1) Elysium- 30.4M Weekend, 30.4M Total (9,257 PSA)
Oh, so boo-hoo. Elysium made “only” 30 million. Seriously, some entertainment journalists should be shot. How about that this is Matt Damon’s highest opening since The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007, and his highest non-franchise/non-sequel opening since the original Oceans Eleven in 2001? People are ready to just declare ANYTHING a flop. It is also the 22nd highest opening of August, ever. Sure, it is 7M below District 9, but District 9 didn’t open against We’re The Millers. It opened against The Time Travellers Wife, which made only 18M. The weekend of District 9, only 4 films were above 10M, and Elysium’s weekend saw 5 films above 10M. All four new releases opened above 10M this weekend with Elysium, whereas District 9 opened against Wife, The Goods (5.6M), Ponyo (3.5M), and Bandslam (2.2) which wasn’t even in the top 10. Just a little perspective for you
2) We’re The Millers- 26.4M Weekend, 38.0M Total (8,146PSA)
Luckily, everyone is pleasantly surprised by the box office gross of We’re The Millers. This really signals Jason Sudeikis as a potential power player in the comedy field, having been a part of the hit comedy Horrible Bosses ensemble already. Now he has proven that he has the potential to open his own movie. It also helps Jennifer Aniston rebound from Wanderlust, her last film, which made only 6.5M domestically.
3) Planes- 22.5M Weekend, 22.5M Total (6,085 PSA)
Planes really opened strong for a film originally supposed to go straight to video. Apparently the budget was 50 million, but I bet a lot of that went to advertising, as well as the new voice cast (Dane Cook replaced Jon Cryer, among others). A sequel has already been slated for next summer, and I can’t imagine them not going forward with it. Planes may only top out around 60M, but after video sales, and merchandising, plus potential worldwide box office, it is still a very smart financial move.
4) Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters- 14.6M Weekend, 23.4M Total (4,817 PSA)
Percy Jackson originally landed 31.2M in a weekend in February, going on to make 88.7 domestic, and a total of 226M worldwide. The sequel (with the five days applied) still falls short. It will need a larger foreign gross in order to maintain any hopes of a third Percy Jackson film. I think it is unlikely. We can’t even get a fourth Narnia film, and Voyage of the Dawn Treader made 104.3M domestically, and 415.6M worldwide.
5) 2 Guns- 11.1M Weekend, 48.5M Total
Denzel and Wahlberg’s film dropped 58% in week two. Not exactly a good thing. With a little less than 50M in the bank after 10 days, and the box office winding down at the end of the summer, the duo would be lucky to hit 70M domestic, and will more likely end up with a little more than 65M.
6) The Smurfs 2- 9.5M Weekend, 46.6M Total
With a more encouraging drop of only 45%, The Smurfs 2 proved that people are interested in the pic, even if they didn’t rush out and see it. The Smurfs 2 will likely surpass 2 Guns at some point, if it can maintain the smaller drops, but still won’t come anywhere near the gross of the original (142.6M). Still, with already 110M in foreign grosses, the film will end up turning a profit. The big question is, will there be a Smurfs 3?
7) The Wolverine- 8M Weekend, 111.9M Total
Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine film is putting out disappointing numbers, when compared to the rest of the X-Franchise. X-Men Origins: Wolverine made 179.8M, and had poor reviews and word of mouth. Somehow, The Wolverine is flailing despite considerably better reviews, and good word of mouth. It dipped 62% in week 3, and has suffered harsh drops each week. If it continues that pattern, The Wolverine will be lucky to top out somewhere between 120-125M domestic. All hope is not lost, as the sequel has already locked in 194M in foreign territories, which is already past what the X-Men Origins film managed. So, while Americans have lost some love for Wolverine, he’s actually more popular overseas. His foreign grosses are on point to pass X-Men First Class (207M), leaving only X-Men: The Last Stand (224M) in his way. The Wolverine has already long surpassed the foreign totals for both X-Men and X2.
8) The Conjuring- 6.6M Weekend, 120.6M Total
The Conjuring is by far the most successful horror film in years. Other recent standouts, like Mama, Insidious, and Sinister all performed well by industry expectations, but The Conjuring has broken through into the elite group of horror films able to break 100M. The Conjuring has already passed The Grudge (110.3M) and Paranormal Activity (107.9M), and now is hoping to pass The Ring (129.1M). I predict that it will, and should wind up with somewhere between 130-135M domestically.
9) Despicable Me 2- 5.9M Weekend, 338.4M Total
The Minions are having a really great summer. If you check out Box Office Mojo, which breaks things down by category, Despicable Me 2 isn’t just having a great time as a kids film. It’s the top grossing “spy” film of all time. The fourth highest computer animated film. And, the 7th highest 3D release of all time. Worldwide, Despicable Me 2 is 50th of all time, and domestically, it is 26th all-time. It will have to settle for not being the top grossing film of 2013 though, because there is no way it is touching the 407M set by Iron Man 3, and will also likely be beat by Hunger Games: Catching Fire later this year. A final gross of 350-355M is probable.
10) Grown Ups 2- 3.6M Weekend, 123.7M Total
While it won’t hit the gross of the original, it will still be a hit. It is still “just another 100M+ hit” for comedy stars like Adam Sandler, Kevin James, and Chris Rock. However, Grown Ups 2 will be the second highest-grossing film of Nick Swardson’s career. So, there’s something.
11) Turbo- 2.3M Weekend, 75.1M Total
Turbo has disappointed, by industry standards. But industry people called this film a disappointment before it even opened. A slow foreign gross of 60M means there won’t be a Turbo 2 anytime soon.
12) Blue Jasmine- 2.3M Weekend, 6M Total (19,709 PSA)
Woody Allen’s latest is still enjoying terrific word of mouth with gradual expansion. Playing in only 119 screens, a Top 10 debut is likely next week with another slight expansion.
13) Chennai Express- 2.2M Weekend, 2.4M Total (11,352 PSA)
Another surprise Bollywood opening. Bollywood films tend to fade fast, In fact, of the top 100 foreign language films, domestically, only five are from India. Chennai Express is such a rarity that it is already 139th on the all-time domestic foreign language film list, after just 4 days in release.
14) The Heat- 1.9M Weekend, 153.5M Total
15) Red 2- 1.9M Weekend, 49.3M Total
??) The Spectacular Now- 266K Weekend, 534K Total (14,031 PSA)
??) Blackfish- 233K Weekend, 1.0M Total (2,878 PSA)
??) Lovelace- 184K Weekend, 184K Total (1,564 PSA)
??) In A World- 70K Weekend, 70K Total (23,514 PSA)
??) Prince Avalanche- 36K Weekend, 36K Total (2,621 PSA)
??) The Europa Report- 27K Weekend, 58K Total (2,723 PSA)
??) The Canyons- 9K Weekend, 30K Total (2,400 PSA)
??) I Give It A Year- 5K Weekend, 5K Total (2,718 PSA)
