|
 The final installment in the "Dragon" trilogy stayed strong,
adding another $30 million in its second weekend of release. The
animated adventure is just shy of the $100 million mark in North
America with its domestic tally currently sitting at $97.6
million. "The Hidden World" is performing in line with the first
two entries in the franchise, which ended their domestic box
office runs with $217 million and $177 million, respectively.
While "How to Train Your Dragon 3" fended off newcomers to
repeat No. 1, Tyler Perry's "A Madea Family Funeral" still had a
solid start of its own. Perry bid a farewell to his long-running
Madea character in the 11th and final installment in the 15-year
franchise. It opened ahead of expectations, pocketing $27
million from 2,442 theaters.
"Madea Family Funeral," which Perry directs, stars in, and
produces, marks the end of his partnership with Lionsgate. Like
previous "Madea" entries, audiences were more receptive to the
eccentric character than critics were. The film nabbed a
promising A- CinemaScore, while its Rotten Tomato score is a
less-enthusiastic 25 percent. Moviegoers over the age of 25
accounted for 78 percent of its opening weekend, while 67
percent of crowds were female.
"Madea" had the best showing by far among new offerings. Focus
Features' "Greta," a psychological thriller film starring Chloe
Grace Moretz and Isabelle Huppert, launched below projections.
Directed by Neil Jordan, "Greta" bowed in seventh place with a
tepid $4.5 million from 2,411 venues.
Meanwhile, Universal's "Green Book" benefited from Oscar glory.
The film expanded back to 2,600 screens after nabbing the
Academy Award for best picture. It secured fifth place in its
16th weekend of release, amassing $4.7 million. The road-trip
drama had a slow start when it first debuted in November, but
"Green Book" has been chugging along in theaters and saw a
sizable bump in ticket sales after getting some awards love. Now
that it claimed the entertainment industry's top prize, the
movie got a 121 percent boost in revenue. "Green Book" has
earned $75 million in North America and $74 million overseas.
Also cashing in on Oscar glory was Sony's "Spider-Man: Into the
Spider-Verse." The comic-book adventure was awarded best
animated feature last Sunday, and brought in $2.1 million after
the studio re-released it in 2,404 locations. The movie has
grossed over $360 million globally, including $187 million at
the domestic box office.
Likewise, Warner Bros. set a limited re-release for its
Oscar-winning "A Star Is Born" with an added 12 minutes of
footage. It saw a 209 percent increase in ticket sales,
pocketing $1.8 million from 1,150 screens. That's a nice chunk
of change, considering the musical drama starring Bradley Cooper
and Lady Gaga first debuted in October and is already available
on home entertainment. "A Star Is Born" has grossed $212 million
at the domestic box office and $214 million internationally.
[to top of second column] |
Otherwise, a number of holdovers rounded out the top five. Third
place went to Fox's "Alita: Battle Angel," which earned $7 million
in its third weekend of release. Produced by James Cameron and
directed by Robert Rodriguez, the sci-fi adventure has pocketed
$72.5 million at the domestic box office. The cyborg heroine is
resonating overseas, where "Alita" has generated $278 million.
That's a good sign for Fox as its possible final film before merging
with Disney cost $170 million to produce and millions more in
marketing and distribution. All that CGI doesn't come cheap, and
executives at rival studios estimate that "Alita: Battle Angel" will
need to gross $500 million before it can turn a profit. Fox
insiders, however, claim the break-even number is closer to $350
million, meaning "Alita" might already be climbing out of the red.
Warner Bros.' "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part" landed at No. 4
with $6 million, bringing its North American haul to $91 million.
Despite positive reviews, the animated sequel has continued to pace
well behind its predecessors. "The Lego Movie" opened in 2014 and
ended its theatrical run with a massive $469 million worldwide,
including $257 million at the domestic box office. With the sequel's
current global sum hovering around $152 million, it's unlikely "The
Lego Movie 2" will reach the level of the original movie. Industry
analysts suggest that's partially because the studio waited five
years before releasing a direct sequel and instead dropped two
spinoffs -- "The Lego Batman Movie" and "The Lego Ninjago Movie" --
in 2017. The back-to-back offshoots in the same year already
experienced diminishing returns, signaling there can indeed be too
much of a good thing.
At the specialty box office, Neon and CNN Film's documentary "Apollo
11" made $1.65 million when it launched on 120 Imax screens for a
theater average of $13,750. Directed by Todd Douglas Miller, the
non-fiction film about Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's historic
moon landing expands nationwide on March 8.
The domestic box office continues to fall well behind 2018's record
year. According to Comscore, ticket sales have seen a 26 percent
drop compared to this time last year, when "Black Panther" was still
dominating multiplexes. Box office watchers are hopeful that
Disney-Marvel's first female-led superhero adventure could turn
things around when "Captain Marvel" debuts next weekend.
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
