#BOXOFFICE: “OZ” IS GREAT AND POWERFUL AT BOX OFFICE

Without a doubt it was all about Oz The Great and Powerful this weekend at the Box Office, the Prequel to The Wizard of Oz casting a spell on Moviegoers with a phenomenal $80.3 million earned from 3,912 theatres.  Audiences responded well to the Film, earning a B+ CinemaScore rating, although Critics weren’t as in-love, giving it a 60% rating over at Rotten Tomatoes.  Made for $215 million, the Disney Blockbuster will is still expanding overseas and easily should earn back its costs in coming weeks and is already en route to a Sequel. Worldwide it earned a monstrous $150 million.

Slipping to second this weekend is Jack the Giant Slayer, which debuted on-top last weekend for Warner Bros.  The Family-oriented Fantasy earned $10 million this weekend, bringing it’s cumulative total to $43.80 million in its two-week run.

The unstoppable Identity Thief in its fourth week still is going strong with $6.3 million in third spot, just ahead of a debuting Dead Man Down, starring Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace, with $5.4 million from 2,188 theatres.  Even though reviews weren’t so strong earning 35% on the Tomatometer, Audiences didn’t dislike the Film giving it a B- CinemaScore.

Relativity Media/eOne Films’ 21 and Over, in its second week earns $5.1 million grossing $16.8 million total in sixth. Safe Haven still hangs onto the Top Ten in seventh spot in its fourth week also, with $3.8 million.  Escape from Planet Earth sits in ninth with $3.2 million, earning a total $47.8 million in three weeks.  Rounding it all out is The Last Exorcism 2 with $3.1 million.

#BOXOFFICE: “DIE HARD” FANS RULE THE BOX OFFICE ON VALENTINE’S DAY WEEKEND

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.