Weekend Box-Office: Critics May Have Put the Bite on It, but Audiences Made Hotel Transylvania a Hit
From director Genndy Tartakovsky and Adam Sandler comes…the highest grossing September release of all-time? Apparently so, as the critically panned CG comedy Hotel Transylvania defied its reviews and earned an estimated $43 million…not enough to top its $85 million budget, but a fine start to its theatrical run and more than surpassing the original high-grosser of September, Sweet Home Alabama, which made $35.6 million in 2002. It has certainly helped bolster a down box office, as has the critically acclaimed Looper, which landed the second spot with an estimated $21.2 million.
End of Watch remained a solid draw with an estimated $8 million, a small drop from last week’s gross, as did Trouble with the Curve (an estimated $7.5 million) and House at the End of the Street (an estimated $7.2 million). Pitch Perfect, the new musical comedy, opened to decent reviews and an estimated $5.2 million, putting it ahead of Finding Nemo 3D (an estimated $4.1 million) and Resident Evil: Retribution (an estimated $3 million). Pitch Perfect’s performance puts it in at a decent start with $17 million in costs to cover, while Finding Nemo’s $36.5 million is a relatively poor showing for a 3D re-release, especially for such a popular and well-regarded Pixar classic (for comparison, Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace made $43.5 million and was considered a lukewarm venture, and The Lion King made $94.2 million before that).
The Master is also in some trouble…while its limited opening weekend was the best start for a film by director Paul Thomas Anderson, its estimated $2.7 million earnings in its third weekend give it a running total of $9.6 million…well below the $35 million costs. In fact, The Master caps off a recent run of films that have received critical praise but not the ticket sales to match, such as ParaNorman (which has so far made $86 million worldwide…on an $80 million budget) and Dredd (which did not place in the Top 10 in its second week and has made $21 million worldwide and cost $50 million to make). However, the final film that did make the list, Won’t Back Down, is one of the few that does…in wide release, the film received a critical panning and only an estimated $2.7 million. At a $19 million budget, it has a much bigger battle percentage-wise to fight than The Master does.
Weekend Box-Office (September 28th – September 30th)
- Hotel Transylvania…$43 million
- Looper…$21.2 million
- End of Watch…$8 million
- Trouble with the Curve…$7.5 million
- House at the End of the Street…$7.2 million
- Pitch Perfect…$5.2 million
- Finding Nemo 3D…$4.1 million
- Resident Evil: Retribution…$3 million
- The Master…$2.7 million
- Won’t Back Down…$2.7 million
Seth Paul
Latest posts by Seth Paul (see all)
- Box Office Weekend: Eight Figure Box Office for Magnificent Seven - September 26, 2016
- Box Office Weekend: Sully Rides High for Second Week - September 19, 2016
- Box Office Weekend: Sully Lands On Target - September 12, 2016