There was a big battle at the box office this weekend between two animals and one of
the hottest humans in Hollywood as The Lion King 3D narrowly beat Brad Pitt’s Moneyball and the family film, A Dolphin Tale. King took in a hefty $22 million for a two-week re-release total of $61 million and surprised many insiders by making it a second week in a row. Disney’s beloved toon held off Pitt’s latest which opened to $20.6 million making it the best opening for a baseball film in history. Strong reviews and awards prospects should keep the film in contention in the weeks ahead. Another film that should have long legs at the turnstiles, or should I say tails, is the true life story, A Dolphin Tale which grabbed a strong $20.2 million…. The other two action films opening had less stellar results with the Taylor Lautner starrer, Abduction grabbing an ok $11.2 million and the Jason Statham/Clive Owen/Robert Deniro film, Killer Elite, landing just $ 9.5 million. Both pictures also had terrible reviews and could face a dire road ahead. Take a look at the full chart below and head to Box Office Mojo for more.
TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 1 The Lion King (in 3D) BV $22,130,000 -26.6% 2,330 – $9,498 $61,676,000 – 2
2 N Moneyball Sony $20,600,000 – 2,993 – $6,883 $20,600,000 $50 1
3 N Dolphin Tale WB $20,260,000 – 3,507 – $5,777 $20,260,000 $37 1
4 N Abduction LGF $11,200,000 – 3,118 – $3,592 $11,200,000 $35 1
5 N Killer Elite ORF $9,500,000 – 2,986 – $3,182 $9,500,000 $70 1
6 2 Contagion WB $8,565,000 -41.1% 3,136 -86 $2,731 $57,122,000 $60 3
7 3 Drive (2011) FD $5,771,000 -49.1% 2,904 +18 $1,987 $21,425,000 $15 2
8 4 The Help BV $4,400,000 -32.4% 2,695 -319 $1,633 $154,444,000 $25 7
9 5 Straw Dogs (2011) SGem $2,100,000 -59.0% 2,408 – $872 $8,884,000 $25 2
10 6 I Don’t Know How She Does It Wein. $2,053,000 -53.4% 2,490 +14 $824 $8,019,000 $24 2
Tags: A Dolpin Tale, Abduction, Box Office Mojo, Brad Pitt, Clive Owen, Killer Elite, Moneyball, Robert DeNiro, Taylor Lautner, The Lion King 3D
