Sylvester Stallone and his geriatric all-star group of action icons are back once again in The Expendables 3, out Friday. This franchise has been a consistent one this decade with the first and second installments being released on the same mid-August weekend in 2010 and 2012. However, there is a discouraging trend with the series. While the original took in $34 million opening weekend with an overall $103M domestic haul, the follow-up couldn’t keep pace. The Expendables 2 made $28 million out of the gate with a final $85M gross. Stallone hasn’t seen any of his other recent projects perform well and it’s easy to see where #3 could continue the downward performance of the franchise.
It must be said that Stallone’s ability to get genre stars on board is impressive. The Expendables 3 features Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, and Kelsey Grammer. However, I don’t feel all that star power will translate to a very impressive debut. An opening on par with the last entry’s $28M seems unlikely, though I think the series has just enough juice (not a steroid reference) to get it past $20M.
The Expendables 3 opening weekend prediction: $21.5 million
Continuing on with the Top 25 Highest Grossing Actors of All Time, we’ve arrived at Day 2 covering the thespians making up numbers 20-16. If you missed part 1 featuring nos. 25-21, you can find that here:
Franchises: The Meet the Parents, Night at the Museum and Madagascar series
Highest Grossing Picture: Meet the Fockers – $279 million
Numbers of $100M+ Earners: 11. There’s Something About Mary, Meet the Parents, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Meet the Fockers, Madagascar, Night at the Museum, Tropic Thunder, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Little Fockers, Madagascar: Europe’s Most Wanted.
Lowest Grosser: If Lucy Fell – $2.4 million
19. Emma Watson
Career Earnings: $2.6 billion
Franchises: The Harry Potter series
Highest Grossing Picture: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – $381 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 10. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, This is the End, Noah.
Lowest Grosser: The Bling Ring – $5.8 million
18. Liam Neeson
Career Earnings: $2.7 billion
Franchises: The Star Wars, Dark Knight, and Taken series. Clash of the Titans/Wrath of the Titans.
Highest Grossing Picture: Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace – $474 million
Numbers of $100M+ Earners: 7. Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, Batman Begins, Taken, Clash of the Titans, The Dark Knight Rises, Taken 2, The LEGO Movie.
Lowest Grosser: Lamb – $5,000
17. Matt Damon
Career Earnings: $2.7 billion
Franchises: The Bourne and Ocean’s series.
Highest Grossing Picture: The Bourne Ultimatum – $227 million
Numbers of $100M+ Earners: 10. Good Will Hunting, Saving Private Ryan, Ocean’s Eleven, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Ocean’s Twelve, The Departed, Ocean’s Thirteen, The Bourne Ultimatum, True Grit.
Lowest Grosser: Margaret – $46,000
16. Will Smith
Career Earnings: $2.7 billion
Franchises: The Bad Boys and Men in Black series.
Highest Grossing Picture: Independence Day – $306 million
Numbers of $100M+ Earners: 12. Independence Day, Men in Black, Enemy of the State, Wild Wild West, Men in Black II, Bad Boys II, I, Robot, Shark Tale, Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend, Hancock, MIB 3.
Lowest Grosser: Where the Day Takes You – $390,000
Which stars are at the top of the mountain when it comes to overall domestic box office grosses? Well, this trusty blogger has your answers in my new series. This will be a five-part series revealing the Top 25 Highest Grossing Actors of All Time from #25 to #1.
When looking at the performers who make up the list, you’ll notice some very big names aren’t listed. Brad Pitt. Jim Carrey. Nicolas Cage. Denzel Washington. Why? Well, as you’ll see, it helps to be an actor involved in a successful franchise… or franchises. Therefore – some of the names may well surprise you.
Let’s get to it, shall we?
25. Tommy Lee Jones
Career Earnings: $2.4 billion
Franchises: The Men in Black series. The Fugitive/U.S. Marshals. *Jones also made one time appearances in ongoing franchises with Batman Forever and Captain America: The First Avenger.
Highest Grossing Picture: Men in Black – $250 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 8. The Fugitive, Batman Forever, Men in Black, Double Jeopardy, Men in Black II, Captain America: The First Avenger, MIB 3, Lincoln.
