Weekend Wrap-Up: Broncos Biggest Winners, but Pandas still earn $21.24 million
February 8, 2016
Super Bowl weekend was not a good weekend at the box office. The competition usually takes its toll at the box office, but this year it was particularly bad. Kung Fu Panda 3 led the way with just $21.24 million, while Hail, Caesar! was the only other film to earn more than $10 million. In fact, the weekend was so bad that Star Wars: The Force Awakens remained in third place during its eighth weekend of release. The overall box office took a massive hit, down 31% to just $95 million. This was 37% lower than the same weekend last year, but miraculously, 2016 maintained its lead over 2015, by the tiniest of margins, $1.34 billion to $1.33 billion. With a difference of 0.5% or $6 million, the lead will likely disappear during the week, but 2016 should get it back when Deadpool debuts this Friday.
As expected, Kung Fu Panda 3 earned first place at the box office, but it fell a little faster than expected, down 49% to $21.24 million. It now has $69.29 million after ten days of release and it will have no trouble reaching the century mark. This is great for this time of year, but still a little below expectations.
Hail, Caesar! matched predictions (nearly) perfectly with $11.36 million. critics liked it a lot more than moviegoers did. (Its 80% positive Tomatometer Score dwarfs its 48% Audience Score.) It likely won't have strong legs as a result, but it only cost $22 million to make, so if it can find an audience internationally, it will break even sooner rather than later. It is too soon to tell if that's going to happen.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens remained in third place with $6.97 million over the weekend for a total of $906.04 million after eight weeks of release. The film won't get to $1 billion domestically, at least not during its initial run. It could be re-released in a decade or so with the rest of the franchise.
The Revenant was right behind with $6.94 million over the weekend for a total of $149.54 million after an month and a half of release. It will likely fall out of the top ten before the Oscars are handed out, so it won't get an Oscar bounce should it win, but it will likely break even before then, so it doesn't really matter.
The Choice rounded out the top five with $6.05 million. Lionsgate spent less than $10 million on the distribution rights, but you have to assume they were expecting more than this.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies missed the Mendoza Line with just $5.32 million in 2,931 theaters. It became the first wide release of 2016 to earn an average of less than $2,000. By this time last year, there had already been three such films (Blackhat, Mortdecai, and Strange Magic). The film's reviews are mixed and it should do better on the home market. The film cost $28 million to make, so it is unlikely to break even any time soon.
As for the sophomore class, there's very little positive to report. The Finest Hours was down 53% to $4.83 million over the weekend for a ten-day total of $18.49 million. It's not going to make enough to pay for its advertising budget, meaning Disney will have to eat the loss on its $70 million production budget. Fifty Shades of Black fell out of the top ten with just $2.08 million over the weekend for a total of $9.37 million. It only cost $5 million to make, but likely cost $15 million to $20 million to advertise, so it is going to lose money. Finally there's Jane Got a Gun. This film fell 84% to just $138,000 on 1,031 theaters, for an average of just $133. It's the latest Weinstein Co. bomb. The company has had a few hits recently, but so many bombs that one has to wonder about its financial health.
- Hail, Caesar! Comparisons
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- Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Comparisons
- The Choice Comparisons
Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, Deadpool, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Kung Fu Panda 3, Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens, Jane Got a Gun, The Revenant, The Choice, Hail, Caesar!, The Finest Hours, Fifty Shades of Black, Star Wars