Box Office Weekend: Lone Survivor All Alone On Top

The massive marketing campaign paid off in a big way: Lone Survivor opened to wide release after three weekends, and the $40 million budgeted war film got decent reviews and nearly made back its money, earning an estimated $38.5 million at the box office. It stood well above the eight-week champion Frozen, whose estimated $15.1 million adds nicely to $317.7 million in domestic totals, and well above third-place The Wolf of Wall Street. Despite an uptick during its second week, the Martin Scorsese film did not see as much a gain outside the weekend this time, earning an estimated $9 million and a domestic total of $78.6 million. While overseas box office is helping that particular movie surpass its $100 million costs, there does not look like much hope for the newest debut to the box office, The Legend of Hercules. Critically savaged, its estimated $8.6 million leaves it well short of its $70 million costs…perhaps not quite as big a hole as 47 Ronin (which has yet to make up half of its $175 million budget), but it will most likely fall well short of expectations.

While currently tied at an $8.6 million estimate, American Hustle falls to fifth thanks to its wider release and lower averages per theater, but it is doing far better than The Legend of Hercules, having already made $101.6 million and a massive net profit. Below that, despite not releasing its official budget numbers, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is likely a success; though matched against its predecessors it is the weakest of the franchise, it still has had no problems here and abroad making solid cash, taking in an estimated $8 million and $242.2 million domestically. However, we have a surprise contender in the seventh place spot: August: Osage County. Based on a 2007 play, the star-studded, George Clooney-produced film entered wide release and picked up an estimated $7.3 million for its efforts. It sat over the top of three big winners: Saving Mr. Banks (estimated $6.6 million), which has earned nearly double its costs by week five; Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (estimated $6.3 million), which may have dropped a lot in revenue, but more than made its money back due to its microscopic $5 million budget; and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (estimated $6.1 million), which has now well broken past the $100 million mark and continues to do good business after four weeks.

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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."

Latest posts by Seth Paul (see all)

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