Dory | Variance | 1,900 (470) | 4 | 0.01 | |
| The Happy Poet | Cinema Libre | 1,800 (1,800) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (January 1 – March 21, 2013) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Gross | Percentage | |||
| Universal (5) | 297.6 | 15.40% | |||
| Weinstein Co. (7) | 275.9 | 14.30% | |||
| Warner Bros. (10) | 245.7 | 12.70% | |||
| Buena Vista (6) | 229.8 | 11.90% | |||
| Lionsgate (10) | 177.6 | 9.20% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (6) | 163.9 | 8.50% | |||
| Sony (5) | 128.1 | 6.60% | |||
| Paramount (8) | 123.3 | 6.40% | |||
| Relativity (3) | 99.7 | 5.20% | |||
| Open Road (3) | 68.7 | 3.60% | |||
| FilmDistrict (4) | 29.6 | 1.50% | |||
| Alliance/eOne (8) | 18.6 | 1.00% | |||
| CBS (1) | 14.7 | 0.70% | |||
| Focus (3) | 14 | 0.70% | |||
| Sony Classics (6) | 10.7 | 0.50% | |||
| Other * (70) | 34.8 | 1.80% | |||
| 1932.7 | 100% |
