TNU Box Office Rewind: Neeson does it again

Hear ye, hear ye! The era of Lego is over. The Liam Neeson action movie “Non-Stop” ruled the box office this weekend. While “Son of God” was an impressive runner-up.

Playing at 3,090 locations, “Non-Stop” led the field with an estimated $30 million. That’s a huge step up from other recent Neeson movies “Unknown” ($21.9 million) and “The Grey” ($19.7 million). Universal is reporting that Non-Stop’s audience was 51 percent female and older (65 percent over the age of 25). They gave the movie a solid “A-” CinemaScore.

I think that’s a high score for this movie. More than likely those people voted fr Liam Neeson, rather than the film itself.

2014 has been a good year for Universal. Following “Lone Survivor” and “Ride Along,” this is the studio’s third movie from to open in the top spot this year. Even more impressive (and rare) is the fact that all three movies are completely original. They’re not sequels or reboots.

See Hollywood? People do wanna see original stuff.

It wasn’t a surprise when “Son of God” opened in second place. It was a surprise when it did so with an estimated $26.5 million, well above many expectations. Sure, the opening is not in the same league as “The Passion of the Christ” ($83,848,082), but $26.5 is a very healthy debut. Especially when you remember nearly all of “Son of God” already aired on TV on The History Channel’s “The Bible” mini-series. It didn’t matter, audiences turned up anyway.

Son of God’s audience was 62 percent female, and 82 percent were 25 years of age of older. They gave the movie an “A-” CinemaScore. The only question now is: How well will “Son of God” hold up in the coming weeks?

After leading the box office for three-straight weeks, “The LEGO Movie” dropped to third place with an estimated $21 million. “The LEGO Movie” became the first 2014 release to pass $200 million. Next week the movie faces its first real competition for the same audience: “Mr. Peabody & Sherman.”

Last week’s new releases both had a rough second weekend. Kevin Costner’s “3 Days to Kill” plummeted 60 percent to $4.9 million, while special effects heavy “Pompeii” dropped 58 percent to $4.3 million.

Your top five movies on Oscar weekend:

1. Non-Stop: $30 million

2. Son of God: $26.5

3. The Lego Movie: $21 million

4. The Monuments Men: $5 million

5. 3 Days to Kill: $4.9 million

TNU Box Office Rewind: Behold the power of the Legos!

Many have tried, and all have failed to dethrone the champion. For the third weekend in a row, “The LEGO Movie” annihilated the competition, easily taking first place at the box office.

“The LEGO Movie” fell just 37 percent to an estimated $31.5 million.Through 17 days the animated movie has earned $183.2 million, and Warner Bros. has already announced that a sequel will hit theatres on Memorial Day 2017. Overseas, LEGO has already taken in $92,500,000, bringing its worldwide total to an incredible $275,660,000.

In second place, action/ drama “3 Days to Kill” opened to an estimated $12.3 million. This is line with expectations, but it’s still a nice start for a Kevin Costner flick. 3 Days’ audience was split evenly between men and women, and not surprisingly, skewed older (80 percent were over 25). They awarded the movie an underwhelming “B” CinemaScore; but when all is said and done, it should easily earn back its $28 million budget.

I saw “3 Days to Kill” over the weekend, and assuming I don’t fall asleep or see a squirrel, I should have my review up later today.

The bomb of the week was big-budget disaster movie “Pompeii.” The special effects bonanza earned an estimated $10 million this weekend, whch  is lower than director Paul W.S. Anderson’s Resident Evil movies. But at least It is somewhat higher than Anderson’s 2011 “The Three Musketeers” ($8.7 million). “Pompeii” also opened a bit higher than other recent 3D CGI flops “The Legend of Hercules” ($8.9 million) and “I, Frankenstein” ($8.6 million).

Pompeii’s audience was 52 percent male and 62 percent over the age of 30. “Pompeii” will need a ton of help from the international market if it hopes to earn back its $100 million budget.

Remember all those romantic movies that came out on Valentine’s Day weekend? Well, they got their butts kicked this weekend.

The big surprise was “About Last Night” which plummeted 71 percent to $7.4 million for a new total of $38.2 million. “Endless Love” dropped 68 percent, for a total box office of $20.1 million. And finally, “Winter’s Tale” also fell 71 percent, and has earned just over $11 million. Good luck making back the $60 million budget.

 
Your top five movies this weekend:

1. The Lego Movie — $31.45 million

2. 3 Days to Kill — $12.3 million

3. Pompeii — $10 million

4. RoboCop — $9.4 million

5. The Monuments Men — $8.1 million

TNU Box Office Preview: I don’t know where i’m a gonna go When the volcano blow

Sorry “Pompeii” and “3 Days to Kill,” but neither of you will be much competition to the mighty Legos. As a result, the blockbuster animated hit “The LEGO Movie” will easily take the top spot for the third-straight week.

