Weekend Wrap-Up: Zootopia Doubles The Competition with $51.34 Million
March 15, 2016
The weekend box office was mostly positive with both Zootopia and 10 Cloverfield Lane finishing on the very high end of expectations over the weekend. On the other hand, the less said about the other new wide releases the better. Overall, the box office fell from last weekend, down 17% to $135 million, but that's not a bad decline after Zootopia's monster opening. Compared to last year, the box office was up 2.5%, which isn't a great improvement, but any win now increases the chances 2016 will remain competitive with 2015 when we reach the point that Furious 7, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Jurassic World opened last year. Speaking of the year-over-year comparison, 2016's lead over 2015 slipped to 8.7% at $2.15 billion to $1.98 billion. That is still an impressive lead and one that will hopefully grow by the end of the month.
Zootopia won the weekend box office race not only earning its second first place win, but doubling its nearest competitor with $51.34 million over the weekend. After just ten days of release, the film has amassed $143.96 million. This puts it ahead of Frozen's running tally after its second weekend of wide release. Granted, Zootopia doesn't have Christmas holidays to boost its run, but it has a shot at $275 million to $300 million. That would be amazing for this time of year. It also has outstanding reviews and it is nice when great movies do this well at the box office.
10 Cloverfield Lane opened with $24.70 million, which was on the very high end of predictions. Its reviews remain overwhelmingly positive, while the audience's reactions are almost as positive. By next weekend, the film will likely have made more domestically than it cost to both make and advertise, so it should break even before it reaches the home market.
Deadpool was down just 35% over the weekend earning $10.94 million for a month-long total of $328.22 million. It is very likely it will lose a lot of theaters when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice debuts. That said, it should still top $350 million overtaking American Sniper as the second biggest R-rated movie of all time. The Passion of the Christ will likely hold onto that particular record.
London Has Fallen fell 50% to $10.84 million over the weekend for a total of $39.02 million after two weeks of release. This could have been worse, but that's small comfort given the film's $105 million production budget and its so far soft international results.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot remained in the top five with $4.67 million over the weekend for a total of $14.64 million after two weeks of release. The film is rumored to have cost $35 million to make, but there are no good sources on that number. If it is true, then the film will need to do much better internationally to break even any time soon. At least it is not a complete bomb.
The Perfect Match just missed the top five with $4.29 million. It was only playing in 925 theaters, so its average was $4,624, which was the third best average in the top ten and the third best non-limited release. Furthermore, it reportedly cost just $5 million to make, so it could break even sooner rather than later. Granted, the reviews are weak, even for a romantic comedy, but it might see its theater count grow this Friday and that would help.
The Young Messiah bombed missing the Mendoza Line with just $3.29 million in 1,761 theaters for an average of $1,871. This continues the incredible inconsistent record faith-based films have at the box office. The early reviews were amazing, but the film's Tomatometer Score has slipped to just 56% positive, but that's still better than most faith-based films.
The Brothers Grimsby was an even bigger bomb earning just $3.26 million in 2,235 theaters. An average of just $1,458 is a disaster, plain and simple, while its 38% positive reviews won't help either. This film will practically disappear from theaters as soon as theater owners are contractually able to dump it (very likely March 25th).
All three films in the sophomore class remained in the top five this weekend. That's quite a feat, especially with four new releases to deal with.
- 10 Cloverfield Lane comparisons
- The Brothers Grimsby comparisons
- Young Messiah comparisons
- The Perfect Match comparisons
Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, Deadpool, The Young Messiah, The Brothers Grimsby, London Has Fallen, Zootopia, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, The Perfect Match