Robots defeat Bad Bosses and Zoo Animals at the Box Office

Despite an influx of evil bosses and zoo animals getting a good amount of attention, robots still ruled the box office over the weekend as Transformers: Dark of the Moon pulled in $47 million for a two-week take of $261 million. That grand total now makes Transformers the top box office earner of the year edging out The Hangover Part 2. The robots should fly farther into the weeks ahead, but they’ll have some stiff competition from Harry Potter on Friday… In other news at the movies, Horrible Bosses followed Bridesmaids, The Hangover and Bad Teacher as another R rated comedy hit for the summer taking in a good $28 million for second place. Debuting in third was Kevin James family comedy Zookeeper with a decent $21 million. For more on all the numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here, and check out the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 1 Transformers: Dark of the Moon P/DW $47,025,000 -51.9% 4,088 – $11,503 $261,000,000 $195 2
2 N Horrible Bosses WB (NL) $28,110,000 – 3,040 – $9,247 $28,110,000 $35 1
3 N Zookeeper Sony $21,000,000 – 3,482 – $6,031 $21,000,000 $80 1
4 2 Cars 2 BV $15,209,000 -42.1% 3,990 -125 $3,812 $148,828,000 $200 3
5 3 Bad Teacher Sony $9,000,000 -38.0% 2,962 -87 $3,038 $78,757,000 $20 3
6 4 Larry Crowne Uni. $6,264,000 -52.2% 2,976 +3 $2,105 $26,526,000 $30 2
7 5 Super 8 Par. $4,825,000 -39.1% 2,292 -796 $2,105 $118,056,000 $50 5
8 6 Monte Carlo Fox $3,800,000 -49.0% 2,473 – $1,537 $16,125,000 $20 2
9 7 Green Lantern WB $3,125,000 -52.3% 2,015 -1,265 $1,551 $109,709,000 $200 4
10 8 Mr. Popper’s Penguins Fox $2,850,000 -48.5% 1,996 -865 $1,428 $57,747,000 $55 4

Cars 2 Zooms to the top of the Box Office

It’s no surprise that Pixar’s Cars 2 opened on top of the box office. It’s an animated film from Disney and Pixar, the animation giant. What is surprising is that it did better than the original pulling in $68 million despite bad reviews (a first for a Pixar feature) and middling word of mouth. (The original Cars opened to $60 million.)  However, it seems families are eating this one up and it should hold well in the weeks ahead… Another film exceeding expectations this weekend was the Cameron Diaz comedy Bad Teacher which pulled in a great $31 million considering the film only cost around $20 million. Looks like audiences are really embracing their naughty ladies this summer with Teacher and the smash Bridesmaids which continues strong in the top ten having taken in a massive $146 million. (Hello, most pundits thought this one would top out at $65 million!)… And now to the bad news, Green Lantern plummeted in its second weekend falling 65% to $18.3 million which now looks like it will become a big money loser for Warner Brothers. At least that studio has the incredibly successful Hangover Part 2 to fall back on. That film has now become the top grossing R-rated film in history worldwide with a whopping total of $527 million. For more on these films and all the numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here… And check out the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N Cars 2 BV $68,000,000 – 4,115 – $16,525 $68,000,000 – 1
2 N Bad Teacher Sony $31,000,000 – 3,049 – $10,167 $31,000,000 – 1
3 1 Green Lantern WB $18,350,000 -65.5% 3,816 – $4,809 $89,311,000 $200 2
4 2 Super 8 Par. $12,100,000 -43.6% 3,424 +16 $3,534 $95,186,000 $50 3
5 3 Mr. Popper’s Penguins Fox $10,300,000 -44.2% 3,342 +3 $3,082 $39,448,000 $55 2
6 4 X-Men: First Class Fox $6,600,000 -44.7% 2,633 -742 $2,507 $132,815,000 $160 4
7 5 The Hangover Part II WB $5,865,000 -41.8% 2,755 -705 $2,129 $243,943,000 $80 5
8 7 Bridesmaids Uni. $5,372,000 -24.3% 2,031 -542 $2,645 $146,659,000 $32.5 7
9 8 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides BV $4,702,000 -29.3% 2,244 -498 $2,095 $229,060,000 $250 6
10 9 Midnight in Paris SPC $4,481,000 -8.3% 951 -87 $4,712 $28,580,000 $30 6

The Holiday Box Office: America loves a good “Hangover”

