Weekend Estimates: Despicable Me Too Much for Newcomers

July 14, 2013

A three-way battle for box office supremacy this weekend will be won by the reigning champ, Despicable Me 2, dealing a major blow to Warner Bros. potential franchise starter Pacific Rim, which will end up in 3rd place. The action movie is set to post around $38.3 million, in spite of generally good reviews and an A- CinemaScore, and will land behind Grown Ups 2, which has been panned by critics but will still gather $42.5 million. Despicable Me 2 takes the prize though, with a drop of around 46% to $44.75 million for the weekend and $229 million to date.

Most returning films are down steeply this weekend, with The Heat the pick of the bunch at 43% down. The Lone Ranger is set to fall at painful 62% and will be shedding theaters quickly. It has grossed a disastrous $71.1 million, and another write-down for Disney looks inevitable.

In limited release the standout film is The Way Way Back, which will post around $1.1 million from just 79 theaters for an average of $14,000. We may have found the indie darling of the Summer, although another pretender to that crown arrived this weekend in the form of Fruitvale Station. It is projected to earn $377,285 from only seven theaters for an average topping $50,000.

- Weekend Estimates

Bruce Nash

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Despicable Me 2, Pacific Rim, Grown Ups 2, The Heat, The Way Way Back, Fruitvale Station