Do you fear the power of “The LEGO Movie” yet? You should.

opening at 2,658 locations is “Pompeii” from director Paul W.S. Anderson. He’s probably best known as the dude behind the Resident Evil franchise, but he’s leaving the zombies at home this time to focus on mother nature.

Mount Vesuvius unexpectedly erupted in 79 A.D., decimating the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Now Anderson is bringing this disaster to life on the big screen. But “Pompeii” has some problems to deal with:

1. The film is about a romance between a slave and the daughter of the slave owner. I hear there’s a gladiator involved in the movie, but I’m not sure where he fits in.

2. “Pompeii” is probably banking on the 3D market, which might have worked three years ago. Today 3D is a tough sell, unless you’re “Gravity.”

Sony is handling domestic distribution, but “Pompeii” was financed by Constantin Film, and FilmDistrict who are covering the marketing costs. Sony is expecting $12 to $15 million for the weekend. But I think this movie is gonna end up like recent 3D bombs “The Legend of Hercules” and “I, Frankenstein.” At best, “Pompeii” earns $10 million this weekend, and lands in third place.

At 2,872 locations, “3 Days to Kill” is the latest action flick from French producer Luc Besson and his EuropaCorp banner, which found success producing the Taken films. The good news is 3 Days cost $28 million to make, so it will make a profit, eventually.

The problem here may be that “3 Days to Kill” looks an awful lot like Taken. Except this time it’s Kevin Costner, and not Liam Neeson a who is attempting to reconnect with his daughter. Also the marketing for “3 Days to Kill” has made it seem like a typical action flick, rarely mentioning Costner’s character has 3 days to live because he’s been poisoned by Amber Heard. furthermore, 3 Days is directed by the one and only McG. Let’s just say he’s not the best action director in the world.

Relativity is expecting an opening weekend between $11 and $13 million., and that sounds about right. “3 Days to Kill” should earn enough for a second place finish.

TNU Box Office Rewind: Me thinks the 80’s are over

For a while it was neck and neck between an original animated movie, and  an eighties remake with a solid cast. Over the weekend it looked as if the remake would pull off an upset, but I should have known better. Once the dust settled, the lil guys with the funny hands came out victorious.

In its second week, “The LEGO Movie” dipped 29 percent, but still added $48.8 million. So far, LEGO has earned an impressive $129.1 million, and should easily surpass $200 million in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile overseas, “The LEGO Movie” has earned $51,200,000. And is it me, or do adults love this movie more than kids?

Playing at 2,253 locations, “About Last Night” was the first of several eighties remakes to hit theatres this weekend. But “About Last Night” was the only one that made any sort of  impact.

The comedy opened to an estimated $27 million, the best opening for a romantic comedy since 2012’s “Think Like a Man” ($33.6 million), which also starred Kevin Hart, Michael Ealy and Regina Hall. However, it is noticeably lower than Kevin Hart’s other 2014 movie “Ride Along” which opened to $41.5 million.

According to Sony, Last Night’s audience was 63 percent female and 57 percent over the age of 30. They awarded the movie a solid “A-” CinemaScore. With a solid cast, and good word-of-mouth, “About Last Night”  should stick around for a few weeks.

After a very slow mid-week debut, the Robocop remake managed to bounce back a bit over the weekend, earning $21.5 million. The film’s three-day total was lower than 2013’s “A Good Day to Die Hard”  which opened to the tune of $24.8 million. “Robocop” was also lower than 2012’s “Total Recall” which opened with a somewhat decent $25.6 million.

Perhaps Sony should stop remaking Paul Verhoeven sci-fi movies? Just a thought.

Sony reports that the audience for “RoboCop” was 62 percent male and 64 percent over the age of 25. IMAX showings accounted for $4.5 million. But with a “B+” CinemaScore,  I would be shocked if “RoboCop” finishes its domestic run with anything close to $60 million.

Yet another remake, “Endless Love,” opened in fifth place with a surprising $13.4 million. But it should be noted over 55 percent of that came on Valentine’s Day.

According to Universal, Endless Love’s audience was predominantly young women (80 percent female, 76 percent under the age of 25). They gave the movie an “A-” CinemaScore, which is a rather good. But this is one movie that should fall off the radar very quickly.

And the award for The bomb of the week goes to…

“Winter’s Tale” bombed with just $7.8 million. Despite a decent cast, moviegoers avoided this flick like the plague. “Winter’s Tale” is the latest box office disappointment for Colin Farrell. That’s a shame because the guy does have talent. His performance in “Saving Mr. Banks” was the best of his career.

