Box Office Weekend: Lucy at the Box Office with Diamonds

While critics may be saying relatively the same thing about these films, things are shaping up very differently at the box office for the two big releases this weekend. Lucy, getting slightly worse reviews than its competition Hercules, nevertheless took the first-place spot with $43.9 million – more than enough to be make money against its $40 million budget. Hercules took second with $29.8 million, but the Dwayne Johnson vehicle has a much bigger debt to pay off, still needing to cover over $70 million of its $100 million production costs (and could be doing better overseas).

The rest of the box office is a mixed bag; third place went to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes with $16.8 million, which became a domestic success this weekend by crossing its $170 million costs. The Purge: Anarchy dropped off from its debut week, but it still made a splash, earning $10.5 million and ensuring the low-budget terror franchise will likely see a third entry despite critical reception. Planes: Fire & Rescue, on the other hand, may finally be a turning point for Pixar as the critically panned effort, even with $9.5 million this weekend, has failed to make much against its $50 million costs even after two weeks. Sex Tape, too, is not drawing much attention, with $6 million adding to a lackluster draw of $26.9 million for a film that cost $40 million to take.

Transformers: Age of Extinction proved Michael Bay critic-proof once again as it adds $4.7 million to a successful domestic run and is closing in a $1 billion worldwide total. Tammy also did quite well for itself despite critical panning, earning $3.4 million and coming close to making four times its $20 million budget in total. But two new films debuted near the bottom of the list; the critically lambasted And So It Goes, from director Rob Reiner, made $4.6 million (and may be hiding its costs in shame), while A Most Wanted Man, starring the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, opened in the tenth spot with $2.7 million. However, though the latter has not revealed its budget either, it may pick up steam on the basis of its acclaim and star power.

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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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