Weekend Wrap-Up: Break of Dawn
July 14, 2014
As expected, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes earned first place and it finished on the high end of reasonable expectations. Unfortunately, it crushed the competition earning more than four times more than the second place film, Transformers: Age of Extinction. It made almost as much as the rest of the box office combined made, so the overall box office was still soft for this time of year at just $149 million. Granted, this is 13% higher than last weekend, but more troublesome, it was 23% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2014 is now more than $200 million lower than 2013's pace at $5.57 billion to $5.78 billion.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opened in first place with $72.61 million, which is 32% higher than Rise of the Planet of the Apes's opening. The reviews are amazing, among the best of the wide releases of the year, and there's not much in the way of competition for the next couple of weeks, so its legs should be strong. Will it be strong enough to get to $200 million? Maybe. We will know more in a week when its sophomore numbers are in.
Transformers: Age of Extinction fell 56% to just $16.30 million over the weekend for a total of $208.83 million after three. At this pace, it will miss the $250 million milestone, meaning Captain America: The Winter Soldier will likely remain the biggest box office hit of the year till late November or December.
Tammy was next with $12.56 over the weekend for a total of $57.00 million after two. This is a great run for a film that cost just $20 million to make.
22 Jump Street grabbed fourth place with $6.50 million over the weekend for a total of $171.76 million after a month of release. Unless the film's P&A budget was $40 million or more, it has broken even just on its domestic numbers.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 was right behind with $6.07 million over the weekend, while after a month of release, it has pulled in $152.28 million. This isn't a bad running tally, but it is well below expectations.
Looking at the sophomore class, Earth to Echo just missed the top five with $5.49 million over the weekend for a total of $24.59 million. This is hardly a financial success, but it didn't cost a lot to make, so it could break even eventually. Deliver Us From Evil was next with $4.75 million over the weekend for a total of $25.05 million after two weeks of release. Its sophomore stint decline was 51%, which was among the worst in the top ten. On the other hand, America: Imagine a World Without Her held on a lot better down just 13% with $2.39 million over the weekend for a total of $8.21 million after three weeks of release.
Filed under: Weekend Estimates, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Earth to Echo, 22 Jump Street, Tammy, Deliver Us from Evil, America: Imagine a World Without Her