Box Office Weekend: Fifty Shades Remains a Worldwide Smash

Critics and audiences do not always agree, and little more is this evidence than with Fifty Shades of Grey. With an estimated domestic weekend of $23.2 million, the film has become a worldwide sensation, costing $40 million to make and grossing $410.6 million in total box office around the world, despite lackluster reviews. Second-place place finisher, Kingsman: The Secret Service, with an estimated $17.5 million, is on the opposite end, well regarded by critics but struggling to make bank on its $81 million production costs. In third, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water held up in both departments, with an estimated $15.5 million putting into $125.2 million domestically, with critics finding it more than acceptable fare.

McFarland, USA opened to an estimated $11.3 million, though whether this is a good start for the “based on a true story” sports tale is unknown, as its budget numbers remain unreported. The DUFF, on the other hand, may have debuted in fifth with an estimated $11 million, but at $8.5 million to make, it has time to do decent box office. Still, nothing at the box office is doing better than American Sniper in overall domestic take, with an estimated $9.7 million leading to $319.6 million.

At the bottom of the list, The Imitation Game and Paddington are faring the best, with an estimated $2.6 and $2.3 million respectively (though tempered by The Imitation Game not releasing clear budget numbers despite $83.9 million in domestic revenue and Paddington doing far better, and quite profitable, business overseas). But newcomer Hot Tub Time Machine 2 and its estimated $5.8 million is a poor beginning even with its relatively low $14 million budget and Jupiter Ascending will fall far short, an estimated $3.7 million nowhere near enough to help the big budget flop reach even close to its lofty costs.

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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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