Box Office Weekend: Frozen Tops the Box Office After Seven Weeks

As the first weekend of 2014 draws to a close, it is perhaps not surprising that not many new films made their debut with so many popular films from 2013 hogging the spotlight…at least, in wide release. But Frozen, one of two mighty veterans at the box office, managed to take the first-place spot with an estimated $20.7 million, enough to keep the only newcomer to the list, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones from that coveted position. The latest entry in the supernatural horror series failed to do much to impress critics, but at an estimated $18.2 million, it nearly quadrupled its reported budget and proved once again that found footage movies are still cheap enough to turn a profit at the box office.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug may have taken in an estimated $16.3 million and remains, domestically, the lowest earning film of Peter Jackson’s take on Middle Earth, but at $229.6 million domestically and $756.6 million in worldwide earnings, it could hardly be considered a box office failure. Neither, it seems, will The Wolf of Wall Street, if its trends continue. Despite a lackluster opening weekend, Martin Scorsese’s tale of debauchery gone amok has done excellent business throughout the week, and an estimated $13.4 million has banked nicely with its $63.3 million domestic haul…not yet enough to be profitable, but certainly in good shape to make it sooner than later. American Hustle has also proven to be a winner, its estimated $13.2 million enough to make its domestic earnings well over double what it cost.

With Paramount making its numbers official, it is clear that Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is also officially a hit, its weekend estimate of $11.1 million enough to break the $100 million barrier and counting. Saving Mr. Banks, too, may yet be a strong contender despite never breaching higher than fifth on the top ten, its estimated $9.1 million giving it $59.3 million over its $35 million costs. However, the mixed reception for Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty may be hurting its chances for success. With an estimated $8.2 million and $45.7 million in domestic earnings, the $90 million dramatic comedy might well not break even until the home video market. Nor do things look good for the Robert De Niro/Sylvester Stallone match-up Grudge Match. Sitting in tenth, it has only a $40 million budget to make up, but its estimated $5.4 million is not doing much to get it even to that amount.

While not in last place this week, special note has to be made of ninth-place finisher The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which may do what seemed to be impossible only a month ago: replace Iron Man 3 as the top earning domestic film of 2013. Its estimated $7.4 million has given it $407.5 million, and even at a 50 percent drop in revenue by next week, it will still be enough to send the Marvel hero to a (still impressive) second-place spot of $409 million.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Seth Paul

When not failing to write novels and screenplays, box-office guru Seth writes humorous comedy tracks for films under the name "The One Man Band" that can be found at Rifftrax.com. Although, he has recently succeeded in writing the novella "Jack Alan and the Case of the Not-Exactly Rocket Scientists," available as an eBook on Amazon. He is also the English voice of Zak in "Zak McKracken: Between Time and Space."

Latest posts by Seth Paul (see all)

• Box Office Weekend: Eight Figure Box Office for Magnificent Seven - September 26, 2016
• Box Office Weekend: Sully Rides High for Second Week - September 19, 2016
• Box Office Weekend: Sully Lands On Target - September 12, 2016