Box Office Analysis & Recap: '22 Jump Street' Beats Out 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' on First Weekend of World Cup
On the first weekend of the World Cup, "22 Jump Street" showed strength over the family film "How to Train Your Dragon 2."
The duo comedy starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum opened to a rousing $60 million over the weekend. The film surprised as most pundits expected the movie to open in the mid $50 million range. The opening weekend was almost double of the original installment's $36 million opening. "22 Jump Street" became the second comedy of the summer to overperform after "Neighbors" opened with $50 million. The buddy comedy also broke a record as it became the second highest opening for an R-rated comedy following "The Hangover Part 2's" massive $85 million opening weekend. The film was helped by good word of mouth from the original "21 Jump Street," and from the positive reviews it received. However, the question that must be asked now is whether the film will continue to perform well or will it immediately die out by the second weekend. Whatever the answer may be, "22 Jump Street" still has a chance of surpassing the $150 million mark.
In second place "How to Train Your Dragon 2" disappointed by only making $50 million. Expectations were high, especially with the lack of family films out in the market and with great reviews. The movie also made a strong marketing push which included a premiere at the Cannes Film festival. However many pundits pin the disappointing results on the marketing which focused more on action and less on story. Another reason for the disappointing opening can also be attributed to the four-year gap between films. Back in 2010, "How to Train Your Dragon" opened with $43 million and ended going home with $218 million. While the animated flick has no competition for a number of weeks, DreamWorks may start questioning whether this new film will even surpass the $200 million especially with all the huge blockbusters struggling this year.
"Maleficent" held on very well, only falling 45 percent and adding another $19 million to its gross. The film has now made $163 million but still trails "Oz: The Great and Powerful" by $14 million in gross after the third weekend. If the Angelina Jolie movie continues to perform strongly, it may still have a chance at the $200 million mark.
Tom Cruise's "Edge of Tomorrow" held better than expected, falling 43 percent and making $16 million. The science film drama brought its disappointing gross to $56 million and, while that seems like positive news for the Warner Bros flick, the movie's $178 million budget is unlikely to be reached by the end of its run.
In fifth place, "The Fault in Our Stars" added another $15.7 million to its impressive run. However, it was off 67 percent from its opening weekend. The movie has already made $81.7 million and is likely to reach $100 million by the end of its run.
"X-Men: Days of Future Past" had a great hold as it fell 37 percent and made an estimated $9.5 million. The comic book adaptation became the first blockbuster of the summer to pass the $200 million and also became the third highest grossing film of 2014. Having already made $205 million, the movie is likely to end its run in the $230 range and could still pass the 2006 flick "X-Men: The Last Stand."
Meanwhile, "Godzilla" continued to struggle to reach the $200 million milestone. The film made $3.1 million and brought its total to $191 million.
In art house cinemas, Focus Features' had another debacle at the box office with "The Signal." The film opened with $146,000 in 120 theaters. The movie marks the fourth flop for the company this year. As a result, it is unlikely this movie will expand any further.
The Robert Pattinson starrer "The Rover" had a good opening for A24. The movie opened to $70,000, which is equal to $14,000 per theater average. However, the film fell short of other A24 openings this year. The company is planning to expand the movie nationwide in the upcoming weeks and may have a difficult sell on its hands, particularly since other dystopian films such as "Children of Men" and "The Road" have struggled with mainstream audiences.
A24 fared better with "Obvious Child," which expanded into 18 theaters and made an estimated $145,000. The film has already made $263,000 and with the popularity growing A24 will likely expand "Obvious Child" this upcoming weekend.
Music Box's "A Coffee Berlin" opened to $4,100 in one theater while IFC Films had a disappointing debut with "Hellion," which only made $9,000.
"Chef" continued strongly at 1,102 theaters and made an estimated $2.2 million. The movie has already made $14 million and can easily end its run with $20 million if its word of mouth continues to spread.
On the other hand, Fox Searchlight's "Belle" added $510,000 and is currently at $8.5 million. The movie is unlikely to break the $10 million mark.
In 217 theaters, Roadside Attractions had little popularity with "Words and Pictures." The dramedy made $399,000 and brought its gross to $1.07 million. The Clive Owen-Juliette Binoche starrer is unlikely to expand much more considering the disappointing performance this weekend.