Box office report: ‘Lego’ three-peats at No. 1 with $31.5 million, ‘3 Days to Kill’ takes second, ‘Pompeii’ fizzles
Ancient volcanoes and box-office vets proved no match for The Lego Movie, even after three weekends in theaters. Warner Bros.’ 3-D extravaganza earned an estimated $31.45 million and beat its new competition by more than double. Lego’s domestic total is now $183.2 million — surpassing The Lorax’s 17-day total by about $25 million. Despite adding 115 screens, Lego dropped about 37% from last weekend.
The Kevin Costner-led action pic 3 Days to Kill came in a distant second with an estimated $12.3 million from 2,872 theaters. That gives the PG-13, McG-directed Relativity thriller a respectable $4,238 per screen average. Exit polls show an eerily perfect audience gender division (50/50), but as far as age goes, 80% were over the age of 25, which suggests that Costner was the main draw for theater-goers. The $28 million film, which also stars Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld, and Connie Nielsen, follows an international spy trying to complete one last, dangerous mission while also caring for his teenage daughter (Steinfeld). Relativity says: ”We are pleased with 3 Days to Kill’s solid opening, which was right in line with our expectations for this lower budget action-thriller.”
Paul W.S. Anderson’s Mount Vesuvius epic/love story Pompeii took third place with a disappointing $10 million opening. The expensive and poorly reviewed pic stars Games of Thrones’ Kit Harington, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Browning, and Kiefer Sutherland. Sony Pictures distributed the film domestically, but the Constantin Film and Impact Pictures production was financed by Constantin. FilmDistrict provided the P&A funds. Internationally, Pompeii opened in 37 territories and earned about $22.8 million this weekend. BoxOfficeMojo reports that Pompeii’s budget is in the $100 million range, so a $10 million debut is dismal.
RoboCop took the fourth place spot with $9.4 million from 3,372 locations in week two. That’s a 57% drop from last weekend’s opening. RoboCop’s domestic total now stands at $43.6 million — still a far cry from its estimated $100 million budget, but reports suggest that it’s performing quite well internationally. Overseas numbers weren’t available as of press time, but we’ll update the report when they’re shared. [UPDATE] Internationally, RoboCop earned an estimated $17.7 million from 75 markets, raising its overseas total to $100 million.
After three weekends in theaters, George Clooney’s The Monuments Men came in fifth with $8.1 million, bringing its domestic total to $58.04 million. The historical film fell about 48% from last weekend. Still in 3,064 locations, Clooney may have a career high on his hands (in the director’s chair), but it is worth noting that the star-studded pic cost an estimated $70 million to make.
1. The Lego Movie — $31.45 million
2. 3 Days to Kill — $12.3 million
3. Pompeii — $10 million
4. RoboCop — $9.4 million
5. The Monuments Men — $8.1 million
Surprisingly, About Last Night dropped out of the top five in its second weekend in theaters with a $7.4 million weekend. After a stellar Valentine’s Day weekend debut, the Kevin Hart-led remake fell an astonishing 71% in week two. The modestly budgeted ($12.5 million) rom-com now boasts a $38.15 million domestic total.
In the speciality box office market, Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-nominated The Wind Rises earned an estimated $306,000 from 21 theaters. It’s already made over $112 million worldwide. Featuring the voices of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Martin Short, Emily Blunt, and John Krasinski, the PG-13 animated epic expands to 450 theaters next weekend.
Finally, in landmarks, Disney is surely getting ready to celebrate. Frozen’s global total is currently resting at an estimated $980.3 million, and it still has yet to open in Japan. It’s now the 19th highest grossing film of all time, and the highest grossing original animated property. Also, The Wolf of Wall Street crossed $100 million in nine international territories this weekend. Lastly, at $423.6 million, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire became the 10th highest-grossing film of all time at the domestic box office. It’s the first franchise where both of the first two installments grossed over $400 million domestically.
Next weekend, Liam Neeson takes on God at the box office. The Bible producer Mark Burnett’s Son of God opens wide against Neeson’s in-flight thriller Non-Stop.