Weekend Wrap-Up: Wolverine Loses Power, But Still Dominates

July 29, 2013

The Wolverine did not live up to expectations, but it still dominated the weekend box office chart, earning more than double the second place film, The Conjuring. Overall, the box office fell nearly 12% when compared to last weekend hitting $172 million. This is still 28% higher than the same weekend last year, which is a great result. In total, 2013 has pulled in $6.40 billion, which is just under $20 million or 0.3% below last year's pace. This is fantastic; however, had The Wolverine performed as well as some were expecting, 2013 would have pulled into the lead over the weekend.

The Wolverine failed to reach even the low end of expectations with just $53.11 million. Granted, describing a $50 million opening as "disappointing" seems strange, but most analysts were expecting at least 20% more than this during its opening weekend. Additionally, the film cost $115 million to make, so a $53.11 million opening is not a stellar result. Solid reviews and a lack of A-list competition for the rest of the summer should help its legs and assuming its international numbers are strong, it should break even before the lucrative home market. Meanwhile, the hinted at sequel should be safe, especially given the unique position Marvel Comics are in. (If Fox doesn't keep making X-men movies, the rights revert to Disney, which is something they can't afford to let happen.)

The Conjuring held on a lot better than expected down 47% to $22.21 million over the weekend for a total of $83.95 million after two weeks of release. Even with amazing reviews, horror films rarely have legs that are this strong. At this point, it will have no trouble reaching $100 million by this time next week. This is likely enough to break even, even before taking into account the international numbers. This is not the type of film you can readily make a sequel to (not that the studio might not try) but it is safe to assume the writers, Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes, and the director, James Wan, will be given a lot of opportunities to make similar movies in the future, and with a lot of freedom.

Despicable Me 2 crossed $300 million over the weekend with $16.42 million over the weekend for a total of $306.81 million after four. It remains one of the biggest hits of the year so far.

Turbo added $13.74 million over the weekend for a total of $56.18 million after two. Unfortunately for the film, The Smurfs 2 is opening this Wednesday and the direct competition will likely really hurt this film's chances to remain in the top five for very long.

Grown Ups 2 remained in the top five for one last weekend with $11.60 million over the past three days for a total of $101.76 million after seventeen days of release. It became the 14th film in Adam Sandler's career to reach the century mark.

Looking at the sophomore class, we find Red 2 in sixth place with $9.34 million over the weekend for a total of $35.01 million after two. It should reach $50 million before the end of its run, but this is a big step back from its predecessor. R.I.P.D. fell 52% to $6.07 million, which was only enough for ninth place over the weekend. So far it has pulled in $24.57 million after two weeks of release, which is a mere fraction of its $130 million production budget.


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Filed under: Weekend Estimates, R.I.P.D., The Wolverine, Turbo, Despicable Me 2, The Smurfs 2, RED 2, Grown Ups 2, The Conjuring, X-Men, Adam Sandler, James Wan, Chad Hayes, Carey Hayes