By Jake Coyle, Film Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The Coen brothers' "Hail, Caesar!" and the Jane Austen-monster mashup "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" followed distantly behind "Kung Fu Panda 3," which remained on top of the box office over Super Bowl weekend.
DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda" sequel earned an estimated $21 million in its second weekend of release, according to studio estimates Sunday. Joel and Ethan Coen's '50s Hollywood satire "Hail, Caesar!" opened in second place with an estimated $11.4 million in North American theaters for Universal Pictures.
The two other major new releases struggled.
The Nicholas Sparks' romance "The Choice" debuted with $6.1 million for Lionsgate. Despite expectations of a No. 2 opening, "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," bankrolled by Cross Creek Picture and released by Sony's Screen Gems, eked out a meager $5.2 million.
Though the majority of weekend grosses are made on Fridays and Saturdays, Hollywood generally seeks to avoid competing with the football broadcast and instead sticks largely to counterprogramming. The best Super Bowl weekend remains the 2008 concert film "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus" ($31.1 million) followed by an earlier Sparks adaption, 2010's "Dear John" ($30.5 million).
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore, called Super Bowl weekend a trade-off for studios that sacrifice a day of moviegoing for the promotional benefit of the game's mass audience. A number of movie previews were set to play during the broadcast.
"It's one of those weekends that Hollywood braces for but they know how to course correct before it happens," Dergarabedian said.
Playing in 2,232 theaters, "Hail, Caesar!" is one of the Coen brothers' more wide-opening movies, but it earned a dismal C-minus CinemaScore from audiences. Starring Josh Brolin as a studio fixer in the classic Hollywood era and featuring George Clooney and Channing Tatum as '50s stars, "Hail, Caesar!" is the Coens' most broad comedy since their 2008 "Burn After Reading." That film opened with $19.1 million.
Alejandro Inarritu's Oscar-nominated "The Revenant" continues to roll. Its global total is up to $325 million, and "The Revenant" led overseas business with $24 million internationally over the weekend. On Saturday, Inarritu also won best director from the Directors Guild Awards.
In its eight week of release, Walt Disney Co.'s "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" celebrated a pair of milestones over the weekend. It surpassed $900 million at the North American box office and crossed $2 billion globally.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Kung Fu Panda 3," $21 million ($23 million international).
2. "Hail, Caesar!" $11.4 million.
3. "The Revenant," $7.1 million ($24 million international).
4. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," $6.9 million ($7 million international).
5. "The Choice," $6.1 million ($750,000 international).
6. "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," $5.2 million.
7. "The Finest Hours," $4.7 million ($2.8 million international).
8. "Ride Along 2," $4.5 million ($2.9 million international).
9. "The Boy," $4.1 million ($2.7 million international).
10. "Dirty Grandpa," $4.1 million ($4.5 million international).
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:
1. "The Revenant," $24 million.
2. "Kung Fu Panda 3," $23 million.
3. "A Violent Prosecutor," $19.5 million.
4. "Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Road Chip," $12.8 million.
5. "The Hateful Eight," $8.5 million.
6. "Les Tuche 2," $8.5 million.
7. "The 5th Wave," $7.7 million.
8. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," $7 million.
9. "Goosebumps," $6.5 million.
10. "Daddy's Home," $5.4 million.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More