Weekend Wrap-Up: Gunning for the Top
August 6, 2013
Unless the box office bounces back next weekend, it will be safe to say summer ended over the weekend. 2 Guns did finish in first place, but it underperformed, while The Smurfs 2 only managed third place. Overall, the box office plummeted 20% from last weekend to $138 million. On the other hand, this is still better than last year, up 12%, thanks to much better depth. 2012 was led by The Dark Knight Rises, which no movie this year could match, but there were only three films to top $10 million last year compared to five films this year.
2 Guns opened in first place, thanks mostly to a lack of competition, earning $27.06 million. This isn't a terrible result and unless its legs are terrible, it should at least match its reported $61 million production budget. Additionally, after nearly dipping below 40% positive, its reviews rebounded and are within a rounding error of the overall positive level. It should break even, assuming it can do well internationally and / or on the home market.
The Wolverine matched expectations perfectly with $21.32 million over the weekend for a total of $94.64 million after two weeks of release. It will have no trouble getting to the century mark and assuming it does well on the home market, it should break even sooner rather than later.
The Smurfs 2 failed to live up to lowered expectations with just $17.55 million over the weekend and $27.11 million over five days of release. Add in terrible reviews and the upcoming release of Planes, it will likely disappear quickly.
The Conjuring crossed the century mark over the weekend earning $13.03 million for a total of $107.96 million. Given the number of high-profile films that failed to break even this year, studios should seriously consider focusing more on cheaper films like this one. They don't have to break records to break even, and if they bomb, the studio doesn't lose as much money.
Despicable Me 2 remained in the top five one last weekend with $10.13 million. It has been in theaters for just over a month and has brought in $326.41 million in that time.
Filed under: Weekend Estimates, The Wolverine, Despicable Me 2, The Smurfs 2, The Conjuring, 2 Guns, Disney Planes