Weekend Estimates: Chappie Tops Soft Weekend

March 8, 2015

Chappie poster

A soft opening for Chappie and a weak returning field will combine to make this the worst weekend at the box office since the dark days of early December last year. Total spending will be around $90 million, down substantially from this time last year when 300: Rise of an Empire opened with $45 million. Chappie won’t manage a third of that, with a $13.3 million weekend projected by Sony as of Sunday morning. A slightly stronger $8.6 million opening from 1,573 theaters for The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel won’t help the overall numbers much, but does add a bit of diversity to the top of the chart.

The weekend’s other new wide release, Unfinished Business is an out-and-out flop, and will barely make the top 10 with $4.8 million from 2,777 locations. Spare a thought for Tom Wilkinson, who ended up in this turkey after having the misfortune of dying in the first Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Returning films all performed about on par with expectations, although Focus is doing fairly well to avoid dropping 50% in its second weekend. Kingsman: The Secret Service will end the weekend on $98 million after enjoying another solid weekend.

In limited release, the re-release of Albert and David MayslesGrey Gardens will officially top the theater average chart with a projected $12,265 from a single New York location. Unofficially, Filipino film Crazy Beautiful You is making the most impressive debut of the weekend. Official numbers haven’t been announced, but the film is expected to make something around $600,000 from 55 theaters for the weekend, which is enough for 18th on the overall chart.

- Weekend Estimates

Bruce Nash,

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Chappie, Unfinished Business, Grey Gardens, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Tom Wilkinson, Albert Maysles, David Maysles