Jack the Giant Slayer had a clear #1 opening at the box office this weekend and managed to exceed my predicted gross. However, the news is still not good for Warner Bros.
As mentioned in my predictions post on Wednesday, anything below a $30 million opening weekend would be considered a massive disappointment for Bryan Singer’s $190 million budgeted Jack and the Beanstalk tale. The picture grossed $27.2 million, slightly higher than my $25.4M projection. Long term domestic prospects don’t look great, as Sam Rami’s high-profile Oz the Great and Powerful is expected to open huge next weekend (more on that this Wednesday).
Meanwhile, Identity Thief continues post higher grosses than I’m predicting. Thief slid only one spot to #2, earning $9.7 million in its fourth weekend, above my $8.2M estimate. The Melissa McCarthy comedy looks to end its domestic run with an impressive gross of around $130 million.
The raunchy comedy 21&Over failed to connect with its target audience of teens and 20-somethings, grossing a low $8.8 million, less than half of my $18M projection. On the same weekend last year, Project X (a similar film going for the same crowd) earned a very good $20M opening, but 21&Over didn’t come close to repeating that business, despite a rather robust marketing campaign.
Continuing the trend of films under performing, horror sequel The Last Exorcism Part II opened fifth with a small $7.7 million, below my $10.6M estimate. Like other horror titles, expect this one to fall quickly next weekend.
In the four spot, Snitch made $7.8 million in its second weekend, right around my $7.3M projection. Well out of the Top Ten, the submarine thriller Phantom wound up with a pathetic opening of $470,000 – representing one of the worst wide openings in box office history. I was clearly being way too generous when I guessed it’d made $2.3 million.
Be sure to check back this Wednesday for next weekend’s predictions, when Oz the Great and Powerful hits multiplexes. The Sam Raimi film is by far expected to post the largest opening of the year so far. The Colin Farrell action thriller Dead Man Down also opens. Stay tuned my friends!
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