Weekend box office: Captain Phillips and Gravity steamroll Machete Kills
Could we be looking at a movie revolution, where smart, well made, well acted dramas are going to beat out lame sequels? Probably not, but we have some good news this weekend as the top two movies at the weekend box office are films that are sure to be players come awards season. Tom Hanks’ return to form, CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (click the link to read our review) opened with over $25 million, meaning this is the best opening for Tom Hanks in years. As well as CAPTAIN PHILLIPS performed, it was last week’s number one film, GRAVITY that repeated as box office champ. For those keeping score, the film barely lost 20% of its audience, which is incredible. Normally films drop 60% or more after their opening weekend, but something tells me GRAVITY is here to stay. And on the other side of the coin we have MACHETE KILLS. Sigh. The film probably won’t crack $5 million, but I’m sure Robert Rodriguez will find a way to justify a third film and again ignore his naysayers.
Next week is actually a crowded weekend, with the release of the CARRIE remake, 12 YEARS A SLAVE, ESCAPE PLAN, THE FIFTH ESTATE and the very well received ALL IS LOST with Robert Redford. Next weekend will be a nice study in marketing since we all know that 12 YEARS A SLAVE and ALL IS LOST are two movies that people will remember down the road, while CARRIE and ESCAPE PLAN will be instantly forgettable. But whichever film does the best is somewhat irrelevant because GRAVITY should have no trouble repeating. Note: the numbers below will be updated as they become final.
1. Gravity $44.2m
2. Captain Phillips $26m
3. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 $14.2m
4. Machete Kills $3.8m
5. Runner Runner $3.7m
6. Prisoners $3.6m
7. Insidious Chapter 2 $2.6m
8. Don Jon $2.3m
9. Rush $2.3m
10. Baggage Claim $2m
(Deadline)
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