The Weekend Report

Lucy had the brains and the brawn to lead weekend box office with an estimated debut of $44 million. That left that other new muscleman Hercules in the bridesmaid slot with $29 million. The third national release—Rob Reiner’s senior rom-com And So It Goes—took $4.4 million.

There was also strong response for the spy vs. spy of A Most Wanted Man of $2.6 million from 361 engagements and OK yucks for the comic antics of “Fluffy” Iglesias of $1.3 million for his The Fluffy Movie. And despite often blistering critical response, Woody Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight played effectively to his base with a $418,000 box office from 17 initial playdates.

There was also torrid activity from niche and limited newcomers. Hindi Kick bowed well with a $1.1 million tally while the Tamil Alludu Seenu proved disappointing at $86,200 from 86 engagements. Filipino comedy She’s Dating the Gangster grossed an impressive $222,000 at 48 venues and South Korean thriller The Divine Move had a good start of $46,700 at 11 screens.

Overall revenues for the session topped $150 million for a virtual carbon copy cume from the immediate prior weekend. But it was a 13% decline from 2013 when the debut of The Wolverine grossed $53.1 million and the second weekend of The Conjuring followed with $22.2 million.

Both Lucy and Hercules, though tracked to lead weekend business, exceeded expectations. Lucy, an actioner predicated on enhanced brain power, was pegged at between $35 million and $39 million but previews and opening day box office quickly ramped up the ante. The presence of Scarlet Johansson in the title role no doubt contributed to attracting a crowd evenly split between the sexes, but it drew a decidedly older crowd that was 65% aged 25-years and older. Ironically, exit polls demonstrate that a younger crowd had a considerably more positive response to the sometimes daunting scientific aspects of the film and its open-ended conclusion. The film starts its international roll out next weekend.

Hercules had top-end expectations of $25 million and there was natural trepidation in light of the lackluster response to The Legend of Hercules back in January. Studio exit polls identified an opening crowd that was 58% male and it also skewed older with 64% of viewer 25-years and older.

Hercules also unchained an estimated $29 million from day-and-day engagements internationally. The picture opened in 26 territories including Russia with a Herculean $12 million and Australia grossing $3.5 million and the UK at $2.5 million.

Exit demos were unavailable for And So It Goes but the combo of Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton was unlikely to draw a younger crowd.

Boyhood added 73 screens and continued to maintain strong averages but remains largely in exclusive release in the top 25 markets. Conversely the rapid expansion of Wish I Was Here put a pin in its commercial balloon and one remains guarded about the widening plans for A Most Wanted Man.

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