Weekend Wrap-Up: New Releases Become the Hunted
January 28, 2013
January ended, and we should all be glad it did. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters did beat modest expectations, but most of the rest failed that test with Movie 43 crashing worse than even my low expectations. The overall box office fell 20% from last weekend to $112 million. This was 11% less than the same weekend last year; fortunately, this was the first miss of 2013 and the year still has a lead of 10% over 2012 at $797 million to $721 million.
There was no real competition for first place, as Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters opened with $19.69 million. This is a good start, for a January release, but not when compared to its production budget. Its reviews are overwhelmingly negative and there's little hope for its long-term chances. On the other hand, perhaps it will be a bigger hit on the international scene.
Despite earning positive reviews, Mama fell 54% to $13.09 million during its sophomore stint. Its running tally is $48.88 million after just ten days of release, meaning it is a solid hit for January. This is likely more than it cost to make and advertise, so assuming it can merely replicate this performance internationally, it will break even early in the film's home market run.
Zero Dark Thirty did earn third place as I predicted, but with just $9.70 million. So far, the film has pulled in $69.80 million. The film has earned a lot of Awards Season nominations, but it is having troubles turning them into wins. I think it will still get to $100 million in total, but it could be close.
Silver Linings Playbook managed fourth place with $9.44 million, which was better than expected. It has been in theaters for more than two months earning $68.91 million during that time. It too should earn $100 million, especially if Jennifer Lawrence wins an Oscar.
Parker landed in fifth place with $7.01 million. This is below Jason Statham's modest average for openings and it will likely collapse next weekend, given its reviews and the genre. Maybe it will find an audience on the home market, but it is also likely that it will be forgotten before then.
Movie 43 bombed completely earning seventh place with just $4.81 million. This is less than Django Unchained, and that film had been in theaters for more than a month. The reviews are nearly universally negative and depending on which critic you trust the most, there are only two or three skits out of twelve that work. Truth or Dare, Homeschooled, and Middleschool Date are the only ones getting overall positive reviews. That's a bad hit to miss ratio, even for the home market where you can skip the bad ones.
Looking in on the Sophomore class, Broken City fell to tenth place with just $4.02 million over the weekend for a total of $15.29 million after two. That's a really bad run, even for January. On ther other hand, it was worlds above The Last Stand, which landed in 16th place with $2.15 million over the past three days for a total of $10.68 million after ten. Its per theater average is below $1,000 and theater owners will be eager to dump it A.S.A.P.
One last note, Rise of the Guardians reached the century mark on Saturday, the 67th day of its release.
Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Rise of the Guardians, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Zero Dark Thirty, Mama, Django Unchained, The Last Stand, Parker, Movie 43, Broken City, Silver Linings Playbook, Jennifer Lawrence, Jason Statham