Coen brothers, Nicholas Sparks and zombies couldn’t stand up to the Dragon Warrior and his panda compatriots this weekend as Kung Fu Panda 3 held the top spot for a second weekend in a row. Thursday marked the film’s fiftieth day of release, and this weekend saw the picture cross $900 million domestic, the first movie in history to do so, and has hit $2 billion worldwide, to become the third highest grossing movie of all time.
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George Clooney’s status as a leading man may be called into question as his latest picture Hail Caesar raked in a disappointing $11.4 million for a second place finish on its opening week.
The Choice rounded out the top five, after pulling in a puny $6.1 million from 2,631 North American theaters, well below expectations.
In its eight week of launch, Walt Disney Co.’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” celebrated a pair of milestones over the weekend. “The Choice”, $6.1 million ($750,000 international). 6. The $200 million mark is still a possibility depending on how well the film does at the Oscars at the end of the month.
Po, left, and his long-lost father, Li, voiced by Jack Black and Bryan Cranston, respectively, helped “Kung Fu Panda 3” win at the box office this weekend.
“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” has been in the works for years, with directors such as David O. Russell and stars such as Natalie Portman falling into and out of the project at various stages in its development.
The movie, produced by the Coens and Working Title Films, cost $22 million to make. I have to guess that this drop is indicating that these films have a specific audience – we are not seeing what we see from a Pixar film, where more than just kids are attending.
It has so far taken in US$69.2 million since its release, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said. It finished the weekend in the #3 spot and added another $7.1 million to its domestic total, which now sits at $149.7 million.
In seventh came the now certified bomb The Finest Hours with $4.7 million followed by holdovers Ride Along 2 ($4.5 million), The Boy ($4.1 million) and Dirty Grandpa ($4 million).
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Note: Numbers include Sunday estimates and are three-day estimates. The DreamWorks production also may not be breaking through to girls (as much as the marketing has tried), given the fighting nature of these films. Kung Fu Panda 3 has already passed that figure overseas thanks to China’s $100 million haul.
