By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
Insurgent, the second chapter in the YA series, led weekend viewing with an estimated $53.2 million. The potent bow left little more than scraps for the counter-programmers that debuted nationally. The muscle-flexing The Gunman flabbed with a $5 million launch while the faith-based Do You Believe? had a skeptical $3.8 million box office.
Exclusive debuts ranged from an excellent $74,200 bow for Danny Collins for neophyte distrib Bleecker Street to a dismal $4,600 for Accidental Love, the remnant of David O. Russell’s 2008 production formally titled Nailed and now credited to the Smithee-esque Stephen Greene.
In the niches Telugu Yevade Subramanyam was off to a good start of $83,700. China’s Lost and Love provided an OK $87,300 opening and in Québec, local production La Passion d’Augustine provided a blessed $211,000 from 34 engagements.
Session revenues rang up roughly $130 million for a slight 1% decline from seven days back. It was also 8% behind 2014 when the Divergent opener topped the charts with $54.6 million and the bridesmaid spot went to Muppets Most Wanted with $17 million.
Tracking looked bright for the dystopian future of Insurgent with pundits predicting a $50 million or so weekend. If estimates hold the second installment will arrive at 97% of the origin story’s vibrancy. The film’s target base was out in force with exit demos identifying the crowd as 60% female, 55% aged 25-years and younger and 72% Caucasian.
The picture also opened day-and-date in 66 international climes that generated an estimated $47 million. France accounted for $5.8 million with other top returns from the UK, Brazil, Mexico and Australia.
Getting a jump on next weekend’s domestic release the animated alien Home launched in nine nations with roughly a $19 million tally. The E.T.-esque yarn had a lordly $9 million in the UK and was Putin on the Ritz in Russia with $4.2 million.
Both The Gunman and Do You Believe? were expected to be distant relatives in the session’s commercial mash up. However, even so tracking prognosticators anticipated significantly better results with the former receiving top end prospects of $8 million and the latter nipping at its heels with an aggressive push via churches that proved so effective for last year’s God’s Not Dead.
| Weekend (estimates) March 13 – 15, 2015 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| Insurgent | Lionsgate | 53.2 (13,720) | NEW | 3875 | 53.2 |
| Cinderella | BV | 34.6 (8,990) | -49% | 3848 | 122.2 |
| The Gunman | Open Road/Elevation | 5.0 (1,760) | NEW | 2816 | 5 |
| Run All Night | WB | 4.9 (1,550) | -55% | 3171 | 19.5 |
| Kingsman: The Secret Service | Fox | 4.6 (2,080) | -26% | 2223 | 114.6 |
| Do You Believe? | Pure Flix | 3.8 (2,940) | NEW | 1295 | 3.8 |
| The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | Fox Searchlight | 3.4 (1,710) | -40% | 2016 | 24.1 |
| Focus | WB | 3.2 (1,580) | -44% | 2044 | 49.3 |
| Chappie | Sony | 2.6 (1,070) | -54% | 2429 | 28.2 |
| SpongBob: Sponge Out of Water | Par | 2.3 (1,180) | -42% | 1980 | 158.8 |
| McFarland, USA | BV | 2.2 (1,210) | -39% | 1816 | 38.5 |
| American Sniper | WB | 1.6 (1,100) | -43% | 1456 | 344 |
| The Lazarus Effect | Relativity/D Film | 1.4 (1,060) | -52% | 1306 | 24 |
| 50 Shades of Grey | Uni | 1.3 (1,090) | -55% | 1171 | 163.8 |
| The Duff | CBS | 1.2 (860) | -57% | 1437 | 32.4 |
| Still Alice | Sony Classics | .46 (1,050) | -49% | 440 | 17.2 |
| Paddington | Weinstein Co. | .41 (820) | -42% | 502 | 74.2 |
| The Imitation Game | Weinstein/Elevation | .37 (1,090) | -45% | 337 | 90.2 |
| It Follows | Weinstein Co. | .33 (10,410) | 108% | 32 | 0.56 |
| Unfinished Business | Fox | .32 (530) | -86% | 597 | 10 |
| What We Do in the Shadows | Paladin/VSC | .32 (2,290) | -6% | 139 | 2 |
