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 The new Kevin Costner spy thriller "3 Days to Kill" was a
distant second after pulling in $12.3 million for the period
from Friday to Sunday, according to studio estimates.
The big-budget Roman-era disaster movie "Pompeii" generated
ticket sales of $10 million in its first week in theaters to
claim the No. 3 spot.
"RoboCop," a remake of the 1987 science fiction film about a
part-man, part-cyborg crime fighter, was fourth with sales of
$9.4 million, according to studio estimates provided by box
office tracking firm Rentrak.
Since opening on February 7, "Lego" has been leading the box
office and has taken in a total of $183.2 million domestically,
according to Rentrak.
The movie features the voices of Will Arnett and Elizabeth Banks
and portrays a world under attack by the evil Lord Business bent
on destroying the LEGO universe by gluing it together. The
heroes include Batman, a pirate and an astronaut, all made out
of the classic children's interlocking blocks.
"Lego is significantly overperforming our wildest expectations,"
said Jeff Goldstein, executive vice president for theatrical
distribution at Warner Brothers, which distributed the movie.
"It's moved way beyond a family-based film to include tweens,
young adults and older adults as well. It's just funny," he
added, explaining its wild success.
The film has also benefited from little direct competition,
though Disney's "Frozen," which opened back in late November,
continued to place among the top 10 films at the box office.
The studio has already announced a Lego sequel, which it plans
to release for the Memorial Day weekend in 2017.
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"Pompeii," which was made for $100 million, is set in 79 A.D. and
stars Kit Harington from the HBO hit show "Game of Thrones." The
movie tells the story of a slave turned gladiator who attempts to
rescue the woman he loves when Mount Vesuvius erupts. The opening
fell short of the forecast by its U.S. distributor Sony of sales
between $12 million and $15 million.
"3 Days to Kill," written by French action film director Luc Besson,
and starring Costner as an over-the-hill spy trying to connect with
his estranged daughter, cost only $28 million to make.
"We are pleased with '3 Days to Kill's solid opening, which was
right in line with our expectations for this lower budget
action-thriller," the studio said in a statement.
Both films received lackluster reviews, with fewer than 30 percent
of the notices collected by the site Rotten Tomatoes being
favorable. Both also received B ratings from audiences, according to
CinemaScore, which gauges audience reaction.
Rounding out the top five, "Monuments Men," directed by and starring
George Clooney and based on the true story of U.S. soldiers who
rescued art masterpieces from Nazi thieves, took in $8.1 million.
"The Lego Movie" was distributed by Warner Brothers, a unit of Time
Warner. Sony distributed "Pompeii" and "The Monuments Men."
Relativity Media distributed "3 Days to Kill."
(Reporting by Ronald Grover and Chris
Michaud; editing by Amanda Kwan and Meredith Mazzilli)
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