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Posted February 18, 2013 by Seth Paul in News
 
 

Box Office Weekend: It’s A Good Day to Try Hard as Newest Die Hard a Tepid Box Office Winner

A Good Day to Die HardWhile the overall revenue at the box office has increased over the last two weeks, the latest installment in the Die Hard franchise, A Good Day to Die Hard, has first place standing at the box office with a mixed blessing. While it was the strongest performer of the weekend with an estimated $25 million (and $33.2 million counting its Valentine’s Day opening), the $92 million action flick has to heavily rely on its overseas performance to make it successful, which outweighs its domestic draw nearly 2 to 1. While its financial earnings are assured, its legacy in the franchise is not, as it has received the worst critical attention of any in the series thus far. However, there is hope for it down the road, as only three of the top ten films this weekend are critic favorites.

Last week’s top draw Identity Thief had to settle for second with an estimated $23.4 million, proving the road trip comedy a success, making $70.7 million over its $35 million costs in only two weeks. So, too, is Safe Haven a success in but a single week, making an estimated $21.4 million ($30.3 million in total including its Valentine’s opening against a $28 million budget). The Nicholas Sparks romance is, strangely, only one of three distinctly romantic movies to be out this month, the other two being the already successful Warm Bodies (fifth place, estimated $9 million) and the currently unsuccessful Beautiful Creatures, which also debuted Valentine’s Day. With an estimated $7.5 million take, Beautiful Creatures and its supernatural romance is not making the same waves as the similar Twilight Saga did, and is falling well short of its $60 million costs.

Back up to fourth place, the most family friendly film of the weekend, Escape from Planet Earth, found little traction from its target audience despite its standings, only making an estimated $16.1 million, with a $40 million budget to cover. The well-received Side Effects, too, continues to struggle, Steven Soderbergh’s thriller only managing to make an estimated $6.3 million and $19.1 million in overall take, still short of its $30 million costs.

Finally, there will be little to complain about from the bottom of the list. Silver Linings Playbook continues to impress in its fourteenth week with an estimated $6.1 million and nearly $100 million in domestic revenue. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters middling performance in the U.S. is overshadowed by its foreign revenue, its estimated $3.5 million bringing the film almost in line with its $50 million budget costs domestically, but far short of its impressive $101.2 million foreign box office sales. Zero Dark Thirty, with its estimated $3.1 million, likely finishes its time on the top ten in a strong position, having made double what it cost to make and garnering some Oscar nominations to boot.

Weekend Box Office (February 14th – February 17th)

  1. A Good Day to Die Hard…$25 million
  2. Identity Thief…$23.4 million
  3. Safe Haven…$21.4 million
  4. Escape from Planet Earth…$16.1 million
  5. Warm Bodies…$9 million
  6. Beautiful Creatures…$7.5 million
  7. Side Effects…$10 million
  8. Silver Linings Playbook…$6.1 million
  9. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters…$3.5 million
  10. Zero Dark Thirty…$3.1 million
Seth Paul

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."