Weekend Wrap-Up: Iron Man Great, but Gatsby is Arguably Greater

May 14, 2013

Iron Man 3 remained on top of the chart, as expected, but the big news of the weekend was The Great Gatsby. The film opened with more than $50 million, which is twice as much as some analysts were expecting and about 50% more than the average. Does this mean 2013 ended its losing streak? Nope. Iron Man 3 missed expectations by a couple of million dollars, while Peeples bombed utterly. This left the overall box office down 27% from last weekend to $158 million. This is 7.5% lower than the same weekend last year. Hopefully Star Trek into Darkness will help end this losing streak next weekend.

Iron Man 3 came close to matching expectations with $72.53 million over the weekend for a total of $284.95 million after just ten days of release. At this pace, it will reach $300 million either late Thursday or early Friday, while $400 million isn't out of reach. $1 billion worldwide is virtually guaranteed, while I seriously doubt this will be the last film in the Iron Man franchise.

The Great Gatsby became biggest surprise hit of the year so far earning $50.09 million during its first weekend of release. This is more than Baz Luhrmann's previous film, Australia, earned in total. It is just a couple of days away from overtaking Moulin Rouge and should become the auteur's first $100 million movie, unless its reviews really hurt the film next week.

Pain and Gain did better than expected earning third place with $5.00 million over the weekend for a total of $41.61 million after three weeks of release. It has a shot at $50 million, but it will be close.

Peeples' opening is best described as a bomb. The film earned just $4.61 million putting it in fourth place. Thankfully, it was only playing in 2,041, so it avoiding opening below the Mendoza Line, but that's damning it with faith praise indeed. Add in weak reviews to this equation, and this film will disappear fast.

42 rounded out the top five with $4.59 million over the weekend. After a month of release, the film has earned $84.67 million and $100 million isn't completely out of the question.


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Filed under: Weekend Estimates, The Great Gatsby, Iron Man 3, Pain & Gain, Peeples, 42, Iron Man, Baz Luhrmann