Weekend Wrap-Up: Ride Laps Competition

February 3, 2014

Ride Along poster

Super Bowl turned into a blow-out, but still earned a record television audience. This explains why the overall box office numbers were down compared to last weekend. That said, there were some films that did well, including Ride Along, which completed the threepeat and by this time next week with be at over $100 million. On the other hand, the new releases really struggled. That Awkward Moment only managed third place, while Labor Day barely avoided the Mendoza Line. Week-over-week, the overall box office fell 26% to $86 million. Compared to last year, the box office also fell, but by only 3%. That said, 2014 is still ahead of 2013 by 6% at $943 million to $887 million, so the market is still healthy.

Ride Along matched predictions perfectly with $12.04 million over the weekend for a total of $92.70 million after three. It will have no trouble getting to $100 million sometime this weekend, making it the first film in both Ice Cube and Kevin Hart's careers to reach the century mark.

Frozen placed second with $8.93 million, which is only 2% lower than last weekend, so the sing-along version was a success. I suspect you will see more Disney movies do this on the tail end of their runs. It was not a large enough success to think Disney will re-release classics in sing-along versions, on the other hand. Normally I would say it would have a chance to top Despicable Me 2 for top animated film of 2013 by this time next week, but The LEGO movie will probably steal its thunder. It will get there, it will just take a little bit longer.

That Awkward Moment only managed third place during its debut pulling in $8.74 million in 2,809 theaters. This is disappointing, to put it mildly, but not surprising given its reviews. Good news, it didn't cost a lot for the distributor to pick up. Bad news, it likely won't cover its P&A budget.

The Nut Job slipped a spot to fourth with $7.28 million over the weekend for a total of $49.91 million after three. The film should end with more than $60 million, which is enough to ensure a profit early in the film's home market run.

Lone Survivor cracked the century mark over the weekend with a haul of $7.10 million from Friday through Sunday lifting its total of $104.79 million. It will became the 35th, and last, 2013 film to reach that milestone.

The other new wide release of the week was Labor Day, which landed in seventh place with $5.18 million in 2,584 theaters for an average of just $2,003. That's about as close to the Mendoza Line as you can get without falling below it. With that per theater average, theater owners will be looking to drop it as soon as they are contractually able to. And with its reviews, it is likely moviegoers won't miss it.

I, Frankenstein was the only sophomore film this week and it fell to ninth place ninth just $3.75 million, down 56% from its opening weekend. After ten days of release, the film has made just $14.72 million and will likely finish with less than $20 million. It is performing better internationally, but not by enough to make a real difference.

One last note, just before the weekend, The Wolf of Wall Street reached the $100 million milestone, becoming the 34th film released in 2013 to get to that mark.


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Filed under: Weekend Estimates, The Wolf of Wall Street, Labor Day, Lone Survivor, Ride Along, Frozen, I, Frankenstein, The Nut Job, That Awkward Moment, Ice Cube, Kevin Hart