Weekend Wrap-Up: Minions Crush Competition, but Fall Short of Record
July 14, 2015
As expected Minions dominated the box office earning first place with more than a 50% share of the total box office. It became the fourth film to open with more than $100 million this year. Three of those were released by Universal. On the other hand, the less said about The Gallows or Self/Less the better. To be fair, The Gallows earned more during its opening day that it cost to make, but its advertising budget is much bigger than its production budget. Meanwhile, Self/Less barely topped the Mendoza Line (earning only just over $2,000 per theater). The overall box office reached $215 million, which was 59% more than last week and 43% the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2015 has earned $5.92 billion, which is 6.4% higher than last year's pace.
Minions opened with $115.72 million making it the fourth $100 million opening film of the year and the third $100 million debut for a Universal this year alone. It's really hard to describe just how well the studio is doing this year. Actually, that's a lie, as you can easily describe it in one word. Unprecedented. As for Minions' long-term prospects, there is some good news and some bad news. The good news is, this is the last big family film of the summer. (Shaun of the Sheep will likely only become a midlevel hit. And yes, I know that's not what the film is actually called, but that's what I'm calling it.) The bad news is Minion's reviews, which are only 54% positive and I think its legs won't be as long as Inside Out's legs are. That said, $300 million domestically should be an easy target, while $1 billion worldwide is the real goal.
Jurassic World held up a better than expected with $18.15 million over the weekend for a month-long total of $590.69 million. It will become just the fourth film to reach $600 million next weekend.
Direct competition pushed Inside Out into third place, but it still earned $17.67 million over the weekend for a total of $284.20 million after four weeks of release. At this pace, it will become just the third Pixar film to reach $300 million domestically. It is still too early to tell where it will finish globally, but it will break even before the lucrative home market.
Terminator: Genisys came within a rounding error of expectations with $13.83 million over the weekend for a 12-day total of $68.85 million. At this pace, it should reach $90 million or more domestically, so it should break even, if its international numbers are strong.
The Gallows struggled with just $9.81 million over the weekend. Granted, this is roughly $9 million more than it cost to make, but its reviews and its genre suggest a quick exit from theaters. I would compare the film to Chernobyl Diaries, which also cost $1 million to make but failed to break even, because its P&A budget was so large compared to its production budget. This film is off to a faster start, but I don't think it was fast enough.
The final new release of the week was Self/Less, which opened in eighth place with just $5.40 million. This is a little better than I thought it would do after seeing the Friday estimates, but that's beyond damning it with faint praise. Its reviews are terrible and its per theater average is so low that theater owners will be looking to drop the movie ASAP. I wouldn't be surprised if there are a dozen or so limited releases that earn more than this film does during its run.
Magic Mike XXL was the only sophomore film to not reach the top five. It came very, very close to $9.58 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $48.30 million. The film dipped just 25% during its second weekend of release, which is excellent in this day and age. If this keeps up, it could reach $80 million or more. This is more than enough to be a financial success, even if it is a drop from the original. We might see the franchise continue, even if it is on the home market.
On final note, I thought Amy would have a small chance of reaching the top ten, but it didn't. Granted, it earned 12th place with $1.80 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $2.14 million, which is fantastic. It is yet another hit for A24. However, it was overshadowed by Baahubali: The Beginning, which earned tenth place with an estimated $3.2 million during its opening weekend. This isn't a record for a Bollywood film (P.K. is still the champ) but it is close.
Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, Jurassic World, Minions, Self/Less, Inside Out, Terminator: Genisys, Magic Mike XXL, The Gallows, Amy, Baahubali: The Beginning, Magic Mike