In one of the more interesting yet overrated battles at the cinema, the kids film Despicable Me 2 destroyed Disney action/comedy The Lone Ranger.
Despicable Me 2 (a sequel to the 2010 film), managed to grab audiences of all ages this 4th of July weekend, garnering 82.5 million this weekend, and 142 million since Wednesday.
It certainly shows that the Despicable Me franchise is really taking off, but one can’t help but wonder where the real money in the series lies. Is it the idea of a super villain having a family and their misadventures?
Or (this is where my money’s at) is it the minions? I guess when Universal finally releases their solo minion movie, we’ll finally get our answer.
As for The Lone Ranger, what happened? The film’s budget is at an astounding 215 million, and has only generated 49 million since its opening on Wednesday.
This movie had all the tools to be another Disney summer hit. Johnny Depp starred, Gore Verbinski directed, and Jerry Bruckheimer as one of the producers.
Hell, the marketing of the movie made it look like it was a western version of their Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
So what went wrong?
Unless the film gets a massive word of mouth (unlikely due to loads of critics slamming it and getting a 24% fresh rating on rottentomatoes.com), the movie looks to be a huge flop for Disney.
Last weeks #1 film, “The Heat” only fell 2 spots this week. Adding another 25 million to it’s total and only dropping 36% in ticket sales. In only two weeks, the cop buddy comedy is rapidly approaching the 100 mill mark, Great job for McCarthy and Bullock.
Monsters U, World War Z and Man of Steel all continued their impressive runs. Monsters U has broken through the 200 million marker and now ranks 10th on the all time Pixar movie list (Toy Story 3 sits atop at 415 million).
With the added 18.2 million, WWZ’s chances of getting a sequel have improved greatly. The movie has made 158.8 M domestically, and 207 M in the foreign box office. Finally, Man of Steel added another 11.4 to their gross, putting the film at 271.6 domestically and at number 2 of this year’s top grossing films (Iron Man 3 is #1 with 406.4 million)
White House Down continued to falter down the list, adding another 13.5 over the weekend (budget is a reported 150 million). To be fair, Sony/Columbia announced earlier last week that they would be giving any veterans a free pass to see the film as a gift for the 4th weekend.
Does this gift of good will help the movie at all? Absolutely not, although it was still a very nice gesture by the studios.
Rounding out the top 10 are three shockers. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain debuted with 10 million. The film also made 7.5 during the week. A fantastic opening for a stand-up documentary/live piece movie.
This Is The End added another 5.8 million to their total. The stoner/post apocalyptic comedy is approaching the 100 million mark which is amazing since it’s such an unique genre of film. Now You See Me rounds out the top 10 with 2.7 million in sales. The caper film about 4 magicians (Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, and Dave Franco) who rob banks and give to the poor has been one of the shockers of the summer.
It’s a new take on an original concept. Think of it as Oceans 11 meets David Copperfield. The movie is over the 110 M marker on a 75 million budget. One has to wonder with these numbers if a sequel will be in the works?
# Movie Title Weekend $$$ Total Gross(As of July 5-7)
1- Despicable Me 2 82.5 M 142 M
2- The Lone Ranger 29.4 M 48.9 M
3- The Heat 25 M 86.4 M
4- Monsters University 19.6 M 216 M
5- World War Z 18.2 M 158.7 M
6- White House Down 13.5 M 50.5 M
7- Man Of Steel 11.4 M 271.6 M
8- Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain 10.1 M 17.4 M
9- This Is The End 5.8 M 85.5 M
10- Now You See Me 2.7 M 110.4 M