The box office results for the weekend of October 12th – 14th has a huge influx of newbies, yet they were no match for Taken 2’s special set of sequel skills. Meanwhile, Here Comes the Boom barely made an impact and Seven Psychopaths failed to make any friends (irony much?). Here are the studio estimates:
1. Taken 2 ($22.5 million)
2. Argo ($20.1 million)
3. Sinister ($18.2 million)
4. Hotel Transylvania ($17.3 million)
5. Here Comes the Boom ($12 million)
6. Pitch Perfect ($9.3 million)
7. Frankenweenie ($7 million)
8. Looper ($6.3 million)
9. Seven Psychopaths ($4.2 million)
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower ($2.1 million)
Analysis
Well Taken 2 managed to hold strong despite lackluster reviews and a small army of new releases. Still, the production budget alone was $80 million; so the international totals – which is near the current domestic total of $86 million – will have to remain strong in order to ensure the black ink on the balance sheet.
Early award favorite Argo started off its campaign with a respectable showing. With a production budget of $44.5 million, this will need one of those steady runs in the top ten. But when factoring in the stellar reviews and early award posturing, that steady run will most likely happen.
Sinister is already a Sleeper Hit. Having a thrifty budget of $3 million, Lionsgate and Summit have a bona fide moneymaker with R-rated horror piece. Having said that, the upcoming Paranormal Activity installment will severely cut into their party next weekend.
If Sinister is this week’s “Sleeper,” Seven Psychopaths and Here Comes the Boom will fight it out for the Flopper distinction. The latter had a production budget of $42 million and will probably be relying on the DVD/On-Demand run early next year. As for the numeric psychos, the production budget has yet to be released by CBS Films, yet in the studio’s young history, they usually keep their budgets around the $10 million mark.
This Friday, Alex Cross will try to get its respective hands on Paranormal Activity 4’s leftovers. Reviews will be right here my fellow Shockers!
