Weekend Wrap-Up: Dragons Soar but Jump Higher
June 17, 2014
How to Train Your Dragon 2 missed lofty expectations and that allowed 22 Jump Street to earn first place. Both films opened well and their respective studios should be happy, while the overall box office rose by 15% compared to last weekend hitting $187 million. Unfortunately, this is still 8% lower than this weekend last year. Had How to Train Your Dragon 2 matched higher expectations, 2014 would have won on the year-over-year comparison. Year-to-date, 2014 has earned $4.64 billion, putting it 3.0% ahead of 2013's pace of $4.50 billion, so this weekend's loss isn't a big deal.
22 Jump Street topped its predecessor and the rest of the competition earning $57.07 million over the weekend. This is 57% more than the first film, so unless 22's legs are really bad, it will top the original shortly. This seems unlikely, because the reviews for the two films are nearly identical at 85% positive vs. 84% positive. The sequel effect will keep it from earning the same legs, but $150 million or more is still a respectable goal.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 was not as strong earning second place with $49.45 million during its opening weekend. This was better than the first film, but only by 13%. Even with stunning reviews, the sequel effect will likely result in shorter legs and possibly a lower final box office. It should still break even before the home market, thanks to the international numbers, but I'm a little worried about How to Train Your Dragon 3, which is set to come out in 2013.
Maleficent was within a rounding error of matching expectations perfectly with $18.50 million over the weekend for a total of $163.02 after 17 days of release. It is still on pace to reach $200 million, but it will likely fall out of the top ten before then.
Edge of Tomorrow was next with $16.53 million over the weekend for a two week total of $57.00 million. It only fell 43% during its sophomore stint, which would have been awesome, had it opened well. Now it is too little, too late.
The Fault in Our Stars fell from first to fifth with $14.79 million over the weekend for a total of $80.77 million after ten days of release. If this was a regular film, I would be worried about its chances of getting to $100 million, given its plummet during its second weekend of release. However, not only is it a Fanboy film, thanks to John Green's Internet Nerd Cred, but it also had a special Thursday pre-screening with prestige level pricing, which added to its Friday numbers. I think it will recover a lot next weekend and should still hit the century mark. Regardless, it will break even shortly, if it hasn't done so already.
X-Men: Days of Future Past fell out of the top five with $9.82 million over the weekend for a total of $206.26 million after four weeks of release. It became the third film to reach the $200 million this year, but it won't be the last. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 should have no trouble getting there before its run is over, while Godzilla will likely need a little push to get to that milestone.
One final note, The LEGO movie returned to the top of the yearly chart over Captain America: The Winter Soldier, by less than $10,000. I think they will switch places again, not that The LEGO Movie is on DVD and Blu-ray. This race isn't done yet.
Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Edge of Tomorrow, Maleficent, How to Train Your Dragon 2, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Lego Movie, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Godzilla, 22 Jump Street, The Fault in Our Stars, John Green