In second place, London Has Fallen earned US$21.7 million, after costing a reported US$60 million to make.
Advertisement
The low budget indie horror film has become a modest hit for fledgling distributor A24; its second highest grossing film behind last year’s Academy Award winning Ex Machina. That film drew in a record $56 million during its opening in North American theaters in November 2014 and raked in $222 million in total ticket sales for the animation studio.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is based on journalist Kim Barker’s memoir, The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
March typically is the month where the box office begins to heat up, with this weekend displaying that in full force. The war dramedy grossed $7.6 million, making a small dent in its $35 million budget and earning mixed critical reviews.
Overseas, where Zootopia has been playing for three weeks, it added another US$63.4 million to its haul, pushing its global total to US$232.5 million. Babak Najafi directed London Has Fallen for Millennium, with Focus Features handling distribution duties.
The #4 March opening of any film, only behind The Hunger Games ($152.5 million), Alice in Wonderland ($116.1 million) and Oz The Great and Powerful ($79.1 million). This marks the first time since the arrival of Pixar that Disney animation studios has cranked out an animated movie capable of competing with its sister studio’s top openers. The biblical drama now has $28.7 million domestically and $29.5 million worldwide; it should be able to top out around $37 million.
In the weekend following the Academy Awards, best picture victor Spotlight flourished in 542 additional theaters with $1.8 million for the weekend, up 149% from its previous weekend. Despite featuring the star presence of Tina Fey and Margot Robbie, the film’s confused marketing campaign seemed to turn audiences away.
In sixth is Sony’s Risen with a weekend take of $3.9 million. The Revenant took advantage of a couple of big Oscar wins and slipped only 16% in its 11th weekend to an estimated $3.3M, bringing its cume up to $176M. – $7.6 million from 2,374 theaters.
Advertisement
Zootopia will likely maintain its #1 spot next weekend as it faces two major newcomers in 10 Cloverfield Lane and action-comedy The Brothers Grimsby. Where available, the latest worldwide numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.