Lowest Grosser: House of Cards – $322,000
24. Stellan Skarsgard
Career Earnings: $2.5 billion
Franchises: The Marvel Universe (Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest/Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. *Skarsgard also appeared in Angels&Demons, the Da Vinci Code sequel.
Highest Grossing Picture: The Avengers – $623 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 9. Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Mamma Mia!, Angels&Demons, Thor, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World.
Lowest Grosser: Boogie Woogie – $2,000
23. Helena Bonham Carter
Career Earnings: $2.5 billion
Franchises: The Harry Potter series. *Bonham Carter also appeared in Terminator: Salvation.
Highest Grossing Picture: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – $381 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 9. Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Terminator: Salvation, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Les Miserables.
Lowest Grosser: The Theory of Flight – $73,000
22. Orlando Bloom
Career Earnings: $2.5 billion
Franchises: The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Hobbit series.
Highest Grossing Picture: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – $423 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 9. Black Hawk Down, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Troy, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Lowest Grosser: Main Street – $2,500
21. Julia Roberts
Career Earnings: $2.6 billion
Franchises: The Ocean’s series.
Highest Grossing Picture: Ocean’s Eleven – $183 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 11. Pretty Woman, Sleeping with the Enemy, Hook, The Pelican Brief, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Notting Hill, Runaway Bride, Erin Brockovich, Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve, Valentine’s Day.
Lowest Grosser: Fireflies in the Garden – $70,000
That’s all for now! I’ll be back tomorrow with numbers 20-16!
This Friday, four new titles will try to knock massive hit Guardians of the Galaxy from its perch atop the box office. They are the franchise reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, found footage disaster flick Into the Storm, the Helen Mirren led comedic drama The Hundred-Foot Journey, and dance competition sequel Step Up: All In. You can find my detailed prediction posts on each of them here:
The only newbie with a fair shot of challenging Guardians would seem to be Turtles. However, I am going on the low end of expectations for it. Some have it grossing above $30 million and even closer to $40M, but I believe excitement isn’t quite that high and a robust second weekend for Guardians may hurt it.
Into the Storm looks like a relative flop to me, though some have it outpacing my estimate. The Hundred-Foot Journey should barely top double digits while diminishing results for each successive Step Up flick could hurt All In.
As for holdovers, Guardians got off to a truly spectacular start (more on that below). It will likely fall in the same range as other Marvel hits in their sophomore weekends. In its third weekend, Luc Besson’s Lucy should continue to lose over half its audience. The James Brown biopic Get On Up got off to a disappointing start, but with its A Cinemascore grade, I see it having the smallest decline in its second weekend.
And with that – we’ll do a Top Seven for my projections this weekend:
1. Guardians of the Galaxy
Predicted Gross: $42.9 million (representing a drop of 54%)
2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Predicted Gross: $28.2 million
3. Into the Storm
Predicted Gross: $13.6 million
4. The Hundred-Foot Journey
Predicted Gross: $10.7 million
5. Get On Up
Predicted Gross: $8.8 million (representing a drop of 34%)
6. Step Up: All In
Predicted Gross: $8.4 million
7. Lucy
Predicted Gross: $8.1 million (representing a drop of 55%)
Box Office Results (August 1-3)
As previously mentioned, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy got off to an astonishingly terrific run with $94.3 million. The very well-reviewed pic boasted the third highest opening of 2014, behind Transformers: Age of Extinction and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It opened nearly $20M above my $74.6M prediction. Guardians may well be in a position to eventually become the summer’s largest grosser. Simply put, the Marvel gravy train keeps chugging along…
Lucy dropped to second with $18.2 million in its sophomore weekend, above my $16.6M projection. The Scarlett Johannson actioner has taken in $79M so far and should certainly top $100M domestically.
Get On Up had a lackluster premiere with $13.5 million, way below my $24.9M estimate. It received solid reviews, especially for star Chadwick Boseman, yet it failed to bring in its intended adult audience.
Hercules dropped to fourth in weekend #2 with $11 million, below my $13M prediction. The Rock’s flick has earned $52 million and should top out around $75M.
