Weekend Box Office: The Possession Not Exorcised During Slow Weekend
The Possession remained at #1 at the box office, though with only one new release, it had little in the way of fresh competition. It also caps what is shaping up to be a major box office slowdown, as at an estimated $9.5 million, it did not even break into double digits, a major blow compared to last week when Labor Day weekend had three films do so. Lawless remained in second place with an estimated $6 million, for a two-week domestic total of $23.5 million…not much for a movie that has yet to post any production costs and contains actors not known for small salaries. The Words debuted in third, with an estimated $5 million…almost enough to surpass its $6 million production costs, but it is unlikely to survive much beyond that with the critical savaging it received.
The Expendables 2 is a success, but you would not know it looking at its domestic numbers…with an estimated $4.8 million and $75.4 million domestic totals, it looks well shy of its $100 million budget, but it currently sits tall with $177.8 million in worldwide earnings. So, too, does The Bourne Legacy, whose estimated $4 million and $103.7 million domestic earnings falls short of its $125 million budget, but carries $165 million in worldwide sales. Neither is a powerhouse at the box office, but one would be hard pressed to call either a bomb. ParaNorman, on the other hand, is at distant odds with its critical success and box office earnings, with an estimated $3.8 million and a $45.1 million domestic total, with only lackluster worldwide box office. If its reported $80 million budget is true, the well-regarded stop-motion film will have to wait until video to truly find an audience.
Unlike Paranorman, The Odd Life of Timothy Green has somehow found a second chance, as a lackluster opening weekend eventually turned around, its estimated $3.7 million adding to its $43 million totals, enough to put it over its reported $40 million production costs. The Campaign, which fell behind its competition during some last minute Labor Day earnings, pulled back ahead to the eighth spot with an estimated $3.5 million, the political comedy gaining critical and commercial success with $79.5 million over a $56 million budget, while pushing The Dark Knight Rises and 2016 Obama’s America to the final two spots. The Dark Knight Rises and 2016 Obama’s America sit in nearly neck-and neck ties with estimates hovering around $3.2 million for both films, and both are successes in their own right; The Dark Knight Rises is now the second-most successful film of the year (behind Marvel’s The Avengers), and 2016 Obama’s America is now the second-most successful political documentary of all-time (behind Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11).
Weekend Box-Office (September 7th – September 9th)
- The Possession…$9.5 million
- Lawless…$6 million
- The Words…$5 million
- The Expendables 2…$4.8 million
- The Bourne Legacy…$4 million
- ParaNorman…$3.8 million
- The Odd Life of Timothy Green…$3.7 million
- The Campaign…$3.5 million
- The Dark Knight Rises…$3.2 million
- 2016 Obama’s America…$3.2 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