Amidst these February Blahs, Moviegoers find solace in Comedy with Universal Pictures’ Identity Thief usurps the top of the Box Office once again in its third week with $14.1 million; tepid but enough to be number one this weekend and just-shy of the $100-million mark domestically.
Snitch starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, opens in second spot with $13 million for Lionsgate Films/eOne Films in 2,511 theatres across North America. Reviews were mixed for the Action Flick at 54% on the Tomatometer, but audiences responded better with a B CinemaScore.
Escape from Planet Earth, the Canadian-produced Animated Feature, is in third this weekend with $11 million. Its two week tally is $35.1 million.
Holding its position at number four is Nicholas Sparks Adaptation, Safe Haven, with $10.6 million in its second week, just ahead of Horror Flick Dark Skies in number for in its debut with $9 million. Both Films are distributed by eOne Films in Canada.
Experiencing a significant slip is A Good Day to Die Hard in fifth with $10 million for 20th Century Fox. Its cumulative total for two weeks is an impressive $51 million for last week’s number one Film.
Amazingly, Silver Linings Playbook continues to show its grit in seventh spot with $6.1 million as its fate at the Oscars is set to be revealed tonight – the only Film still remaining in the Top Ten in the running for Best Picture.
Side Effects rounds-out this week’s Top Ten with $3 million in this its third week of release.
Interestingly enough on President’s Day/Valentine’s Day weekend, Moviegoers opted for action instead of Romance, making the latest in the long-running Die Hard Franchise, the number one Film in North America. The Action Flick starring Bruce Willis grosses $28.2 million from 3,552 theatres between Thursday through Sunday. Audiences responded well with a B+ CinemaScore for the 20th Century Fox release, while Critics panned it with 17% on the Tomatometer. The Film falls just short of its highest-grossing Live Free or Die Hard, which opened with $33 million back in 2007.
Still going strong is Universal Pictures’ Identity Thief in second spot with $27.6 million in its second week of release, from 3,165 theatres, undoubtedly helped by Critic Rex Reed‘s controversial remarks about Melissa McCarthy‘s weight giving it some added buzz.
Although it kicked-off with a bang on Valentine’s Day, Safe Haven from eOne Films/Relativity Media, earns $25.4 million this four-day weekend. The Romantic- Thriller starring Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough might not have fared well with Critics with an 18% rating on the Tomatometer, but audiences enjoyed it with a B+ CinemaScore. Perhaps overseas it will fare better or even it its second run on Video-on-Demand/DVD/Blu-ray.
On a weekend lacking Family-oriented choices, Escape from Planet Earth from The Weinstein Co./eOne Films grosses $20.5 million from 3,288 theatres. The Canadian Animated Feature which contains the voice work of Jessica Alba, Ricky Gervais, Brendan Fraser, Rob Corddry and Sophia Vergara didn’t get critical love, but it does receive at B+ CinemaScore. The Film looks to be a profitable venture, made for $40 million and likely to recoup that over the next couple weeks.
Warm Bodies is proving to be a great hit with Moviegoers, earning $10.9 million in fifth this weekend for eOne Films/Lionsgate Films in this its third week out, an option for those looking for a bit of Romance but less tears than Safe Haven.
Beautiful Creatures surprisingly opens in sixth spot for Warner Bros. with only $8.5 million from 2,950 theatres and many are saying that Director/Writer Richard LaGravenese taking some liberties with this Film Adaptation have deterred Fans of the Novel. Overall audiences reacted fairly well with a B CinemaScore.
In its second week, the excellent Side Effects is in seventh spot for eOne Films/Open Road Films, earning $7.3 million for a cumulative total of $19.6 million. This places it just ahead of Silver Linings Playbook which benefited from its Romantic appeal this weekend, earning and awesome $7.2 million in its 14th – yes you read that right – 14th week of release. The David O. Russell Film is just fractionally shy of the $100-million mark domestically.
Best Picture Contender Zero Dark Thirty rounds-out the Top Ten with $3.5 million this weekend in its ninth week of release.
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