By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
The Lego Movie (and the Canadian hockey team) got the hat trick as it once again commanded session moviegoing with an estimated $31.5 million.
That left fair to poor results for a couple of new national releases. The thriller 3 Days to Kill performed pretty much to expectations with a $12.2 million bow but the historically explosive Pompeii was left to stew with a disappointing $10.1 million.
In limited release In Secret, based on the venerable “Thérèse Raquin,” failed to translate with a $247,000 debut. Bollywood newcomer Highway was just OK with a $319,000 tally but Filipino newcomer Starting Over Again was boffo with a $650,000 gross from a trifling 52 screens.
Two Oscar shortlisted animated features also had preems. Japan’s The Wind Rises (with an English dub) generated an impressive $300,000 at 21 venues, and in Québec France’s Belle & Sébastien was short of a statue with $128,000 from 39 playdates. Also tepid was Oscar short-listed foreign-language entry Omar from Palestine that entered with a $137,000 box office from 50 theaters.
The clutch of exclusive newbies were less than encouraging with the exception of the portrait film Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me that opened with $26,500 at two Manhattan boites.
The weekend frame generated a bit better than $110 million that translated into a 39% decline from seven days prior. It was a slight 6% improved from 2013when the third weekend of Identity Thief inched ahead of newcomer Snitch’s $13.2 million with a $14 million box office.
Kevin Costner’s return to leading man status in 3 Days to Kill was respectable but way short of A-list levels. Exit polling wasn’t available but the film had all the earmarks of a decidedly older viewer.
That was also the case for Pompeii that according to studio exits had an opening crowd that 62% aged 30-years and older. However, the marriage of disaster movie and pagan drama could not stir Vesuvius to more than a smolder. The lava was eyed by an audience that skewed 52% male.
The Olympics are over and the Oscar is counting down from 175 hours. The longer than usual wait has left the major contenders a marginally significant aspect of the marketplace (the current top box office nominee is Frozen). Certainly the more mainstream short listers have benefited theatrically around the globe but the niche movies have struggled through the season and those yet to plant a firm flag overseas are apt to be disappointment following next Sunday’s results.
| Weekend (estimates) February 21 – 23, 2014 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| The Lego Movie | WB | 31.5 (8,100) | -37% | 3890 | 183.2 |
| 3 Days to Kill | Relativity | 12.2 (4,260) | NEW | 2872 | 12.2 |
| Pompeii | Sony | 10.1 (3,780) | NEW | 2658 | 10.1 |
| RoboCop | Sony | 9.2 (2,730) | -58% | 3372 | 43.4 |
| The Monuments Men | Sony | 8.1 (2,640) | -48% | 3064 | 58 |
| About Last Night | Sony | 7.4 (3,300) | -71% | 2253 | 38.2 |
| Ride Along | Uni | 4.6 (2,120) | -47% | 2186 | 123.2 |
| Frozen | BV | 4.4 (2,350) | -29% | 1891 | 384.1 |
| Endless Love | Uni | 4.3 (1,480) | -68% | 2896 | 20.1 |
| Winter’s Tale | WB | 2.1 (710) | -71% | 2965 | 11.2 |
| Lone Survivor | Uni/eOne | 2.0 (1,330) | -51% | 1516 | 121.8 |
| American Hustle | Sony/eOne | 1.7 (1,930) | -29% | 903 | 144.1 |
| That Awkward Moment | Focus/VVS | 1.4 (1,150) | -60% | 1208 | 24.1 |
| The Wolf of Wall Street | Par | 1.3 (2,060) | -33% | 627 | 112.8 |
| Philomena | Weinstein | 1.2 (1,170) | -23% | 1004 | 32.7 |
| The Nut Job | Open Road/ eOne | 1.0 (800) | -46% | 1235 | 59.8 |
| Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit | Par | .84 (1,040) | -62% | 807 | 49.3 |
| Gravity | WB | .81 (2,330) | -22% | 348 | 269.2 |
| Starting Over Again | ABS | .65 (12,440) | 52 | 0.67 | |
| 12 Years a Slave | Fox Searchlight | .50 (1,440) | -8% | 347 | 49.1 |
| Nebraska | Par | .41 (1,940) | -25% | 210 | 16.5 |
| Her | WB | .41 (1,640) | -32% | 250 | 24 |
| August Osage County | Weinstein | .38 (720) | -57% | 525 | 36.6 |
| Highway | UTV | .32 (3,260) | NEW | 98 | 0.32 |
| The Hunger Games | Lionsgate | .32 (1,320) | -41% | 240 | 423.6 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $105.30 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | 6% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | -39% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| The Wind Rises | BV | .30 (14,490) | 21 | 0.3 | |
| Dallas Buyers Club | Focus/Mongrel | .28 (1,580) | -26% | 175 | 24.7 |
| In Secret | Roadside | .25 (930) | 266 | 0.25 | |
| Gloria | Roadside | .21 (1,890) | -42% | 112 | 1.3 |
| Omar | Adopt | .14 (2,740) | 50 | 0.14 | |
| Belle et Sebastien | Seville | .13 (3,290) | 39 | 0.13 | |
| The Great Beauty | Janus/Mongrel | .12 (1,880) | 21% | 66 | 2.5 |
| Beijing Love Story | China Lion | .10 (8,180) | -30% | 12 | 0.32 |
| Tim’s Vermeer | Sony Classics | 89,500 (4,070) | 55% | 22 | 0.33 |
| The Past | Sony Classics | 88,700 (1,180) | -11% | 75 | 1.1 |
| Le Coq de St-Victor | Equinoxe | 58,500 (1,080) | 54 | 0.06 | |
| Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me | IFC | 26,500 (13,250) | 2 | 0.03 | |
| Child’s Pose | Zeitgeist | 12,700 (6,350) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Barefoot | Roadside | 10,900 (610) | 18 | 0.01 | |
| 1983 | LJ Films | 6,200 (1,240) | 5 | 0.01 | |
| The Scapegoat | Little Big Film | 5,700 (1,900) | 3 | 0.01 | |
| Southern Baptist Sissies | Beard Collins | 5,200 (5,200) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Angels in Stardust | Arc Entertainment | 2,900 (320) | 9 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (January 1 – February 20, 2014) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Box Office | Mrkt Share | |||
| Warner Bros. (6) | 264.3 | 18.50% | |||
| Universal (7) | 263.5 | 18.50% | |||
| Paramount (7) | 209.3 | 14.70% | |||
| Sony (6) | 186.8 | 13.10% | |||
| Buena Vista (4) | 158.6 | 11.10% | |||
| Lionsgate (6) | 73.4 | 5.20% | |||
| Weinstein (5) | 60.9 | 4.30% | |||
| Open Road (3) | 55.1 | 3.90% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (5) | 54.5 | 3.80% | |||
| Focus (2) | 26.6 | 1.90% | |||
| eOne/Seville (6) | 21.1 | 1.50% | |||
| CBS (2) | 10.7 | 0.75% | |||
| Fox Searchlight (2) | 10.7 | 0.75% | |||
| Other * (51) | 29.3 | 2.00% | |||
| 1424.8 | 100% | ||||
