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Box Office Weekend: American Sniper Still Busting Box Office

Seth Paul
Box Office Weekend

There seems to be no stopping American Sniper. With an estimated $64.4 million, it not only handily took the weekend box office by storm, it surpassed $200.1 million in revenue. It stood head and shoulders above even second-place finisher The Boy Next Door, which brought in only an estimated $15 million in comparison, but budgeted at only $4 million, it managed to be a wild success on its own merits. Paddington, with an estimated $12.4 million, refuses to say whether it is a success (which it may be if counting worldwide revenue), but considering its critical acclaim, its $40.1 million in domestic revenue is on the low side, especially considering it is one of only three family friendly films at the box office this weekend.

The Wedding Ringer and its estimated $11.6 million is proving the film will likely be a modest success for Kevin Hart (especially compared to his hits from last year); coincidentally, Taken 3 with its estimated $7.6 million will be so as well, especially compared to the two previous entries. The Imitation Game remained in exactly the same place with almost the same revenue with an estimated $7.1 million, but along with Paddington, the Weinstein Company is not releasing any news about its budget, thus leaving it up in the air how successful it has been.

Things are not looking up for two other releases, however; Strange Magic, the newest from the now-Disney-owned Lucasfilm, debuted at an estimated $5.5 million and looks likely to be a bust despite a lack of budget numbers. And right behind Selma (doing modestly well with an estimated $5.5 million), Johnny Depp and his latest, Mortdecai, flails for attention and got the worst kind, garnering bad reviews and an estimated $4.1 million against a $60 million budget. Even in tenth place, Into the Woods and its estimated $3.9 million looks much better in comparison, with $121.5 million in the bank.

In a side note, despite its lack of placement in the top ten this week, it should be noted that The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 managed this week to surpass Guardians of the Galaxy as the top-earning domestic release of 2014.

Weekend Box Office (January 23rd – January 25th)

  1. American Sniper…$64.4 million
  2. The Boy Next Door…$15 million
  3. Paddington…$12.4 million
  4. The Wedding Ringer…$11.6 million
  5. Taken 3…$7.6 million
  6. The Imitation Game…$7.1 million
  7. Strange Magic…$5.5
  8. Selma…$5.5 million
  9. Mortdecai…$4.1 million
  10. Into the Woods…$3.9 million

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."
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