"Unfinished Business" finishes in 10th place at dismal $4.8M
By Lindsey Bahr, Film Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Neither a hyper intelligent robot nor Vince Vaughn could save the box office this weekend, which is down 38.5 percent from the same weekend last year according to Sunday estimates from box office firm Rentrak.
While Neill Blomkamp's R-rated "Chappie" might have taken the No. 1 spot in its 3,201 theater debut, its modest $13.3 million gross is hardly anything to celebrate.
It's a career low for Blomkamp, whose previous films "Elysium" and "District 9" debuted at $29.8 and $37.4 million, respectively.
Distributor Sony remains optimistic about its $49 million film about a police robot (voiced by Sharlto Copley) who learns how to think and feel.
"It certainly opened in our realm of expectations for it for the weekend," said Rory Bruer, Sony's President of Worldwide Distribution. He noted that the 60 percent male and 57 percent under-30 demographic breakdown was good for the film.
Sony and its subsidiaries have released all three of Blomkamp's films.
"I certainly believe, like Neill's other movies, that it's going to have a really strong multiple and we're going to come out fine on the movie," Bruer said.
The R-rated Vince Vaughn comedy "Unfinished Business" fared even worse, opening at No. 10 to a dismal $4.8 million. The $35 million film about a chaotic European business trip also stars Dave Franco and Tom Wilkinson.
In its second weekend in theaters, Will Smith's "Focus" fell an estimated 46 percent to take second place with $10 million, bringing its domestic total to $34.6 million.
"These are not exactly world class numbers," said Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak's senior media analyst.
"This is two weekends in a row where we've seen original R-rated movies just not resonate with audiences with "Focus" last weekend and "Chappie" this weekend," he said.
One bright spot was Fox Searchlight's retiree comedy "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," which opened in third place with a strong $8.6 million from 1,573 locations.
"It's one of the very rare instances of an indie sequel. You normally don't see that," said Dergarabedian. The PG-rated film, which reunites Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Bill Nighy, will be expanding to about 1,800 screens next weekend.
The first film was somewhat of a sleeper hit in 2012, grossing $46.4 million domestically on a budget of $10 million.
Holdovers "Kingsman: The Secret Service" and "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water," rounded out the top five with $8.3 million and $7 million, respectively.
"This is the proverbial calm before the storm. We're still on track for a massive, record-breaking year. But there are going to be a lot of casualties along the way and we're seeing that right now," Dergarabedian said.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Chappie," $13.3 million ($13.7 million international).
2. "Focus," $10 million ($17.7 million international).
3. "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," $8.6 million ($5.6 million international).
4. "Kingsman: The Secret Service," $8.3 million ($17 million international).
5. "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water," $7 million ($9.6 million international).
6. "Fifty Shades of Grey," $5.6 million ($17.7 million international).
7. "McFarland, USA," $5.3 million.
8. "The Lazarus Effect," $5.1 million ($700,000 international).
9. "The DUFF," $4.9 million.
10. "Unfinished Business," $4.8 million ($2.6 million international).
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to Rentrak:
1. "Jupiter Ascending," $25.3 million.
2. "Big Hero 6," $19.6 million.
3. "Focus" and "Fifty Shades of Grey," $17.7 million.
4. "Kingsman: The Secret Service," $17 million.
5. "American Sniper," $14.6 million.
6. "Chappie," $13.7 million.
7. "From Vegas to Macau II," $11 million.
8. "Dragon Blade" and "Wolf Totem," $10.5 million.
9. "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and "Paddington," $5.6 million.
10. "Birdman," $4.4 million.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More