CinemaNerdz

Weekend Box Office: Batman and Mammoths Hold Off Ben Stiller and Dancing

Seth Paul

It has been a week since the horrific shooting in Aurora, Colorado that turned what was meant to be an exciting night at the movies into a weekend of grieving and sorrow, and the studios decided to avoid releasing their box office estimates in response so as not to capitalize on the event. It’s hard to discuss going back to “business as usual” at a time when the shooter is still splashed across national headlines, though such is the world, and the studios have returned to reporting their earned estimates.

The events surrounding the opening of The Dark Knight Rises have not deterred its popularity in theaters…though it failed to topple The Avengers record opening it still had a massive return for this weekend with an estimated $64.1 million and a domestic total of $289 million, enough to earn back its $250 million budget. It towers over the rest of the box office, with Ice Age: Continental Drift only earning an estimated $13.3 million in comparison, but the poorly reviewed Fox Animation production has been a worldwide smash, earning $511.4 million in foreign box office alone. While it may not be as successful as Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted domestically, it has bested out in three weeks what Madagascar 3 has earned in eight in total.

Two debuts are off to rocky starts as the Ben Stiller/Jonah Hill/Vince Vaughan comedy The Watch made an estimated $13 million and Step Up Revolution made an estimated $11.8 million. To match, neither film is winning much acclaim from critics, and neither film is looking to make up their budget deficits ($68 million and $33 million, respectively) anytime soon. Ted, on the other hand, nears the $200 million domestic mark with an estimated $7.4 million, showing a longevity The Watch is unlikely to see.

The Amazing Spider-Man earned an estimated $6.8 million, and while it has placed within the top five top domestic earners of the year, it still trails the previous Spider-Man films in earnings. In good company, Brave picked up an estimated $4.2 million, moving up the ranks in domestic profits for Pixar, but still their last place finisher in worldwide earnings as it still continues to struggle overseas. Magic Mike proves it is not just a clever name as it as has turned $7 million into $107.6 million domestically, with an additional estimated $2.6 million for the weekend. Savages has made a bit of a turnaround, with its estimated $1.8 million bringing it to within reach of breaking even, though it is still unlikely to make much money until the home video market, while Moonrise Kingdom remains a top ten contender, earning an estimated $1.4 million and Wes Anderson’s most successful domestic film to date (with The Royal Tenenbaums being his best with worldwide gross).

(Note: Due to the events of last weekend, what follows are this week’s estimates, followed by the top ten actual totals from the week before.)

Weekend Box-Office (July 27th – July 29th)

  1. The Dark Knight Rises…$64.1 million
  2. Ice Age: Continental Drift…$13.3 million
  3. The Watch…$13 million
  4. Step Up Revolution…$11.8 million
  5. Ted…$7.4 million
  6. The Amazing Spider-Man…$6.8 million
  7. Brave…$4.2 million
  8. Magic Mike…$2.6 million
  9. Savages…$1.8 million
  10. Moonrise Kingdom…$1.4 million

Weekend Box-Office (July 20th – July 22nd)

  1. The Dark Knight Rises…$160.9 million
  2. Ice Age: Continental Drift…$20.4 million
  3. The Amazing Spider-Man…$10.9 million
  4. Ted…$10 million
  5. Brave…$6 million
  6. Magic Mike…$4.3 million
  7. Savages…$3.4 million
  8. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection Program…$2.3 million
  9. Moonrise Kingdom…$1.8 million
  10. To Rome with Love…$1.4 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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