 

Your Valentine’s Day weekend top five:

1. The Lego Movie – $48.81 million

2. About Last Night – $27 million

3. RoboCop – $21.5 million

4. The Monuments Men – $15 million (See this movie!)

5. Endless Love – $13.4 million

TNU Box Office Rewind: Kids invade movie theatres nationwide

As  most of the civilized world expected, moviegoers took their wee-ones and a bunch of their friends to see “The LEGO Movie” this weekend.  “The LEGO Movie”  easily took first place with an estimated $69.1 million, a great opening, but tha’s a bit behind the current record-holder for an original animated movie, “The Simpsons Movie” which opened to $74 million in 2007.

Not that i mattered to its core audience, but “The LEGO Movie” received high praise from critics (95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes). LEGO’s audience was 55 percent male and 59 percent over the age of 18. Only 35 percent of ticket sales came from 3D showings.

Moviegoers awarded “The LEGO Movie” an “A” CinemaScore, which should translate into strong word-of-mouth, and a lengthy theatrical run. This opening pretty much guarantees LEGO will gross over $200 million domestically.

“The Monuments Men” opened at 3,083 locations,  and took second place with a solid $22.7 million. That’s the highest opening ever for a movie directed by George Clooney, The film’s appealing cast and a good marketing campaign helped bring in older audiences.

Monuments Men’s audience was 52 percent female and 75 percent over the age of 35. They awarded the movie a middling “B+” CinemaScore; while critics gave the film poor reviews (33 percent on Rotten Tomatoes).

I really liked the movie, and I”m hoping word-of-mouth is good enough to keep it around for a while. This movie isn’t just for older folks, I think people of many ages can enjoy “The Monuments Men.”

And the bomb of the week award goes to…

“Vampire Academy,” which bombed with $4.1 million at 2,676 locations. The movie couldn’t even crack the top five, landing instead in seventh place. “Vampire Academy” joins 2013;s “Beautiful Creatures,” “The Host” and “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” in the list of recent young-adult fantasy adaptations that were supposed to be “the next Twilight,” but failed. Next up on the list could be Summit Entertainment’s “Divergent,” which drops on March 21.

Your post-football top five:

1. The Lego Movie — $69.11 million

2. The Monuments Men — $22.7 million

3. Ride Along — $9.4 million

4. Frozen — $6.91 million

5. That Awkward Moment — $5.54 million

TNU Box Office Preview: Damn, Lego sets are expensive

If or how the winter olympics will affect the final numbers, remains to be seen. But after a couple of slow weeks, the box office should rebound nicely this weekend. New releases  “The LEGO Movie” and “The Monuments Men” are both poised for solid debuts.

Warner Bros. is opening “The LEGO Movie” at 3,775 locations, and is backing that release with a massive marketing campaign that included the Super Bowl and the Olympics. Kids are bound to love this movie, but there’s also plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor for adults.

Warner Bros. is also banking that the voice cast  led by Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett and Morgan Freeman, will bring adults in.

Heading into theatres, “The LEGO Movie” has a lot of buzz,  and some excellent reviews. As of Thursday afternoon, the movie had a 99 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That will likely go down, but it’s still quite an achievement. More and more, it’s looking as if “The LEGO Movie” will be the first blockbuster of the year.

The current record for an original (non-sequel/prequel) animated movie belongs to 2007’s “The Simpsons Movie” ($74 million); but I’m predicting LEGO will beat that number with around $79 million. Remember, it’s not just one parent and their one kid going to the movie. It’s likely a couple of parents, with a bus load of their ids and their friends.

Playing at 3,083 locations, “The Monuments Men” is going to open in second place this weekend. The World War II drama starring George Clooney and Matt Damon was originally slated for a December release, but was pushed back at the last minute to allow for more time in post-production. This took it out of Oscar contention, but on the plus side it also kept it away from the crowded holiday season.

Sony is predicting “The Monuments Men” will debut under $20 million. i think’s that’s rather low considering the  movie’s star power. I’m thinking more around $30 million, despite lackluster reviews the film has received.

As of last night, the film sat at 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. But Keep in mind there are plenty of moviegoers out there who want an alternative to “The LEGO Movie,” and “The Monuments Men” will do just fine.

The big bomb this weekend will likely be “Vampire Academy.” The film is opening at 2,676 locations with little fanfare. or marketing push. The film stars Zoey Deutch, Danila Kozlovsky, and Lucy Fry in lead roles. Don’t feel bad, I have no idea who they are either.

I have the feeling this flick is about to join the likes of “Beautiful Creatures,” “The Host” and “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” as the latest YA flop.  “Vampire Academy” should open around $7 million, if its lucky.