Weekend Wrap-Up: Furious Races into Top Spot for the Year
April 14, 2015
It didn't take long for for Furious 7 to become the biggest hit of the year; in fact, it took just five days to top Cinderella. Over the weekend, it became the first film released in 2015 to reach the $200 million milestone and thanks to a better than expected hold, reached $250 million as well. Home finished well back in second place, while The Longest Ride managed third place. Overall, the box office fell 42% from last weekend down to $131 million, which is 6.3% lower than the same weekend last year. Furious 7 topped Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but Rio 2 and the other films of 2014 had better depth giving 2014 the win. 2015 is still ahead in the year-to-date comparison, up 4.1% at $2.85 billion to $2.74 billion.
Furious 7 fell 60% earning $59.59 million over the weekend to reach $251.52 million overall. The film is the biggest hit released in 2015, although American Sniper has still earned more during the calendar year of 2015, but it is not out of reach of Furious 7. Reviews that are 82% positive and no real competition till the beginning of May could help the film earn $350 million domestically, while $1 billion worldwide seems like a sure bet at this point. I simply can't imagine this will be the final film in the franchise.
Home slipped just 31% to $18.53 million over the weekend for a total of $129.09 million after three weeks of release. The film cost $130 million to make, so it has nearly matched its production budget already. At this pace, the film should have little trouble getting to $150 million, while its worldwide total should hit $300 million shortly. If it reaches that level, it will break even very early in its home market run, if not sooner.
As expected, The Longest Ride earned third place with $13.02 million, which is roughly in line with expectations. Likewise, the reviews are also inline with Nicholas Sparks' career average. The film likely won't match its $34 million production budget and his films rarely do particularly well internationally, so it is likely that the studio will lose money on this film.
Get Hard held on a little better than expected with $8.22 million over the weekend for a total of $70.78 million after three weeks of release. It will double its $40 million production budget domestically, making it a solid midlevel hit. Its international numbers are no where near as strong, but it should still break even soon rather than later.
Cinderella earned fifth place with $7.14 million over the weekend for a total of $180.69 million after a month of release. The film is getting closer to $200 million million and it might get there, if the studio gives it a little push in the end.
There were also a trio of limited releases in the top ten. Woman in Gold saw its theater count rise from 250 to 1,500. This helped its box office haul rise to $5.48 million over the weekend for a total of $8.93 million after two. This is better than most limited releases manage, but the film was originally scheduled for a wide release, so it likely would have made more during its opening weekend had it opened in more than 2,000 theaters.
It Follows dipped just 23% during its third weekend in semi-wise release down to $1.94 million. So far, the film has earned $11.72 million, making it the biggest limited release released in 2015. This is even more impressive when you consider how rare it is for horror films to thrive in limited release.
Danny Collins expanded to 739 screens helping it reach the top ten in ninth place with $1.48 million for a total of $2.38 million. However, its per theater average is barely above $2,000, so theater owners will likely drop it quite quickly.
Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, Home, The Longest Ride, Furious 7, Cinderella, Get Hard, It Follows, American Sniper, Danny Collins, Woman in Gold, Fast and the Furious, Nicholas Sparks