|
 "Mr. Peabody & Sherman," based on the "Peabody's Improbable
History" segments in the 1960s animated TV show starring the
characters Rocky and Bullwinkle, collected ticket sales of $32.5
million at U.S. and Canadian theaters.
Last week's box office winner, "Non-Stop," was third with $15.4
million in sales. The film stars Liam Neeson as an alcoholic
U.S. air marshal racing to stop a string of murders on an
international flight.
"300: Rise of an Empire," set in ancient Greece, is a
blood-splattered sequel to the 2006 blockbuster "300." It takes
place before and after the earlier film when 300 Spartans
marched to their deaths in a battle against the Persians.
In the sequel, an alliance of Greek city-states wage battle on
the seas against the Persians.
Both films are based on graphic novels written by author Frank
Miller. "300: Rise of an Empire," stars Australian actor
Sullivan Stapleton as the Greek leader Themistocles and French
actress and model Eva Green as Artemisia, the ruthless commander
of the Persian forces.
"This far exceeded our expectations," said Jeff Goldstein,
executive vice president for theatrical distribution at Warner
Brothers, which distributed the film produced by Legendary
Pictures.
The studio anticipated an opening in the range of $35 million to
$40 million, "thinking, if we can get to $100 million (total box
office), we'd be in a good place," Goldstein added, noting that
the movie made nearly half that in its opening days.
"Clearly we captured a much broader audience than we
anticipated," Goldstein said.
The film added another $88 million from foreign boxes in 58
markets, Warner Brothers said, and another $12 million from IMAX
screenings globally.
"Mr. Peabody & Sherman," which features the talking dog Mr.
Peabody and his adopted boy, Sherman, exceeded studio 20th
Century Fox's expectations for an opening from about $25 million
to $30 million.
"With nostalgia in play, this film was geared toward both adults
beyond the traditional family film audience, while introducing
the characters of Sherman and Mr. Peabody to a new generation of
kids who had never seen them," said Chris Aronson, president of
domestic distribution for Fox.
[to top of second column] |
Aronson said he expected to film to continue to perform well in the
coming weeks, noting "there's not an animated film for another
month, and with spring holidays approaching we're in a really good
place."
The movie was directed by Rob Minkoff, who also directed the 1994
animated film "The Lion King." That film was nominated for four
Academy Awards and won two Oscars for its music.
Minkoff's earlier Walt Disney Co film collected $987.5 million in
worldwide ticket sales, the second most for an animated film after
"Frozen," according to the website Box Office Mojo.
"The Grand Budapest Hotel," Wes Anderson's whimsical caper film
starring Ralph Fiennes, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, set the box
office on fire over the weekend in a limited opening at only four
movie theaters, taking in $800,000.
The $200,000 per screen average over three days for the Fox
Searchlight film set a per location record, according to box office
tracking firm Rentrak.
"The Lego Movie," took the No. 4 overall spot with $11 million,
according to Rentrak. The animated hit based on the colorful plastic
building blocks has now totaled $225 million since its February 7
release.
Rounding out the top five, "Son of God," based on "The Bible"
television mini-series produced by "Survivor" producer Mark Burnett
and his wife, Roma Downey, collected sales of $10 million.
Warner Brothers, a unit of Time Warner, distributed "300: Rise of an
Empire" and "The Lego Movie."
Comcast's Universal Pictures released "Non-Stop." Fox, a unit of
Twenty-First Century Fox, distributed "Son of God," and "Mr. Peabody
& Sherman."
(Reporting by Ronald Grover and Chris
Michaud; editing by Meredith Mazzilli and G. Crosse)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