In fifth was Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in its fourth weekend with $8.6 million, on target with my $8.5M estimate. Dawn has made $189M and should get to around $215M overall.
While I certainly won’t purport to be an expert in the Step Up film franchise, I can read box office numbers. And there is no doubt that this eight year old series of dance flicks has been on a downward trajectory. Step Up: All In marks the fifth (yes, fifth) entry in the boogie down competition pictures. Each has grossed less than the previous installment.
The 2006 original opened to $20M on its way to a $65M domestic gross. Its 2008 follow-up Step Up 2 the Streets premiered to $18M with an eventual $58M haul. The third pic in 2010 – Step Up 3-D opened to $15M with a $42M overall take. And All In‘s 2012 predecessor Step Up Revolution took in $11M out of the gate with a final gross of $35M.
I see no compelling reason why All In won’t carry on the trend of diminished earnings. I’ll even predict the fifth pic will be the first that fails to debut in double digits, though it should come fairly close.
Step Up: All In opening weekend prediction: $8.4 million
For my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles prediction, click here:
Oscar winner Helen Mirren stars in the comedy/drama The Hundred-Foot Journey from Lasse Hallstrom, director of The Cider House Rules. Focusing on an Indian family who relocate to France to open a restaurant only to be met with opposition from Mirren’s nearby restaurateur, it’s based on a 2010 novel and its TV ads have promoted its producers as much as the award winning star.
That’s because the producers include Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey and ads have featured both extolling the film’s virtues. Journey is certainly attempting to appeal to adults tired of blockbusters and fans of the Oprah brand, which certainly isn’t insignificant. Strong reviews would be needed to propel this to hit status and, so far, they seem to be mixed. Opening on approximately 2000 screens – I’ll predict it will find slight counterprogramming success which should allow an opening gross just above double digits.
The Hundred-Foot Journey opening weekend prediction: $10.7 million
For my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles prediction, click here:
This Friday – yet another “found footage” action flick comes our way with Into the Storm, concentrating on a devastating tornado. The Warner Bros. release faces serious action competition with Guardians of the Galaxy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and even Lucy‘s third weekend. There are no stars headlining the project, though there are some recognizable faces including The Hobbit‘s Richard Armitage, “Walking Dead” actress Sarah Wayne Callies, and “Veep” costar Matt Walsh.
It’s hard to see how Into the Storm breaks through to audiences in a big way. The trailers haven’t been real successful in making this look like any other than a low-rent Twister knockoff. Made for a relatively modest $50 million, Storm may even struggle to recoup its budget stateside. With serious competition and little driving moviegoers to see it unless you’re a major bad weather fan, I’ll predict Storm opens south of $15 million.
Into the Storm opening weekend prediction: $13.6 million
For my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles prediction, click here:
Almost 25 years after they first made their debut on the silver screen – Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello are back as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, hitting theaters Friday. The franchise has been rebooted with Nickelodeon and Michael Bay producing for Paramount Pictures. Former Transformers star Megan Fox headlines the cast as April O’Neil with Will Arnett and William Fichtner costarring and Jackass‘s Johnny Knoxville voicing Leonardo.
It is a legitimate question as to whether the TMNT franchise is strong enough to ensure a healthy debut. As mentioned, it’s been nearly a quarter century since the pizza lovin’ crime fighters hit the multiplex and about 20 years since the last installment of the original trilogy. A 2007 computer animated entry TMNT only managed $54 million domestically. Recently, the Turtles have been featured in a hit Nickelodeon cartoon that’s about to enter its third season and that should help a bit.
Truth be told – the biggest Turtle hurdle may be another team of heroes, the Guardians of the Galaxy. Marvel’s latest flick got off to a fantastic and record setting August opening. Its second weekend should also be huge and many of TMNT’s target audience could be watching Guardians for the first time or going back for seconds.
I believe the Turtles name recognition will be enough to earn a debut in the high 20s, which would be considered a bit of a letdown due to its reported $125 million price tag. With that predicted number, it should fall behind Guardians and have to settle for a second place opening.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles opening weekend prediction: $28.2 million
Last summer’s World War Z was met with Waterworld type expectations upon its release. The vast majority of its publicity was negative. Stories of a troubled production, cost overruns, and script problems were abundant. What happened? It turned into a massive worldwide hit with a sequel on the way. It’s also star Brad Pitt’s highest grossing film ever.
