| Weekend Estimates |
|
| July 11 |
| Rank | Movie | TW | % chg | Total |
| 1 | Monsters University | $3,250,000 |
| $3,250,000 |
| 2 | Despicable Me 2 | $556,000 | -50.0% | $2,517,000 |
| 3 | Tales from the Dark 1 | $445,000 |
| $445,000 |
| 4 | Blind Detective | $319,000 | -52.9% | $1,457,000 |
| 5 | World War Z | $140,000 | -71.0% | $5,302,000 |
Never one to perform as expected, Pixar returned to its early 2000's groove and knocked down the competition with the biggest animated opening weekend courtesy of
Monsters University. The prequel to Monsters Inc., Monsters University soared at the box office after theater operators and industry experts were anticipating a much lower return for the prequel. On Thursday, all theater chains gave Monsters University 2-3 screens but the lower screen allocation did not faze it. Instead, it roared to nearly 60,000 admissions and to the biggest animated opening day in history with $648,520 ($5,031,687 HK), nudging past Toy Story 3 by $7,000. Friday inched up 2% and Saturday bounced up 38% to 85,000 admissions. Sunday was its best day as it exceeded 90,000 admissions. The unexpected lower gross of Man of Steel played a definitive role in helping Monsters University this weekend. Though Despicable Me 2 and Blind Detective exceeded expectations, it was Man of Steel that Monsters University needed to watch out for and it disappointing ended up being really good news for Monsters University. Word of mouth is very strong and it is above Despicable Me 2 by several percentage points. With most Sunday shows selling out at various theaters and early pre-selling for Pacific Rim looking very slow along with very receptive word of mouth, this is poised to win a 2nd weekend and make 10m.
It was going to be a massive undertaking but
Despicable Me 2 came out the other side OK. There were major concerns about how it was going to perform in its 2nd weekend, up against an established brand such as Pixar but it held well, decreasing half its business from opening weekend. It lost quite a number of screens but the fullness of Monsters University allowed Despicable Me 2 to earn some last minute cash this weekend. It was the #2 film on Thursday behind Monsters University and it climbed 6% on Friday before snaring a 45% increase on Saturday. Sunday saw a 20% gain. WOM has moved from decent to good but it will be directly affected once again when Turbo hits theaters next week along with Pacific Rim. 3m will happen but 3.5m is not assured with so many animation releases on tap.
Tales from the Dark Part 1 is the latest local horror offering to hit the big screen. The film, which is comprised of 6 different stories from 6 acclaimed directors, captured local interest with a lot of promotional work drumming up support. Distributed by EDKO, Broadway/AMC showcased it on 2 screens all weekend and gave it the biggest screen but overall ticket sales were slow. Admissions kept it in 2nd place but in gross, it fell behind Despicable Me 2 to rank 3rd. WOM is average and it is batting in the 70-80% range from users. For a horror release, it's an okay sum. It did not really do outstanding business nor did it really bomb. It was just there in terms of tracking and projections. The 2nd part is uncovered on August 8 but theaters outside of Broadway/AMC will not be so kind in saving it after this average weekend. 1m is not assured yet due to SDU: Sex Duties Unit coming out July 25 but it's possible that it might see an extra bump in August just before the release of Part 2.
Blind Detective carried on in its 3rd weekend quietly. It put up a very solid hold but was overshadowed by Monsters University and Despicable Me 2's hold. Its 11 day total has put up a very respectable total and has erased the box office failure Switch from people's memories. 2m remains a dream with SDU: Sex Duties Unit and other Hollywood fare slated for release in the next few weeks but it has performed admirably.
World
War Z nipped Man of Steel for the final spot in the top 5. It was building up to a decent weekend on Thursday and Friday but it crashed on Saturday after theaters missed the mark with Monsters University and had to make room to squeeze in more showtimes there. As such, World War Z dwindled, falling more than 70% on Saturday and Sunday. Its run, however, has been nothing short of spectacular though and it is already #2 on the year end list. It will end with 5.4m.
Man of Steel had another bad hold this week. Theaters were very unforgiving after its less than stellar week last weekend. It left 86% off the table from last week and closed its 3rd weekend with just
$111,000. Its 3 week total moves to $4,131,000. It will end with 4.25m.
Now You See Me reeled in
$75,000 (
-53%) this weekend for a fabulous $3,475,000 total.
Midsummer Formula saw a major screen count reduction this weekend and slipped
80% (
$34,000 weekend) for a new total of $643,000.
Epic was haunted by the screams of Monsters University and came away with only
$24,400 (
-87%). Total now stands at $876,800.
Overall this weekend took in almost 5m from the top 9 films. It defeated the Harry Potter 7-2's July weekend record by about $100,000.
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