Weekend Wrap-Up: Taken Two Twice as Strong

October 8, 2012

Taken 2 took the competition and went to work on them. It opened much, much better than its predecessor did, doubling its opening weekend haul. It also made nearly twice as much as Hotel Transylvania and easily more than last year's number one film, Real Steel. This helped the overall box office grow by 20% from last weekend to $142 million, which is nearly 50% higher than the same weekend last year. Finally there's a reason to celebrate the box office again. One win could have been a fluke, but two is officially a streak. Year-to-date, 2012 is ahead of 2011 by 3.2% at $8.24 billion to $7.99 billion. Granted, that's off its peak from earlier in the year, but I'm happy the bleeding has stopped.

Taken 2 couldn't match Taken's reviews, but despite a bad performance with critics, it was a powerhouse at the box office. The film pulled in $49.51 million during its opening weekend, which was the third best October opening of all time. Even though the film doubled the original's opening, there's almost no chance it will match that film's final box office, as its reviews will likely lead to shorter legs. On the other hand, its chances of reaching $100 million are nearly 100%.

Speaking of $100 million, Hotel Transylvania is about a week away from getting there. The film added $27.05 million over the past three days for a total of $76.71 million after ten days of release. At this pace, it will reach the century mark by this time next week, while it should end its run with significantly more than its combined budget. It if can merely match its domestic numbers internationally, then it will show a profit before it reaches the home market.

Pitch Perfect was within a rounding error of weekend predictions finishing a little on the high side with $14.85 million over the weekend for a total of $21.69 million after two, which is already more than it cost to make. Excellent reviews are clearly playing a role here and the film should have little trouble getting to $50 million in total, which is enough to be a solid midlevel hit.

Looper matched expectations nearly perfectly with $12.12 million over the weekend, while its total rose to $40.22 million. It is one of the best films currently in wide release and it might break even before it reaches the home market.

Frankenweenie was not as successful as hoped, finishing in fifth place with $11.41 million. One can hope the film's reviews help its legs, but it won't match its production budget domestically, so it will need help to break even.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower just missed the top ten over the weekend coming in behind Finding Nemo 3D at $1.57 million to $1.62 million. So far the film has $3.35 million and should expand a little more, but this might end up as its best weekend on the chart.

Won't Back Down was the only sophomore film not in the top five, and it fell out of the top ten to 13th place with $1.02 million. This represents a 61% drop-off, while its running tally rose to just $4.48 million. The film will likely end up losing money for Walden Media, but that's not surprising given their track record.


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Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Hotel Transylvania, Frankenweenie, Looper, Taken 2, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Won't Back Down, Pitch Perfect