A bit of a surprise at the box office this weekend, with none of the four films in next release able to toppled The Lion King from the top spot. Here’s how the weekend played out:
For the second week in a row, the rereleased The Lion King brought in the dough at the box office with a fantastic $22 million gross (I had predicted a second place showing with $18 million). The films two week run in theatres comes to an end, with The Lion King’s total all-time box office gross at $390.2 million, including $61.7 million from its rerelease.
Coming in second this weekend was the Brad Pitt vehicle Moneyball with $20.6 million, on average with what other Pitt films have grossed in the past. I did think Moneyball would have done slightly better, as I predicted a first place finish with $21 million. It’s not a bad start, though and, as we head into World Series season, it should continue to perform well with adults.
Coming in a close third place with $20.26 (and possibly second when the finals hit tomorrow) is Dolphin Tale, staring Morgan Freeman. The movie received favourable reviews from audiences and critics, and performed far better than I anticipated, as I had predicted a fourth place finish with $12 million.
The Taylor Lautner staring vehicle Abduction didn’t do well in its opening weekend, something the rest of the Twilight cast could have predicted. The film brought in a disappointing $11 million to land in the fourth spot, one spot and $3 million less than I had predicted. Clearly, Lautner isn’t the star that Hollywood was hoping he would be (if that sounds familiar, it’s because I said the exact same thing abour Ryan Gosling last week). Abduction should be on store shelves before too long, and I’m guessing it will be better received there.
Killer Elite pretty much lived up to my prediction, landing in fifth place with $9.5 millon. The film can’t be considered anything but a total bomb, as there’s no way that it will come close to making back its $70 million budget. Jason Statham may be a great action star, but he’s not enough of a draw to really bring in the masses. Look for a fairly significant drop come next week.
So, to recap, here were our predictions:
1) Moneyball – $21 million
2) The Lion King – $18 million
3) Abduction – $14 million
4) Dolphin Tale – $12 million
5) Killer Elite – $9 million
And here’s how the weekend turned out:
1) The Lion King – $22 million
2) Moneyball – $20.6 million
3) Dolphin Tale – $20.26 million
4) Abduction – $11 million
5) Killer Elite – $9.5 million
With The Lion King heading out of theatres next weekend, we’ll be seeing a new number one at the box office. Will it be any of the films from this week, or will new releases 50/50, Courageous, Dream House or What’s Your Number? claim the top spot. Check back on Friday to see our predictions.
