Well, it’s no surprise that A Good Day to Die Hard ended up on top, but was it a quick victory, or signs of new life in a quarter-century old franchise? We’ll know next week. And as for Beautiful Creatures this weekend… well, it does not portend well for future young adult fiction. All that and more…
| Film | Weekend | Per Screen | Total | |
| 1 | A Good Day to Die Hard | $25,000,000 | $7,036 | $33,239,000 |
| 2 | Identity Thief | $23,437,000 (-32.2) | $7,405 | $70,725,000 |
| 3 | Safe Haven | $21,430,000 | $6,649 | $30,259,000 |
| 4 | Escape From Planet Earth | $16,066,000 | $4,886 | $16,066,000 |
| 5 | Warm Bodies | $9,000,000 (-20.7) |
$3,107 | $50,221,000 |
| 6 | Beautiful Creatures | $7,460,000 | $2,529 | $10,002,000 |
| 7 | Side Effects | $6,307,000 (-32.2) | $2,421 | $19,128,000 |
| 8 | Silver Linings Playbook | $6,088,000 (-5.2) | $2,765 | $98,462,000 |
| 9 | Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters | $3,470,000 (-39.7) | $1,650 | $49,699,000 |
| 10 | Zero Dark Thirty | $3,100,000 (-22.6) | $2,037 | $88,029,000 |
Die Hard may have taken the weekend, but it did ten million less that Identity Thief opened to last weekend, so it may not clear $100 Million domestic, which means it should be the lowest grossing Die Hard movie since the original (which made $83 Million). Internationally, it’s already made $80 Million, which means that all that talk of Die Hard 6 is real, and likely.
Identity Thief is on a clear path to a hundred million domestic, which is a big win for a film that got hammered by critics. But either audiences like it more than the elite, or it was at the right place for a comedy, and people want to laugh at the funny people.
Safe Haven is over $30 Million, and could play strong as a romance picture, and as a WTF picture (spoiler: there’s a big surprise at the ending). Considering the biggest name attached was Nicholas Sparks, it’s likely the film is already in profit. Whereas Escape from Planet Earth – even with no real competition – is dead in the water and will struggle to make $50 Million. That said, Beautiful Creatures is much worse for wear. Though it too lacked a lot of name players, this could have been the start of a franchise, and those numbers suggest that it was an expensive failure.
Warm Bodies crossed $50 Million, which means it’s a hit for what it cost, and Silver Linings is nearing $100, which it will make even if it mostly misses at the Oscars. Zero Dark Thirty is going to get close to $100 Million, but without any big Oscar wins, it’s more likely to top out at $95. So close, but solid numbers regardless.
Reality Check: I thought Die Hard would do a smidge better and everything else a little worse. I was not expecting Escape to have the life to get to $16 Million, but even though it looks terrible it is the only kids film out.
What did you watch this weekend?