By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
The old admonishment about not going into the barn was ignored by moviegoers as the spooky The Conjuring became the weekend favorite with an estimated $41.4 million debut. Three other new films vied for eyes, including the animated Turbo that bowed to $21.5 million; the aging spies of Red 2 grossed $18.1 million; and the men in long coats of R.I.P.D. took up the rear with $12.8 million.
The limited wide release of Girl Most Likely almost flew under the radar with a $670,000 box office from 353 engagements and festival circuit fave Only God Forgives failed to cross over with a $292,000 tally from 75 gyms. Both The Way, Way Back and Fruitvale Station added playdates and maintained healthy per-screens.
A clutch of Indian imports also premiered, including the Hindi D-Day with a $99,000 gross at 52 sites and Telugu Maryan toting up $95,700 at 31 venues. Current Chinese box office champ The Rooftop got caught up in passport control with a dull $61,600 at 25 screens.
There was no paucity of exclusive newcomers with only the nonfiction entries Blackfish and The Act of Killing showing signs of ongoing life. The former grossed $58,500 at four tanks while the latter had a $31,400 count from three initial recreations.
Overall box office for the session inched toward $200 million for a slight 1% slide from the prior weekend and a 16% tumble from 2012. One year back, the launch of The Dark Knight Rises dominated with a premiere of $160.9 million.
On the heels of Buena Vista, Universal joined the billion-dollar club Friday and Warner Bros. entered on Sunday.
While tracking clearly indicated that The Conjuring would be the weekend champ, expectations were for a debut in the range of $30 million to $35 million. But audiences were ready for something that went bump in the night and even the critical response was generally upbeat. It was a good sign that the audience skewed slightly female at 53% and it was not a conspicuously older audience with 59% of the crowd per studio exits aged 25-years old and upward.
The much-anticipated Turbo was also off to a good start though it has ample competition for a share of family fare movies. It evenly split among the sexes and drew in a crowd that was 55% aged 25-years old and younger. Stats weren’t available for those identified as families but one can assume it was substantial.
The original RED was a surprise box office success and so they’re back. The sequel skewed slightly female at 52% and predominantly older with 74% of its audience aged 25-years and older. If it drills down over the weeks lightning could indeed strike twice.
The prospects for R.I.P.D. are not remotely related to a franchise. Both previews and tracking boded ill for the tale that echoed the plot of Men in Black … without the inspiration. The film tilted 53% male and 57% of the few; the brave were aged 25-years and older.
| Weekend (estimates) July 19 – 21, 2013) | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| The Conjuring | WB | 41.4 (14,250) | NEW | 2903 | 41.4 |
| Despicable Me | Uni | 25.0 (6,550) | -43% | 3820 | 276.1 |
| Turbo | Fox | 21.5 (5,650) | NEW | 3806 | 31.2 |
| Grown Ups 2 | Sony | 19.7 (5,630) | -53% | 3491 | 79.2 |
| Red 2 | Lionsgate | 18.1 (6,000) | NEW | 3016 | 18.1 |
| Pacific Rim | WB | 15.8 (4,810) | -58% | 3285 | 68.1 |
| R.I.P.D. | Uni | 12.8 (4,480) | NEW | 2852 | 12.8 |
| The Heat | Fox | 9.3 (3,470) | -33% | 2689 | 129.3 |
| World War Z | Par | 5.2 (2,520) | -44% | 2066 | 187 |
| Monsters University | BV | 4.9 (2,250) | -54% | 2186 | 248.9 |
