Box Office: ‘Spectre’ and ‘The Peanuts Movie’ Held The Weekend, Pitts’ ‘By The Sea’ Drowned
$CBS, $CMCSA, $FOX, $LGF, $SNE, $TWX
‘Spectre’ launches to record-breaking $48-M box office in China, Bollywood’s ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ made history.
Spectre and The Peanuts Movie had no trouble beating 3 new competitors during a quiet weekend at the North American box office.
Sam Mendes’ Spectre fell a modest 50% in its 2nd weekend to $35.4-M from 3,929 locations for a 10-day domestic take of $130.7-M . The 24th installment in the James Bond 007 franchise is doing well overseas, where it is pacing ahead of Skyfall in many markets, taking in another $152.6-M over the weekend for a foreign take of $413.1-M and global box office tally of $543.8-M.
Spectre opened to a record-breaking $48-M this weekend in China. It is the biggest 3-day opening of all time for a Hollywood 2D title according to Sony (NYSE:SNE), MGM and Eon Productions. And it nabbed the biggest Chinese Friday box office of all time for a 2D title with $15-M.
Spectre also opened in France this weekend, where it took in a strong $14-M despite Paris theaters closing over the weekend in the wake of Friday’s terrorist attacks.
The Peanuts Movie placed #2 in North America with $24.2-M from 3,902 locations after declining 44% in its 2nd weekend. The animated family film has grossed $82.5-M to date at the box office.
New offerings
By the Sea is a moody marital drama written and directed by Angelina Jolie Pitt, who also stars. The movie sunk in its limited debut, grossing $95,440 from 10 theaters for a dismal location average of $9,544. By the Sea should have pulled in a theater average of at least $25,000-$30,000 to be considered a player.
By the Sea marks the 1st time the two stars have appeared together on the big screen since Mr. & Mrs. Smith in 2005. By the Sea is an art house movie like those of the 1970’s. Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMCSA) wanted to stay in business with Jolie Pitt after she directed Unbroken for the studio, and agreed to a $10-M net budget.
The film debuted in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, Boston and Washington, DC. Next weekend, it will be playing in 100 theaters in 40 markets.
Love the Coopers opened to a better-than-expected $8.4-M from 2,603 theaters. Jessie Nelson’s film stars John Goodman, Diane Keaton, Marisa Tomei, Olivia Wilde and Alan Arkin, and follows a Christmas Eve celebration turned upside down as four generations of the Cooper clan gather together.
Coopers cost about $18-M to make, and is being distributed by Lionsgate (NYSE:LGF) via its deal with CBS Films, a unit of CBS (NYSE:CBS). Females made up 70% of the audience, while 82% of ticket buyers were over the age of 25..
Ridley Scott’s The Martian continued to stay high up on the box office chart in its 7th outing after crossing the $200-M mark domestically Thursday. The space epic grossed $6.7-M for a domestic take of $207.4-M and worldwide box office tally of $477.4-.
Patricia Riggen’s Chilean mining drama The 33, opene to $5.8-M from 2,452 theaters.
The $26-M movie, from Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros.a unit of Time Warner (NYSE:TWX), recounts the Y 2010 disaster that saw 33 miners trapped inside the San Jose Mine in Chile for 2months. The film stars Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, Juliette Binoche, James Brolin, Lou Diamond Phillips and Mario Casas.
Elsewhere
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo impressed in opening to $2.4-M from only 286 theaters for Fox International Productions and Fox Star Studios. The film, placing # 9, boasts 1 of the best US debuts ever for a Bollywood title. And it made history in India, scoring the biggest Bollywood opening of all time with 4-day box office of $27-M.
My All-American is in a close race with The Last Witch Hunter and Spotlight for the # 10 spot; the order will not be determined until final weekend numbers are tallied Monday morning.
Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight, starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams, is proving to be 1 of the few success stories of the Fall in terms of adult dramas working at the specialty box office.
Spotlight earned a strong $1.4-M for an enviable location average of $23,307 and early domestic box office of $1.8-M.
John Crowley’s Brooklyn, starring Saoirse Ronan, is expanding slowly, upping its theater count to 23 locations in its 2nd outing. From Fox Searchlight, the period drama also did nicely, earning an estimated $485,000 for the weekend for a location average of $21,086 and early box office take of $832,996.
Have some fun, see a movie this weekend.
HeffX-LTN
Paul Ebeling
The post Box Office: ‘Spectre’ and ‘The Peanuts Movie’ Held The Weekend, Pitts’ ‘By The Sea’ Drowned appeared first on Live Trading News.