CinemaNerdz

Weekend Box-Office: Repeat Success Continues as Think Like a Man Keeps Ahead of the Newcomers

Seth Paul

The box office got flooded with new releases (most likely to get a head start on The Avengers, coming out next weekend), but none were able to take down Think Like a Man, which comes in first for the second week in a row. With an estimated $18 million this weekend, the romantic comedy has blown past its mixed reviews to earn $60.9 million domestically. Comedy appears to be selling better than drama these days, since last week’s second-place finisher, the romantic drama The Lucky One, landed in third this week with an estimated $11.3 million, and about $40 million in domestic earnings…not bad numbers, but certainly less impressive than Think Like a Man, taking into account its reported $25 million budget. Landing between these two heavy hitters from the week before is Aardman’s stateside debut of The Pirates! Band of Misfits. With a $55 million budget that has already been covered by its foreign box office, The Pirates! Band of Misfits is off to what amounts to a slow start for an Aardman film, its estimated $11.4 million earnings are the worst opening weekend domestically for any of the company’s wide releases, despite good reviews.

The Hunger Games finally had to give up the podium this weekend, settling for fourth and an estimated $11.3 million, though fourth place is not too shabby when four weeks in the box office were in first. With $372.5 million domestic gross, The Hunger Games remains the big movie of the year, and it still performed more strongly than three more new releases. The R-rated romantic comedy The Five-Year Engagement is getting fairly positive reviews, and the $30 million film is getting a middling start with an estimated $11.2 million. The same can’t be said for the debuts of Safe and The Raven. Garnering mostly negative reviews, both films started out well below the $10 million mark, Safe earning an estimated $7.7 million and The Raven an estimated $7.3 million. Coincidentally, the films are also similarly budgeted, with the Jason Statham actioner Safe costing $30 million and the John Cusack horror-themed The Raven costing $26 million, so if trends continue both films are likely to be minimal earners at best.

The final three consist of Chimpanzee, The Three Stooges, and The Cabin in the Woods. While Chimpanzee has not reported its budget, its high earning performance last week and its estimated $5.5 million gives it a strong $19 million domestic total for a documentary film. The Three Stooges’ estimated $5.4 million and ninth-place finish is surprisingly decent considering its critical reception ($37 million in earnings to its $30 million budget), while The Cabin in the Woods just barely scrapes in a profit despite its positive critical reception, the $30 million budget earning an estimated $4.5 million and $34.7 million in domestic gross.

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

  1. Think Like a Man…$18 million
  2. The Pirates! Band of Misfits…$11.4 million
  3. The Lucky One…$11.3 million
  4. The Hunger Games…$11.3 million
  5. The Five-Year Engagement…$11.2 million
  6. Safe…$7.7 million
  7. The Raven…$7.3 million
  8. Chimpanzee…$5.5 million
  9. The Three Stooges…$5.4 million
  10. The Cabin in the Woods…$4.5 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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