Weekend Wrap-Up: Rises Sinks, Watch Unseen
July 30, 2012
That was a pretty bad week. The Dark Knight Rises fell faster than most people were expecting while The Watch flopped. Step Up Revolution came very close to matching expectations, but it was expected to struggle, so that's not saying much. Overall, the box office fell 42% from last week to $134 million, which was 25% lower than the same weekend last year. The swings we've seen at the box office are erratic, to be polite, but at least 2012 remains ahead of 2011, even if the margin shrunk to 5.5% at $6.61 billion to $6.27 billion.
The Dark Knight Rises fell a little lower than expected down 61% to $62.10 million over the weekend for a total of $287.11 million after two. This is not a bad sophomore hold for a film that opened that large. Usually films that have massive openings like that are driven by Fanboys, so it shouldn't come as a surprise when the Fanboy Effect kicks in. That said, The Dark Knight also had a massive opening, but it still managed much better legs than this. If the film doesn't recover next weekend, it might not reach $400 million in total, which is a major disappointment for a film that some thought would earn over $600 million domestically. On the other hand, it does have more than $400 million worldwide and will earn a profit very shortly.
Ice Age: Continental Drift remained in second place with $13.35 million over the weekend giving it a total of $114.90 million after three. It might get to $150 million in total, but will probably fall just a little short. This is fair total, but lower than expected. Fortunately, it will make a profit and the studio might give the green light to yet another installment on the strength of its international numbers alone.
The Watch opened in third place with $12.75 million. There's no way to positively spin this number. For Ben Stiller, this was the worst opening weekend for a wide release he's starred in since Envy. You have to go all the way back to Psycho to find a worse wide release starring Vince Vaughn. Its reviews suggest a sharp drop-off next weekend, while it will exit theaters quite quickly after that. It wasn't a terribly expensive movie to make, but it has little hope of breaking even any time soon.
Step Up Revolution debuted in fourth place with $11.73 million. It if matches Step Up 3D's international run, it will make a profit regardless of what it makes here. Its reviews improved to 35% positive, so there are some reasons to be hopeful. It's not like the franchise has ever won over many critics, but there is a niche audience that keeps going.
Ted grabbed fifth place with $7.35 million over the weekend for a total of $193.62 million. At this pace, it will get to $200 million by this time next week.
Filed under: Weekend Estimates, The Dark Knight Rises, Ted, Ice Age: Continental Drift, The Watch, Step Up Revolution