1) The Lego Movie- 55M Weekend, 55M Total
It would be wrong to say that kids have been “underserved”, as Frozen is still chugging along, and The Nut Job actually did quite well for an animated film that wasn’t made by a major animation studio. You can’t deny that The Lego Movie has had a massive marketing campaign, coupled with appearances in the film from well-known characters (like Batman, Ninja Turtles, Gandalf, and more). Add to that the film currently has an impressive 98% on Rotten Tomatoes so far. The Lego Movie should be far and away the most watched film of the week.
2) The Monuments Men- 15M Weekend, 15M Total
Even with middling reviews, The Monuments Men still has Matt Damon. And George Clooney. And Bill Murray. And some others, who are nice support, but not really draws. The one-two punch of Damon and Clooney, plus the added PG-13 rating (which makes it accessible to everyone!) should get the film a decent opening. Not mind blowing, but pretty good for a film that jumped ship midway through its Oscar campaign.
3) Vampire Academy- 12M Weekend, 12M Total
I’m being generous here in thinking that Vampire Academy will do even 12M. There are no stars in this film. Sarah Hyland is the biggest draw here, and she’s buried in the supporting cast. The book series hasn’t picked up steam. Where both Divergent and The Fault In Our Stars are doing boffo business on Amazon’s bestseller list (#2 and #3 respectively), Vampire Academy logs in at 99th. It’s below Labor Day, for christsakes. If people aren’t encouraged enough to check out the source material, will they check out the film?
4) Ride Along- 9M Weekend, 104M Total
5) Frozen- 6M Weekend, 366M Total
6) That Awkward Moment- 4.5M Weekend, 15M Total
7) The Nut Job- 4.5M Weekend, 55M Total
8) Lone Survivor- 4.5M Weekend, 112M Total
9) Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit- 3.5M Weekend, 44M Total
10) Labor Day- 3M Weekend, 9M Total