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Box Office Weekend: No One Can Catch Prisoners

Seth Paul
Box Office Weekend

Hugh Jackman has his second first-place finish in two months, as his new thriller, Prisoners, took the top spot at the box office this week. It managed an estimated $21.4 million for the weekend; while far from the blockbuster start of July’s The Wolverine, nothing else this week came close. Insidious: Chapter 2 landed in second, but its excellent opening weekend took a massive tumble as it earned only an estimated $14.5 million. The Family took a strong dip as well, earning only an estimated $7 million. Of the top three, only Insidious: Chapter 2 has managed a profit, and despite its drop in weekend take it does not have much to worry about, having already made $60.9 million on a $5 million budget.

Instructions Not Included seesaws on the top ten yet again, its estimated $5.7 million moving it up the rankings and staving off newcomer Battle of the Year. The dance film only made an estimated $5 million and the ire of critics, who have apparently reserved it for the same level of damnation as Scary Movie 5. It faces an uphill battle on a relatively tame $20 million budget; unfortunately, it shares company with We’re the Millers (estimated $4.7 million) and Lee Daniels’ The Butler (estimated $4.3 million), both much better reviewed films (and the only current top ten films to earn over $100 million in domestic sales).

For a film that got mixed to positive reviews and a first-place opening weekend, Riddick has had a struggle finding an audience: with an estimated $3.7 million, it is still a million or so shy of its production costs domestically. To compare, the IMAX/3D re-release of the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz made an estimated $3 million, which is low even compared to other 3D re-releases. Finally, Planes made an estimated $2.9 million, and managed to make $86.5 million in domestic sales; despite its tenth-place finish, it remains a stronger performer than the two films above it, even with a terrible critical reception.

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Weekend Box Office (September 20th – September 22nd)

  1. Prisoners…$21.4 million
  2. Insidious Chapter 2…$14.5 million
  3. The Family…$7 million
  4. Instructions Not Included…$5.7 million
  5. Battle of the Year…$5 million
  6. We’re the Millers…$4.7 million
  7. Lee Daniels’ The Butler…$4.3 million
  8. Riddick…$3.7 million
  9. The Wizard of Oz…$3 million
  10. Planes…$2.9 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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