Box Office: ‘Pixel’s’ And ‘Paper Towns’ Underwhelm, ‘Southpaw’ Overperformed
$CMCSA, $DIS, $LGF, $SNE
Adam Sandler’s Pixels debuted to an estimated $24-M from 3,723 theaters, a poor start for a Summer tentpole that cost Sony (NYSE:SNE) and its financing partners at least $88-M to produce after rebates. The comedy hopes to make up ground overseas, but is off to a weak start with $25.5-M to date from 56 markets for a global take of $50.4-M.
Pixels has been ravaged critics, while audiences gave it a mediocre B CinemaScore. The tentpole was co-financed by LStar Capital and China Film Group (CFG), guaranteeing a run in China.
Directed by Chris Columbus, Pixels stars Sandler, Kevin James, Peter Dinklage and Josh Gad as a group of friends battling aliens who have used video games from the 1980’s to attack Earth.
Pixels is playing in 42% of the international marketplace, where it placed No. 1 in 23 territories this weekend, many of them smaller.
John Green YA film adaptation Paper Towns, relying on teen and tween girls, came in well behind expectations with $12.5-M from 3,031 theaters, it was expected to approach $20-M. At the same time, the film cost just $12-M to produce.
Overseas, Paper Towns launched to $7.8-M in its 1st markets for a global debut of $28.4-M.
Paper Towns earned a B+ CinemaScore.
Antoine Fuqua’s adult boxing drama, Southpaw, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, overperformed. The Weinstein Co. title earned $16.5-M from 2,772 theaters for 5th-place. The script was written by Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter. Southpaw cost $25-M net produce.
The film garnered an A CinemaScore
Trainwreck, starring Amy Schumer and directed by Judd Apatow. The R-rated comedy dropped only 43% to $17.3-M from 3,171 theaters for a 10-day domestic box office take of $61.5% for Universal a unit of Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMCSA). Trainwreck placed # 4.
Universal and Illumination Entertainment’s Minions placed #3 with $22.1-M for a domestic box office take of $261.6-M. Internationally, it pulled $44-M from 60 markets for a foreign take of $497.8-M and global total of $759.4.
Universal also celebrated Jurassic World overtaking The Avengers to become the 3rd top-grossing film of all time domestically with $623.8-M and it is also # 3 globally.
At the specialty box office as Mr. Holmes, a co-release with Miramax, placed #9 with $2.8-M from 688 theaters in its 2nd weekend for a take of $6.4-M. Roadside and Lionsgate’s (NYSE:LGF) Love & Mercy crossed the $12-M mark at the box office.
Have some fun, see a movie this week.
HeffX-LTN
Paul Ebeling
The post Box Office: ‘Pixel’s’ And ‘Paper Towns’ Underwhelm, ‘Southpaw’ Overperformed appeared first on Live Trading News.