Weekend Box Office Report: June 14-16 2013

By Kip Mooney • On • In News News 0

BOX OFFICE REPORT "” June 14-16, 2013(estimates from BoxOfficeMojo.com)

TOP 5

1. Man of Steel ($113.0 million)2. This Is The End ($20.5 million)3. Now You See Me ($10.3 million)4. Fast & Furious 6 ($9.4 million)5. The Purge ($8.2 million)

 

Superman returned to rule the box office this weekend. Man of Steel, the reboot of the comic book franchise, took first place with $125 million since opening late Thursday night. It's nothing audacious, but it does count as the second-biggest opening weekend of the year behind Iron Man 3 (and the largest June opening ever). Reaction seemed positive among most moviegoers (compare the 56% of critics to the 82% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes), so it's likely to hold up and could repeat again next weekend.

This is the End proved it's not the end for comedies starring Seth Rogen, James Franco and Jonah Hill. The mildly satirical apocalypse flick has made $32 million since opening late Tuesday. Unless it takes a big hit next week, $75 million is easily in sight. It's not as big as Pineapple Express or Superbad or this year's huge comedy hit Identity Thief, but still a big deal for a live-action comedy.

Finally, The Purge did what all horror movies do and fell off the box-office cliff after its big debut. Its tally this weekend is nearly 76 percent off what it did last week. Still, it's about to out-gross After Earth, which is even more bad news for Will and Jaden Smith.

Outside the top 5: - This weekend's Indie Champ: Sofia Coppolla's The Bling Ring, based on the true story of the bored L.A. teens who burglarized the homes of some of the biggest celebrities in Hollywood. It made $42,000 on each of its five screens. It expands next week.

- The Sundance documentary sensation 20 Feet from Stardom, about the lives of back-up singers, also performed well. It made $52,200 on only three screens

- Mud has officially become the arthouse breakout hit of 2013. In eight weeks in theaters, it's nearly at $20 million, almost solely on word-of-mouth. It will reign supreme until Oscar season hits us in a few months.

Next week: Monsters University is the no-brainer. Pixar's latest is guaranteed at least $65 million and will win the weekend. World War Z is the trickier proposition. It's based on a best-seller, and it's about zombies, and it has Brad Pitt. So why doesn't it seem like a slam dunk? Delays and reshoots seem to have negated any buzz for it. I'll say $40 million for third place if it's lucky. Of course it could still turn into the big hit Paramount wants it to be, but it seems destined to flop in the U.S. and make up for it overseas.

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About Kip Mooney

Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.

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