Weekend Wrap-Up: Despicable Lonely At the Top
July 9, 2013
The July 4th long weekend resulted in a delay for some of the final box office numbers, but now that we have them, it was worth the wait. Despicable Me 2 scored an easy win with The Lone Ranger coming in a very, very distant second place. Fortunately, Despicable Me 2 made enough to compensate and the overall box office numbers were very strong. Over the three-day portion of the holiday weekend, $227 million was brought in. This is 19% higher than last weekend and 16% higher than the same three-day weekend last year. (Because July 4th falls on a different day each week, there's no way to compare the full holiday year-over-year.) Year-to-date, 2013 has earned $5.53 billion, which is 2.1% lower than last year's pace. It would only take a couple of solid wins for 2013 to earn the $118 million needed to catch up to 2012, but with The Dark Knight Rises looming ahead, that seems unlikely for now.
Despicable Me 2 crushed the competition earning $83.52 million over the weekend for a total opening of $142.36 million. By comparison, it took Despicable Me just over two full weeks to make that much. Add in its great reviews and the lack of direct competition, it should hold on relatively well next weekend. By the time Turbo debuts, it will have matched its predecessor at the box office and the studio will already be working on a sequel.
The Lone Ranger was a disaster. I don't think there's any kind way to describe its opening. The film barely managed second place over the weekend with $29.21 million while its total opening was an anemic $48.72 million. Its reviews are almost as bad as its opening, meaning its legs should be really short. There is a chance the film's domestic total won't be enough to cover its P&A budget, while the studio will only recover a fraction of its $275 million production budget worldwide.
The Heat held on better than expected, thanks to weaker than expected direct competition. It added $24.76 million to its running tally, which now sits at $86.26 million. By this time next week, it will have crossed the century mark, while it should finish with $125 million or more.
Monsters University was not as lucky, plummeting 57% to $19.72 million. Granted, its direct competition was much stronger than expected, but given its reviews and the holiday, I was expecting more. Then again, it still has $216.25 million after seventeen days of release.
World War Z held on well earning $18.41 million over the weekend for a total of $158.95 million after three weeks of release. It should at least come close to $200 million, which is a little more than it cost to make. Assuming it does well internationally and on the home market, it should break even. I don't know if it will do well enough to turn the film into a trilogy, on the other hand.
Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain was arguably the biggest surprise hit of the weekend. The film earned $10.03 million over the weekend, earning eighth place in the process, while its total opening was $17.398 million. To put this into perspective, Kevin Hart's previous stand-up concert film, Laugh at My Pain, earned $7.71 million, in total. Let Me Explain earned nearly that much on Wednesday and Thursday. It is already one of the biggest concert films of all time and should continue to climb the ranks.
Looking in at the sophomore class, we find White House Down in sixth place with $13.48 million over the weekend for a ten-day total of $50.49 million. It held on relatively well and should finish with about $75 million. Unfortunately, this is only half of what it cost to make.
Filed under: Weekend Estimates, The Lone Ranger, Monsters University, World War Z, Despicable Me 2, White House Down, The Heat, Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain, Kevin Hart