| The Lone Ranger | BV | 4.3 (1,900) | -62% | 2273 | 81.2 |
| White House Down | Sony | 2.4 (1,640) | -61% | 1454 | 68.4 |
| The Way, Way Back | Fox Searchlight | 2.2 (7,300) | 98% | 304 | 4.6 |
| Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain | Lionsgate | 2.0 (2,730) | -57% | 748 | 29.9 |
| Man of Steel | WB | 1.8 (1,730) | -61% | 1050 | 285 |
| This is the End | Sony | 1.2 (1,940) | -58% | 622 | 94.5 |
| Fruitvale Station | Weinstein Co. | .72 (21,230) | 87% | 34 | 1.3 |
| Girl Most Likely | Roadside Attractions | .67 (1,900) | NEW | 353 | 0.67 |
| Louis Cyr: L’Homme le plus fort du monde | Christal | .51 (6,000) | 36% | 85 | 1.3 |
| Now You See Me | Lionsgate | .45 (1,360) | -65% | 333 | 114.4 |
| Epic | Fox | .38 (1,200) | -20% | 319 | 105.6 |
| 20 Feet from Stardom | Weinstein Co. | .38 (3,030) | -23% | 126 | 2.4 |
| Star Trek Into Darkness | Par | .37 (1,490) | -46% | 250 | 225.1 |
| Fast & Furious 6 | Uni | .31 (1,100) | -43% | 279 | 237.1 |
| Only God Forgives | RADiUS/TWC | .29 (3,890) | NEW | 75 | 0.29 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $189.50 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | -16% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | -1% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Before Midnight | Sony Classics | .19 (1,800) | -34% | 107 | 7.4 |
| Unfinished Song | Weinstein Co. | .16 (1,830) | -33% | 88 | 1.1 |
| I’m So Excited | Sony Classics | .16 (3,160) | 50% | 50 | 0.68 |
| The Attack | Cohen Media | .13 (2,870) | -21% | 46 | 0.91 |
| Much Ado About Nothing | Roadside Attractions | .12 (1,250) | -50% | 95 | 3.6 |
| D-Day | Yash Raj | .10 (1,910) | 52 | 0.1 | |
| Maryan | Bharat | 95,700 (3,090) | 31 | 0.1 | |
| Fill the Void | Sony Classics | 81,600 (1,340) | -38% | 61 | 1.6 |
| Frances Ha | IFC/Mongrel | 72,400 (2,130) | -21% | 34 | 4.1 |
| The Rooftop | Well Go | 61,600 (2,460) | 25 | 0.06 | |
| Blackfish | Magnolia | 58,500 (14,620) | 4 | 0.06 | |
| Ramaiya Vasta Valya | Big Pictures | 52,200 (780) | 67 | 0.05 | |
| The Act of Killing | Drafthouse | 31,400 (10,470) | 3 | 0.03 | |
| Om 3D | Blue Sky | 10,300 (450) | 23 | 0.01 | |
| Computer Chess | Kino | 9,500 (4,750) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Kevvu Keku | iDream | 7,900 (720) | 11 | 0.01 | |
| Amitiés sincères | Seville | 7,700 (2,570) | 3 | 0.01 | |
| Big Words | AFFRM | 5,100 (5,100) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| The Conspiracy | eOne | 3,700 (3,700) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Broken | Film Movement | 2,700 (340) | 5 | 0.01 | |
| Dragon Girls | KinoSmith | 2,450 (2,450) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – July 18, 2013) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Box Office (millions) | Market Share | |||
| Buena Vista (9) | 1039.2 | 16.90% | |||
| Universal (11) | 996.7 | 16.20% | |||
| Warner Bros. (16) | 956.6 | 15.50% | |||
| Paramount (12) | 703.6 | 11.40% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (11) | 633.3 | 10.30% | |||
| Sony (10) | 490.9 | 7.90% | |||
| Lionsgate (17) | 412.4 | 6.70% | |||
| Weinstein Co. (14) | 330.8 | 5.40% | |||
| FilmDistrict (5) | 120.1 | 1.90% | |||
| Relativity (3) | 105.9 | 1.70% | |||
| Open Road (4) | 93.9 | 1.50% | |||
| Focus (6) | 53.7 | 0.90% | |||
| Sony Classics (12) | 29.6 | 0.50% | |||
| Roadside Attractions (3) | 28.1 | 0.50% | |||
| Other * (202) | 168.7 | 2.70% | |||
| 6163.5 | 100% | ||||
| * none greater than 0.45% |
Holy Batman!
The Dark Knight Rises is a 2012 release??
Love it, but it feels like it’s at least 5 years old by now.
Strange…