Weekend Wrap-Up: Kung Fu Wins with $41.28 million lifting Box Office Along the Way
February 2, 2016
Kung Fu Panda 3 led the way during the weekend with $41.28 million over the weekend. This was below admittedly optimistic predictions, but still great for this time of year. The rest of the new releases were not as strong and it is likely all three will lose money in the end. Fortunately, Kung Fu Panda 3 was strong enough to help the overall box office grow. The overall box office rose 22% to $139 million. More impressively, and more importantly, the box office was 38% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2016 has pulled in $1.01 billion, reaching the $1 billion mark faster than last year. It wasn't the fastest year to get there, as 2010 holds that record thanks to Avatar. 2016 has regained the lead over 2015 at 1.9% or $19 million. Obviously the usually caveats apply here: It is far too early and that lead is far too small to be of real significance. That said, it is always better to be ahead than to be behind, no matter how small that lead it.
Kung Fu Panda 3 dominated the box office with $41.28 million. On the downside, it is the lowest opening in the franchise. On the upside, it is an amazing opening for a January release. It was very close to the biggest opening in January, falling just short of the original Ride Along. (One could argue American Sniper deserves that title, as it expanded wide in January. However, technically it wasn't a January release and if Futurama taught me anything, it's that technically correct is the best kind of correct. Family films tend to have good legs, plus the reviews are excellent, so it should have no trouble getting to $100 million.
The Revenant held on a little better than expected with $12.78 million over the weekend for a total of $138.55 million. Normally I would predict the film would cross $150 million next weekend, but next weekend is Super Bowl weekend and this film likely has a very big crossover audience with the Super Bowl.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens added $11.12 million over the weekend to its total, which now sits at $895.76 million after a month and a half of release. It will get to $900 million shortly. It might even remain the top five when it does so. That depends on whether any of next week's three wide releases bomb.
The Finest Hours was close behind with $10.29 million over the weekend. Its reviews are overall positive, but not overwhelmingly positive, so its legs will be neither good nor bad. It would be a perfectly fine January release, if it weren't for the $70 million Disney spent making the movie.
Ride Along 2 managed one more weekend in the top five with $8.43 million over the weekend for a total of $70.86 million after three weeks of release. The film might have made enough to cover its production budget domestically, meaning it will only need to cover its advertising budget on the home market.
The other two new releases were well back from the top five. Fifty Shades of Black only managed tenth place with $5.90 million over the weekend. This is more than it cost to make, but that's damning it with faint praise. Its reviews are barely in the two-digit range and its per theater average is just $2,844, so it will disappear from theaters quickly.
Finally there's Jane Got a Gun. There weren't many people who thought this film would be a hit, but I don't think there were many people who thought it would perform this badly. The film landed in seventeenth place with just $836,000 in 1,210 theaters for a per theater average of $691. The reviews were not good, but they were certainly not this bad. I blame a troubled production and a studio that simply didn't care in the end.
Moving onto the Sophomore class, we had a full classroom with three films, which finished in sixth, seventh, and eighth places. Dirty Grandpa led the way with $7.59 million over the weekend for a total of $22.84 million after two. That's probably close to what it cost to make. The Boy was right behind with $7.55 million over the weekend for $21.19 million after two weeks of release. This film cost just $10 million to make, so it has already covered its production budget. It would need to get past $50 million to break even domestically, which is out of reach. However, this is a good enough start that it should reach profitability during its initial home market run. The 5th Wave is the weakest of the three with $7.14 million over the weekend for a ten-day total of $20.33 million. However, it is doing much better internationally and has a better than 50/50 shot at $100 million worldwide. That would be enough to cover its production budget, meaning it would only need to cover its advertising budget on the home market.
- Kung Fu Panda 3 Comparisons
- The Finest Hours Comparisons
- Fifty Shades of Black Comparisons
Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, Kung Fu Panda 3, Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens, Jane Got a Gun, Ride Along 2, The Revenant, The 5th Wave, Dirty Grandpa, The Finest Hours, The Boy, Fifty Shades of Black, Futurama, Kung Fu Panda