CinemaNerdz

Weekend Box-Office: John Carter and A Thousand Words Tie for First? Nope! April Fools – The Hunger Games Stays on Top

Seth Paul

Usually a 60% drop in revenue can spell disaster for a film…but considering what The Hunger Games made last week, the estimated $61.1 million it made this week is not the problem that it seems. With a total gross of $251 million domestic, The Hunger Games seems to be the summer film to beat. It certainly saw more business than Wrath of the Titans, which opened with a comparatively disappointing estimated $34.2 million domestically. Wrath of the Titans is doing much better in the overseas market, the $150 million budgeted film gaining an estimated $78 million in the foreign market. However, the first of two Snow White adaptations due out this year, Mirror Mirror starring Julia Roberts, is a disappointment no matter who it compares to…it earned an estimated $19 million for a distant third place finish, and even the $11 million foreign box office places it a long ways away from the $85 million it cost to make. And though Mirror Mirror is getting better critical reviews than Wrath of the Titans, the audiences themselves seem to be more forgiving of the latter…as the current ticket sales make plain.

21 Jump Street, while it only made an estimated $15 million, is still holding up quite well for its third week, closing in on $93 million domestic; so is Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, which adds an estimated $8 million to a $189.6 million domestic gross. John Carter may be flagging stateside, its estimated $2 million a wide gap between it and Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, but the film isn’t quite the bomb it appears, the action blockbuster doing almost three times as well overseas ($188.3 million) as here ($66.2 million), so while it may not see a sequel anytime soon, it at least made back its investments.

Opening to…well, somewhat larger release (a few shy of 500 theaters); Salmon Fishing in the Yemen made an estimated $1.3 million. The romantic comedy/drama starring Ewan McGregor has no current budgetary information available, but considering the track record of the latest independent films (The Descendants, The Devil Inside, Casa de Mi Padre), it is likely to make money even if it is not a huge success…barring high salaries for the stars. Act of Valor was the last film of the week to break a million, though just barely, making a little over an estimated $1 million. Still, in its six weeks in the theater, it has turned out a decent profit, while A Thousand Words continues to fall flat, with an estimated $915,000 and not even making up half of its costs so far ($16.5 million against a $40 million investment). Journey 2: The Mysterious Island continues to hang onto the box office, the eight week veteran only making an estimated $835,000 this weekend, but the action adventure has proven itself a hit here ($98.4 million) and an even bigger one overseas ($214 million).

Weekend Box-Office (March 30th – April 1st)

  1. The Hunger Games…$61.1 million
  2. Wrath of the Titans…$34.2 million
  3. Mirror Mirror…$19 million
  4. 21 Jump Street…$15 million
  5. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax…$8 million
  6. John Carter…$2 million
  7. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen…$1.3 million
  8. Act of Valor…$1 million
  9. A Thousand Words…$915,000
  10. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island …$835,000

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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