| Wild Tales | Sony Classics | .26 (3,190) | 6% | 81 | 1.2 |
| 71 | Roadside Attract. | .24 (3,650) | 18% | 65 | 0.69 |
| Selma | Par | .23 (3,230) | 3% | 702 | 51.7 |
| La Passiom d’Augustine | Seville | .21 (6,210) | NEW | 34 | 0.21 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $125.30 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | -8% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | -1% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Gett: The Trial of Vivian Anselam | Music Box/EyeSteel | .14 (1,960) | 51% | 71 | 0.58 |
| Lost and Love | China Lion | 87,300 (3,640) | 24 | 0.09 | |
| Mr. Turner | Sony Classics | 84,800 (1,070) | -19% | 79 | 3.8 |
| Yevade Subramanyam | CineGalaxy | 83,700 (6,440) | 13 | 0.08 | |
| The Wrecking Crew | Magnolia | 80,400 (2,510) | 41% | 32 | 0.16 |
| Red Army | Sony Classics | 76,100 (910) | 17% | 84 | 0.54 |
| Danny Collins | Bleeker Street | 74,200 (14,840) | 5 | 0.07 | |
| Timbuktu | Cohen Media | 51,900 (1,330) | -10% | 39 | 0.9 |
| Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter | Amplify | 34,800 (8,700) | 4 | 0.04 | |
| Spring | Drafthouse | 19,500 (1,770) | 11 | 0.02 | |
| La Spienza | Kino | 11,800 (11,800) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Zombeavers | FreeStyle | 7,800 (780) | 10 | 0.01 | |
| Jauja | Cinema Guild | 7,200 (3,600) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Tracers | Lionsgate | 6,900 (570) | 12 | 0.01 | |
| Can’t Stand Losing You | Cinema Libre | 6,800 (3,400) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Medeas | Vladar | 5,100 (5,100) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Accidental Love | Alchemy | 4,600 (420) | 11 | 0.01 | |
| The Walking Deceased | Arc Entertainment | 4,400 (340) | 13 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (January 1 – March 19, 2015) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Box Office | Market Share | |||
| Warner Bros. (9) | 525.7 | 24.60% | |||
| Universal (8) | 278.1 | 13.00% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (10) | 272.8 | 12.70% | |||
| Paramount (7) | 269.2 | 12.60% | |||
| Buena Vista (7) | 218.5 | 10.20% | |||
| Weinstein Co. (7) | 142.1 | 6.60% | |||
| Sony (6) | 122.2 | 5.70% | |||
| Relativity (5) | 68.2 | 3.20% | |||
| Fox Searchlight (3) | 56.5 | 2.60% | |||
| Lionsgate (5) | 38.7 | 1.80% | |||
| Sony Classics (8) | 35.2 | 1.60% | |||
| CBS (1) | 31.2 | 1.50% | |||
| Focus (4) | 14.4 | 0.70% | |||
| Other * (86) | 67.2 | 3.20% | |||
| 2140 | 100% | ||||
| * none greater than 0.5% | |||||
| Top Global Grossers * (January 1 – March 19, 2015) | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Box Office | |||
| Fifty Shades of Grey | Uni | 552,898,890 | |||
| American Sniper * | WB | 515,768,005 | |||
| The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies * | WB | 322,589,282 | |||
| Taken 3 | Fox; Europa | 292,471,786 | |||
| Big Hero 6 * | BV | 287,176,166 | |||
| Kingsman: The Secret Service | Fox | 283,269,068 | |||
| SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water | Par | 278,879,459 | |||
| Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb * | Fox | 210,576,755 | |||
| Jupiter Ascending | WB | 173,641,431 | |||
| The Imitation Game * | Weinstein; CAA | 169,839,068 | |||
| Cinderella | BV | 167,987,066 | |||
| From Vegas to Macau | Mega-Vision | 162,471,885 | |||
| Paddington “ | Weinstein; Studio Canal | 158,493,765 | |||
| Dragon Blade | Huayi Brothers | 124,854,773 | |||
| Into the Woods * | BV | 124,753,742 | |||
| Penguins of Madagascar * | Fox | 123,735,766 | |||
| Wolf Totem | Wild Bunch | 118,473,682 | |||
| Focus | WB | 108,460,661 | |||
| Unbroken * | Uni | 95,880,918 | |||
| The Theory of Everything * | Focus; UPI | 89,237,114 | |||
| * does not include 2014 box office | |||||
