The Weekend Report

A trio of new releases couldn’t unseat last weekend’s top titles, resulting in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Guardians of the Galaxy leading the session with estimated respective box office of $27.9 million and $24.6 million. Newcomers lined up right behind with Let’s Be Cops grossing $17.6 million, The Expendables 3 with $16.1 and  YA adaptation The Giver trailing at $12.7 million.

Best of the exclusive bows was the droll Brit The Trip to Italy with a $128,000 tally haul from six sites. Also noteworthy were the bizarre musical comedy Frank with $15,800 at a single gig and the afterlife rom-com Life After Beth grossing $17,100 from two engagements.

The Indian circuit added the Hindi Singham Returns with good returns of $623,000 from 127 screens while the Tamil Anjaan generated a disappointing $142,000 at 59 locations.

In the niches the Indian circuit added the Hindi Singham Returns with good returns of $623,000 from 127 screens while the Tamil Anjaan generated a disappointing $142,000 at 59 locations.

Weekend revenues declined 25% from the immediate prior frame but were up a slim 1% from 2013. A year back the bow of Lee Daniels’ The Butler led with $24.6 million.

Tracking indicated that last week’s leaders would remain on top though some reports gave Guardians the edge on TMNT. Third slot was generally ceded to The Expendables 3 with opening predictions ranging from $22 million to $25 million. Pundits were closer to the mark with Let’s Be Cops viewed in the $16 million to $18 million vicinity. The latter film was expected to lose steam following a Wednesday jump-start that generated $8.4 million pre-weekend.

Cops, a switcheroo of the Jump Street template, attracted a 56% male crowd with 54% of viewers aged 25-years and younger.

The third installment of The Expendables pumped up a cast list for aficionados of fading action film stars. It was even more of a boys’ movie with 61% of ticket buyers and 66% of the audience aged 25-years and older. Exit polls were strong but one suspects the picture might have had a better premiere slotted later in the calendar.

Though considered a bulwark of young adult fiction, 1993 vintage The Giver had a long, tortuous path to the big screen. Add the fact that it follows on the heels of Twilight, The Hunger Games and Divergent, among others, in the genre and tracking predicted a slightly-better-than-delivered $13-15 million result. Opening weekend drew in a 69% female set with 53% overall aged 25-years and younger.

On the alternative side, Boyhood may have hit its ceiling while rapid expansions of Magic in the Moonlight and What If have pretty much extinguished broader prospects. Calvary continues to struggle to find its faith as it expands. Meanwhile definitely working in its niche is South Korea’s The Admiral: Roaring Currents, the 16th-century epic naval saga that’s grossed more than $100 million on home shores and strikes a stirring note for that nation’s diaspora.

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