A big-budget remake of Ben-Hur has had a disappointing start at the United States box office, debuting at number five. The film’s debut brought in only $11.4 million, according to studio estimates released Sunday, making it one of the season’s most costly failures. War Dogs rode it out best (arguably, considering it has no reported budget) with an estimated $14.3 million and lukewarm critical praise, beating out the critically acclaimed Kubo and the Two Strings.
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With “Ben-Hur” faltering, “Suicide Squad” managed to snag first place for the third consecutive weekend. Ben-Hur, yet another remake that probably doesn’t need to exist, stumbled to the finish line with under $12 million, right in line with its projections.
The historical blockbuster flopped spectacularly compared to Suicide Squad ($A27.2 million in the U.S. on the weekend) and Sausage Party ($A20.1 million).
The top two positions were a repeat from last weekend, with the Warner Bros. collection of misfit toys, Suicide Squad, remaining at number one for a third straight week shooting up an estimated $20.7M, bringing its cume to $262.3M.
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s R-rated animated comedy Sausage Party lands in second place with $15.3 million (GBP11.7 million), and Miles Teller and Jonah Hill’s new film War Dogs, in which they portray unlikely global arms dealers, opens in third with $14.3 million (GBP10.9 million). Kabuto and the Two Strings followed in fourth with $12.6 million. Not adjusted for inflation, the film is the second-highest grossing stateside release of Will Smith’s career, behind “Independence Day’s” $306.2 million haul.
These opening numbers met the predictions of analysts, who had predicted that the movie would only be able to pull in between $10 million and $15 million. That’s another solid victory for DC, but the totals are still well below the $407 million and $360 million totals earned by this year’s Marvel competition Captain America: Civil War and Deadpool respectively. It made another $10.7 million internationally, but it’s still apparently considered a poor result.
“Remaking a classic movie does put you under a microscope”, said Megan Colligan, the studio’s head of distribution.
The film cost $100m but took in only $11.4m on its opening weekend.
“Florence Foster Jenkins”, $4.3 million.
“The Secret Life of Pets“, $5.8 million ($45 million international).
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Of the new releases, Warner Bros.’ “War Dogs” performed best, nabbing the No. 3 spot with $14.3 million.
