The 'Smurfs' Sequel Can't Compete with '2 Guns'
Welcome to the Box Office Report, where we're pretty impressed with Hollywood's ability to get away with completely mailing in movie titles now. This is all Cowboys vs. Aliens fault.
.Welcome to the Box Office Report, where we're pretty impressed with Hollywood's ability to get away with completely mailing in movie titles now. This is all Cowboys vs. Aliens fault.
1. 2 Guns (Universal): $27.4 million in 3,025 theaters
Director Baltasar Kormakur and Mark Whalberg already teamed up for 2012's surprisingly good Contraband, so it makes sense to throw Denzel Washington in the mix to make a decent mid-summer action movie. Sometimes movies aren't that complicated: if a studio puts two popular stars in a movie that works well at a certain time of year with an interesting director, then people will pay money to see it.
2. The Wolverine (Fox): $21.7 million in 3,924 theaters [Week 2]
Some word of mouth and late critical love couldn't save The Wolverine from plummeting sixty percent this weekend. Hopefully Hugh Jackman is strong enough to hold back tears when studio executives tell him there probably won't be another solo Wolverine movie.
3. The Smurfs 2 (Sony): $18.2 million in 3,866 theaters
The last Smurfs movie was a surprise success for Sony and went on to earn over $500 million worldwide, but the sequel is already struggling. Through its first five days in theaters, Smurfs 2 earned $27.3 million. The original made $35.6 million during its opening weekend. The Hollywood Reporter credits the Smurfs' flop to an overcrowded family box office: it's the third major family release in a little more than a month. The success of Despicable Me 2 and the release of Turbo immediately wore out parents. Three big kids movies in a month? With treats and tickets that would probably cost more than a mortgage payment.
4. The Conjuring (Warner Bros.): $13.6 million in 3,115 theaters [Week 3]
It's not surprising to see The Conjuring holding its own three weeks later. Horror movies usually hold up well during the summer. They're easy excuses to turn your brain off, get out of the sun and into an air-conditioned theater.
5. Despicable Me 2 (Universal): $10.4 million in 3,207 theaters [Week 5]
Those adorable little minions murdered the Smurfs. They don't seem so innocent and lovable now, do they?