Weekend Estimates: LEGO Unstoppable at Top
February 23, 2014
The LEGO Movie will see off two more challengers for box office supremacy this weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. 3 Days to Kill will open with $12.3 million, soft for a film that cost $28 million, while Pompeii will barely reach $10 million, disastrous for a film that cost $80 million or $100 million, depending on who you talk to. That leaves The LEGO Movie miles ahead, with a projected $31.4 million for the weekend and $183 million or so in the bank after 17 days in release. It'll be down 37% from last weekend—an impressive result considering last weekend was a holiday.
Other movies in the top 10 are generally being clobbered by the comparison with the long weekend. Frozen is the best-performing of the bunch, down just 30% in its 14th weekend in theaters. Everything else is down at least 45%, and About Last Night and Winter's Tale will both crash by around 70% from their Valentine's-Day-fueled debuts.
The standout performer in limited release this weekend is The Wind Rises. Technically, it's not opening, because it already had Oscar-qualifying screenings at the end of 2013, but this is the first time it's been able to reach a general audience, and its $306,000 in 21 theaters is an impressive start.
Bruce Nash bruce.nash@the-numbers.com
Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Pompeii, Frozen, About Last Night, Winter’s Tale, The Wind Rises (風立ちぬ)