Weekend Box Office Report: March 15-17 2013

By Kip Mooney • On • In News News 0

BOX OFFICE REPORT - March 15-17, 2013(estimates from BoxOfficeMojo.com)TOP 51. Oz the Great and Powerful ($42.2 million)2. The Call ($17.1 million)3. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone ($10.3 million)4. Jack the Giant Slayer ($6.2 million)5. Identity Thief ($4.5 million)Oz the Great and Powerful continued its box office domination this weekend, adding another $42.2 million, which is still better than any other movie's single weekend this year. I may have been a little premature in saying it could get to $300 million, because it will have to more than double its current gross, which won't happen given this week's 42% drop. The Call debuted surprisingly strong at No. 2 with $17.1 million. That's a lot more than I think anyone expected, but it had a clear premise and appeared to offer no-frills thrills. Its marketing was much better than The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, which never really showed its cards and instead relied on Jim Carrey antics to sell it. It wasn't enough, as the magician comedy only made $10.3 million this weekend. Finally, it was a good weekend for several limited releases, including the period drama Ginger & Rosa ($45,000 on three screens), the Studio Ghibli animated feature From Up on Poppy Hill ($55,000 on two) and the quirky Italian comedy Reality ($8,000 on one).Outside the top 5:- Harmony Korine's controversial Spring Breakers had the best arthouse debut, averaging $90,000 on each of its three screens. That $270,000 total is better than any previous movie Korine has ever directed.- A Good Day to Die Hard finally died hard. Safe Haven has officially made more money. Hooray for failure!- Life of Pi finally made back its $120 million budget this weekend. Now if only some of that money could be used to save Rhythm & Hues, the special effects company that made all its breathtaking visuals possible. Next week: Fox drops another prehistoric animated comedy, but this time it's not an Ice Age movie. The Croods should be the first real threat to Oz's No. 1 spot. I'm predicting it wins the weekend with $40 million. Oz will drop to No. 2 at $24 million and the first of two "President has been taken hostage" thrillers (Olympus Has Fallen) will take No. 3 with $12 million. That's bad news for the Tina Fey-Paul Rudd romantic comedy Admission, which I think might take No. 5 with a mere $7 million.

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About 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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