BOX OFFICE REPORT
April 10-12, 2015(estimates from BoxOfficeMojo.com)
TOP 51. Furious 7 (60.5 million)2. Home ($19.0 million)3. The Longest Ride ($13.5 million)4. Get Hard ($8.6 million)5. Cinderella ($7.2 million)
The rodeo was no match for the car show. Furious 7 repeated at No. 1, taking in an estimated $60.5 million, the biggest second weekend since American Sniper pulled in $64.6 million back in January. Like that movie, Furious 7 shows no signs of slowing down. In just 10 days, it's already blown past Cinderella to become the No. 1 movie of 2015 thus far, with more than $250 million. It's also made more than $800 million worldwide.
Home fell only 30 percent in week 3, becoming one of the sleeper success stories of this still-young year and a much-needed hit for DreamWorks Animation. Get Hard didn't drop much further either, though it's unlikely this one gets to the lofty heights of the $100 million comedy. Cinderella is also unlikely to cross the $200 million threshold.
The Longest Ride, the romantic comedy that announced Scott Eastwood as the next big drool-worthy hunk, came in third with $13.5 million. That's slightly better than last year's The Best of Me, but only a few bucks ahead of 2004's The Notebook. That's not a good sign for the seemingly indestructible Nicholas Sparks.
Outside the top 5: - This Weekend's Indie Champ: Ex Machina, Alex Garland's sci-fi head trip. It averaged $62,500 on only four screens, marking the best average of the year.
- Oliver Assayas' Clouds of Sils Maria, also debuted well. It made $70,000 on only three screens. The film has received rave reviews for the performances from Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart (yes, really).
- It may have taken a few years to get U.S. distribution, but Asghar Farhadi's mysterious About Elly, made its mark. It earned $15,000 on a lone screen this weekend.
Next week: I still think Furious 7 has at least one more weekend at No. 1, despite three wide releases. Monkey Kingdom is a nature documentary so it's out. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 is about five years too late. The biggest threat is the horror flick Unfriended, which exploits the cyber-bullying problem for its revenge tale, which takes place soley on computer and cell phone screens. I still think that's only good for $20 million, which won't be enough to unseat Furious 7.