For a picture that was looked at as a potential disaster which was apparently plagued with issues during the shooting, you’d never know it while viewing it. Loosely based on Max Brooks’s (son of Mel) bestseller, World War Z excels in taking your typical zombie movie clichés but expanding them on a big-budget, global scale. Pitt is Gerry Lane, a former UN investigator turned stay at home father. When a mysterious pandemic breaks out with people being infected with zombie-like symptoms, Gerry is recruited to go on a mission to find the outbreak’s origin and a potential cure. He does so reluctantly only after being told his family’s safety is not guaranteed if he doesn’t. Gerry’s new life of Dad and chief pancake maker is history.
The movie doesn’t take long at all to get revved up with a giant action spectacle scene set in Philadelphia. Gerry’s journey takes him to South Korea, Jerusalem, and Wales within a short period of time – probably around the number of continents that Brad Pitt and family visit in one week’s time. Along the way, he finds a female Israeli guard to help him and comes across a corrupt CIA agent (creepily portrayed by David Morse) who has his own ideas on how to stop the virus.
The first two-thirds of World War Z are shot on an epic scale with big action scenes directed quite well by Marc Forster. This is a bit of a surprise considering his handling of action in the Bond pic Quantum of Solace was mediocre. The final acts opt for more claustrophobic locations and this is a wise decision by the filmmakers. If the pic had kept moving along at its large scale, it might’ve become routine. Instead the audience is treated to a truly suspenseful airplane scene and the finale at the Welsh WHO research facility where Gerry’s surprisingly plausible explanation for how to stop the virus is tested. Rather than explosions and widespread mayhem with hundreds of zombie extras chasing our hero down, it is one zombie and his chattering teeth that memorably keep us on the edge of our seats.
Of course, there are clichés we expect to see in zombie flicks and most are present here. It even features the latest zombie cliché craze where the zombies are FAST, like in 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake. It makes for better action scenes and World War Z has plenty of them. Then there’s Gerry’s daughter who has asthma – because in films like this, there must be an asthmatic child. That said, signs of a difficult production don’t make it to the screen. World War Z is a tremendous amount of fun and ranks high on the scale of Z features.
Just in case you don’t read the scroll at the bottom of CNN, today is the date of birth for your trusty movie blogger. I won’t say how old I am, but as of this morning – I can officially run for President of the United States should I choose to do so (it’s doubtful). This got me thinking: what were the #1 films at the time of significant birthdays in my past. Luckily we have an Internet to retrieve that information so here goes:
On the day I was born (known to most as A.T. – After Todd), the horror flick The Amityville Horror was scaring audiences. It would spawn sequels and a 2005 remake. Amityville would end up being 1979’s second highest grosser following Kramer vs. Kramer.
On my fifth birthday, Prince ruled the box office and the music charts with Purple Rain. For those who know me personally, this may seem fitting since His Royal Badness is my favorite musical artist and I’ve seen him in concert around a dozen times. I also touched his leg during a show in Las Vegas. It happened. Let’s move on.
On birthday number ten, Turner and Hooch topped the box office. This was three years before its star Tom Hanks would become a back to back Best Actor Oscar winner and he was still starring in comedies that weren’t always great. This was one of them.
As I became a teenager, Damon Wayans scored a #1 hit with Mo’ Money.
My sweet sixteen saw Kevin Costner’s Waterworld at #1. The pic is notorious for its massive budget and troubled production yet it’s not as bad as its reputation.
As I moved into “adulthood” – Air Force One commanded the charts with Harrison Ford forcefully asking Gary Oldman to get off his plane.
When the age of 21 came (and I was predictably at a bar on the Ohio State campus) – it was Eddie Murphy playing multiple roles in The Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps that packed the multiplex.
At age 30 – G-Force. I don’t even remember this one and never saw it, but it’s a kids flick that managed to gross over $30 million in its debut weekend.
And now today – we have Scarlett Johannson’s Lucy atop the box office.
So there you have it – your Todd Thatcher birthday movie hits!
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