Hollywood finally had some good news as the box office slump officially ended over the long holiday weekend with huge grosses for three big sequels. Leading the way was The Hangover Part 2 which opened to $105 million over the four-day holiday and $137 million since Thursday. It also grabbed the record for the biggest comedy film opening to date. The film should hold up pretty well in the weeks ahead as its core audience is clearly enjoying the film despite poor reviews. (Personally I give the film a “B” grade. It’s pretty much a carbon copy of the original but it’s still pretty damn funny)…. Coming in second was Kung Fu Panda 2 with a good, not great, $62 million which was a tad below the opening for the original. However, it will likely have strong legs as most family films do in the summer. Also making news was Pirates of the Caribbean 4 which took in another $50 million for a two-week take of $163 million and only dropped 44%…. In limited release, Terrence Malick’s long-delayed drama The Tree of Life starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn finally opened taking in a massive $489,000 in only 4 theatres. However, with mixed critical and audience reception, the road ahead could be shaky… One other big auteur got some good news at the turnstiles this weekend as well as Woody Allen’s latest comedy, Midnight in Paris, hit the top ten with $3.5 million on only 58 screens. This one is shaping up to be his biggest hit since 2008′s Vicky Christina Barcelona which also netted Penelope Cruz an Oscar….. For more on the numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here. And check out the new top ten below…

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N The Hangover Part II WB $105,765,000 – 3,615 – $29,257 $137,375,000 $80 1
2 N Kung Fu Panda 2 P/DW $62,200,000 – 3,925 – $15,847 $68,000,000 $150 1
3 1 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides BV $50,372,000 -44.1% 4,164 +9 $12,097 $163,967,000 $250 2
4 2 Bridesmaids Uni. $20,987,000 +0.5% 2,958 +21 $7,095 $89,594,000 $32.5 3
5 3 Thor Par. $12,030,000 -22.2% 3,296 -628 $3,650 $162,375,000 $150 4
6 4 Fast Five Uni. $8,166,000 -22.8% 2,982 -640 $2,738 $197,576,000 $125 5
7 13 Midnight in Paris SPC $3,520,000 +487.6% 58 +52 $60,690 $3,520,000 $30 2
8 6 Rio Fox $2,400,000 -48.8% 1,672 -921 $1,435 $135,441,000 $90 7
9 7 Jumping the Broom TriS $2,350,000 -36.5% 939 -533 $2,503 $34,631,000 $6.6 4
10 8 Something Borrowed WB $2,320,000 -34.0% 1,440 -1,166 $1,611 $35,234,000 $35 4

The Pirates Pillage the Box Office

Johnny Depp swashbuckled all over the competition this weekend as the fourth film in his Pirates of the Caribbean series opened to a strong $90 million at the box office. Now, that’s a big number, but considering it was around $30 million less than the openings for the second and third films, it has to be seen as a small disappointment. And looking at reviews and audience reaction (I gave the film a “C” grade), the road ahead may not be too rosy. That said, it should still top $200 million when all is said and done and the international grosses are fantastic. We’ll see how it holds up next week when two more sequels enter the fray, The Hangover Part 2 and Kung Fu Panda 2…. The other big news over the weekend was the incredibly strong hold for the hilarious comedy Bridesmaids which dipped only 20% to $21 million for a two-week take of $59 million. That movie now seems a sure bet to top $100 million, something most pundits never thought possible. Congrats Kristen Wiig! …. For more on the box office, head to Box Office Mojo here. And check out the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides BV $90,100,000 – 4,155 – $21,685 $90,100,000 $250 1
2 2 Bridesmaids Uni. $21,058,000 -19.8% 2,937 +19 $7,170 $59,518,000 $32.5 2
3 1 Thor Par. $15,500,000 -55.3% 3,924 -39 $3,950 $145,406,000 $150 3
4 3 Fast Five Uni. $10,631,000 -48.0% 3,622 -171 $2,935 $186,219,000 $125 4
5 5 Rio Fox $4,650,000 -43.8% 2,593 -336 $1,793 $131,647,000 $90 6
6 4 Priest SGem $4,600,000 -69.2% 2,864 – $1,606 $23,683,000 $60 2
7 6 Jumping the Broom TriS $3,700,000 -47.6% 1,472 -563 $2,514 $31,318,000 $6.6 3
8 7 Something Borrowed WB $3,425,000 -50.2% 2,606 -298 $1,314 $31,428,000 $35 3
9 8 Water for Elephants Fox $2,150,000 -48.8% 1,894 -531 $1,135 $52,428,000 $38 5
10 9 Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family LGF $990,000 -55.3% 912 -537 $1,086 $51,757,000 – 5

Are you ready for another Hangover?

The Hangover was the surprise comedy smash of 2009 making stars out of Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifinakis. Now, the sequel, appropriately titled The Hangover Part 2, hits theatres on May 26th reuniting Cooper, Galifinakis, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha and Ken Jeong for more debaucherous fun. Check out the first trailer with some serious monkey business going on below.

The Hangover Part 2