With only an R-rated comedy and a stupid action movie as new competition, it’s probably no surprise that ‘Monsters University’ held onto the top box office spot for its second weekend in a row. With $46.1 million more to its haul, the 3D family flick’s ten-day domestic earnings stand at $171 million. Worldwide, it’s already over $300 million.
Of the new releases, ‘The Heat‘ brought the heat to land at second place with $40 million. Made on a modest budget of $43 million, the comedy is already a huge winner and, as the only female-driven movie of the summer, is only expected to have long legs. Opening nearly $14 million above ‘Bridesmaids‘ (which ultimately grossed $288 million worldwide), this marks the best debut ever for director Paul Feig as well as stars Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. The only question now is when a sequel will be announced.
Even with a 55% drop-off, ‘World War Z‘ was able to pull in another $29.8 million to come in at third place. After ten days, the zombie epic has earned $123.7 million domestically, holding off this year’s second White-House-in-peril flick, ‘White House Down‘. Expected to open with $38.3 million, despite starring box office-proven actors Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, the $150 million Roland Emmerich tentpole debuted to a measly $25.7 million. This marks the lowest opening for an Emmerich blockbuster.
Rounding out the Top 5 was ‘Man of Steel‘. With $20.8 million in its third weekend, the 17-day domestic total for Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot is $248.6 million. Worldwide, it has earned $520 million.
Jason Statham’s limited release ‘Redemption‘ had a pathetic opening. The action flick only earned $18,200 on 19 screens, giving it a per-screen average of $958. Neil Jordan’s return to the vampire genre, ‘Byzantium‘, opened a little better. On just six screens, the Gemma Arterton/Saoirse Ronan flick earned $18,000, for a per-screen average of $3,000.
Top 10:
1. ‘Monster University’ (Buena Vista) – $46,180,000
2. ‘The Heat’ (Fox) – $40,000,000
3. ‘World War Z’ (Paramount) – $29,800,000
4. ‘White House Down’ (Sony) – $25,700,000
5. ‘Man of Steel’ (Warner Bros.) – $20,820,000
6. ‘This Is the End’ (Sony) – $8,700,000
7. ‘Now You See Me’ (Summit) – $5,500,000
8. ‘Fast & Furious 6’ (Universal) – $2,410,000
9. ‘Star Trek into Darkness’ (Paramount) – $2,040,000
10. ‘The Internship’ (Fox) – $1,425,000
Julian
I just read that ‘Monsters University’ cost 270 million dollars. Should it really be THAT expensive? Toy Story cost 30 million. I don’t think inflation rates are that high.
Even compared to Toy Story 3’s 200 million: how on earth did they spend 70 million more in just three years? Do the Pixar accountants fill their own pockets?
Aaron Peck
Those movies cost a ton to make and take much more man hours than a regular movie does. Toy Story was the first of its kind, and Pixar was relatively small, and if you go back and watch the animation isn’t nearly at the level it is now.
These movies are so detailed now. They usually take 2-3 years to complete with a team of thousands working on it everyday. So, yes, they should cost that much. These movies are much more labor intensive than just about anything else.
Julian
Fair points, but think about it: 270 million dollars!? Are you sure you can’t make it for, say, 150 million? That’s still a lot of money 🙂
Julian
‘Monsters University’ has to gross 540 million before it will make a profit. Can you imagine the next few Pixar movies costing 350 million and more? They will be “bombs”, because they’ll only make 650 million 🙂
At some point, these budgets will make it impossible for a film to be profitable.
Dave T
I’m glad I saw WWZ this weekend. Great summer movie thrill ride – entertaining from start to finish. Unfortunately my multiplex had already downsized it to a shoebox auditorium which was nearly sold out for the cheap matinee. Meanwhile Whitehouse and Monsters shared 6 of the biggest screens. I bet Whitehouse gets the shoebox treatment next week…LOL