Weekend Box-Office

Box Office Weekend: Paranormal Activity 4 On Top, But Only Finds Ghosts of Its Former Success

For a movie costing only $5 million, a weekend estimate of $30.2 million would normally be a phenomenal thing…and to be fair, it still is…but for Paranormal Activity 4, that is a drop from the record-setting October release of the previous film, which did $52.3 million during the same weekend last year. Despite the lackluster reviews and diminished returns, the fourth film in the franchise stood a...[Read More]

Weekend Box-Office: Taken 2 Holds Box-Office Captive for Second Week

The critics say Taken 2 is a simplistic rehash, but that has not stopped the movie-going public from making the Liam Neeson-helmed actioner top at the box office for a second week in a row. Its estimated $22.5 million puts the film into a domestic total of $86.8 million, a strong performance not only over its reported $45 million budget, but against almost any film during this quarter…with the exc...[Read More]

Weekend Box-Office: Critics May Have Put the Bite on It, but Audiences Made Hotel Transylvania a Hit

From director Genndy Tartakovsky and Adam Sandler comes…the highest grossing September release of all-time? Apparently so, as the critically panned CG comedy Hotel Transylvania defied its reviews and earned an estimated $43 million…not enough to top its $85 million budget, but a fine start to its theatrical run and more than surpassing the original high-grosser of September, Sweet Home Alabama, wh...[Read More]

Weekend Box Office: Epic Struggle as End of Watch and House on the End of the Street Fight for First

While the Monday totals will officially decide which movie comes out on top, it was a tough call to make between the crime drama End of Watch, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and written and directed by David Ayer (of Training Day fame), and the PG-13 horror House at the End of the Street. Both films made an estimated $13 million, but as I write this, End of Watch currently holds the lead due to a higher...[Read More]

Weekend Box Office: 3D Takes the Top Spots!

It was a battle between the newest adventure of Alice the monster killer and the re-release of a Pixar classic…and zombies were the winners. Resident Evil: Retribution, the fifth entry in the movie series (now only vaguely) based on the videogame series and the second in 3D, came in first with an estimated $21.1 million…still not much to speak of in terms of box office, but a sight better than The...[Read More]

Weekend Box Office: The Possession Not Exorcised During Slow Weekend

The Possession remained at #1 at the box office, though with only one new release, it had little in the way of fresh competition. It also caps what is shaping up to be a major box office slowdown, as at an estimated $9.5 million, it did not even break into double digits, a major blow compared to last week when Labor Day weekend had three films do so. Lawless remained in second place with an estima...[Read More]

Weekend Box-Office: The Possession Takes Over the Box Office on Labor Day

The lot of the PG-13 ghost story has been tough of late, with entries such as The Apparition disappearing almost as fast as its namesake, but The Possession, despite critical panning, drew in crowds handily enough, earning an estimated $21.3 million and blowing past its $14 million production costs. This probably comes as a shock to those behind Lawless, whose much better critical reception and We...[Read More]

Weekend Box Office: The Expendables 2 Still Knocking Off the Rest

They still have pull, though probably not as much as they would like…The Expendables 2 held the crown of the top draws at the box office, but at an estimated $13.5 million this week and $52.3 million in domestic success, it probably wishes it was doing much better to help offset its $100 million costs. Still, it was the only film this weekend to break into double digit earnings, which was enough t...[Read More]

Weekend Box-Office: The Expendables 2 Tops the Box Office, But with an Opening Less Stellar Than Its Cast

With a lineup of legendary action heroes (including a handful who only made cameos in the first film in the series), hype was big for The Expendables 2, and critically was more well-regarded than the first film. However, it did not translate into big money as, while The Expendables 2 opened at the top of this week’s list, it only made an estimated $28.8 million, about $6 million short of its prede...[Read More]

Weekend Box Office: A Legacy Continues as The Bourne Legacy Opens On Top

Could the Bourne series survive without star Matt Damon? Quite possibly…though rising star Jeremy Renner has proven himself quite handily in other films (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and The Avengers), his The Bourne Legacy has not performed as well with critics as the previous Bourne films. It did have the third highest opening of the four films, earning an estimated $40.3 million, and he...[Read More]

Weekend Box Office: The Dark Knight Need Not Rise; Stays Well Ahead of Competition

While it was not the Avengers-killer that DC was hoping it would be, director Christopher Nolan still brought in big numbers with The Dark Knight Rises, which, with an estimated $36.4 million this weekend, puts its on solid footing as the third most domestically successful film of 2012, and at $733 million in worldwide sales is doing well pretty much everywhere it is being shown. Total Recall, the...[Read More]

Weekend Box Office: Batman and Mammoths Hold Off Ben Stiller and Dancing

It has been a week since the horrific shooting in Aurora, Colorado that turned what was meant to be an exciting night at the movies into a weekend of grieving and sorrow, and the studios decided to avoid releasing their box office estimates in response so as not to capitalize on the event. It’s hard to discuss going back to “business as usual” at a time when the shooter is still splashed across na...[Read More]

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