Sniper shoots down Depp at the box office

As was expected American Sniper held strongly at top spot of North America box office. Again it surpassed the predictions which were placing it with around $50 million on its sophomore week. Performing even better than many summer blockbusters, the Clint Eastwood biopic war drama added $64.3 million to its now $200 million gross with just a mere 27.9% drop from its opening numbers. The unexpected phenomenon of such a blockbuster hit on a month that has been historically considered the dumping ground for the studios less profitable or troubled projects will change the way Hollywood thinks audiences behave: if a movie is appealing, they will buy the tickets regardless of what date is released. Sniper' is way ahead of the rest of the films at theater screens this weekend and it might have affected negatively the numbers of three new releases. Or maybe not.

Debuting in the second spot with a decent $15 million is the Jennifer Lopez kinky thriller The Boy Next Door. Since the film had a miniscule budget of just $4 million (which shows how little faith the producers had in JLo's star power) it is already a hit considering it recouped almost four times its investment. If it holds well in the next weeks it might finish its run with over $40 million.

Holding firmly in the third spot as last week, the kid's movie Paddington added $12.3 million to its domestic total of $40 million. The film has been bigger overseas than here as its worldwide gross rose to over $169 million.

In the fourth spot Kevin Hart's The Wedding Ringer took $11.6 million to the bank for two weeks a domestic total of $39 million. As with many American comedies the film has a limited foreign release as its humour doesn't translate well in different cultures. The film has gained only $1 million on its international run so far.

Taken 3 slips to the fifth spot with $7.6 million for a domestic total of $76 million in its third week. This is so far the less profitable entry in the franchise, but while its domestic run hasn't been as great as expected, the international numbers puts it as a solid hit with a worldwide total of $225 million and counting.

The Imitation Game held again in the sixth spot with $7.1 million for a domestic total of $60 million. Like most of the current Oscar contenders the film has benefitted from its 8 Nominations, but not enough to make a serious case in the chart.

Debuting in the seventh spot is Lucasfilms Strange Magic the first film released by Disney (under its Buena Vista branch) after buying the company to George Lucas for $4.1 billion. This film was already in production when the sale materialized. George Lucas insisted on the film completion and release as part of the deal. The fact that Disney dumped the film on January 2015 under its pseudonym company tells how little faith they had in the story 'from the mind of George Lucas'. Its paltry $5.5 million debut proved them right and while its budget hasn't been disclosed, everybody knows this is a box office fiasco.

Paramount's Martin Luther King flick Selma slips to the 8th spot with also $5.5 million (it made a few thousand $ less than the fairies & goblins). The film was really hurt by American Sniper juggernaut when it expanded to wide release last weekend to commemorate the MLK holiday). The Best Picture Oscar contender now has accumulated $39 million which makes it a moderate hit.

Crash landing on its debut in the ninth spot is Johnny Depp's newest bomb, Mortdecai. The $60 million production earned a measly $4.1 million making it the worst debut to date of Depp's spiraling box office career. This the actor's fifth box office bomb in a row. If he doesn't star in another pirates movie soon, he might join Jean Claude Van Damme in the straight to DVD market.

Finally in the 10th spot Meryl Streep's musical Into The Woods adds $3.8 million for a domestic total of $121 million. Like comedies, musicals don't perform that well abroad as this movie has just grossed $34 million at the international market. Speaking of that market, The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies opened big in China with almost $50 million which moves it back to the top of the foreign market with $54.3 million this weekend.

 

American Sniper enormous success will bring the inevitable sequel. Maybe it will be a prequel with a different actor, possibly made more similar to a Rambo film than a drama. Are you prepared for something like American Sniper 2: The Impossible Target were our hero Chris Kyle (played by Walking Dead Andrew Lincoln) goes on a solo secret mission to kill the top Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq killing hundreds of towelheads before and after he accomplishes his mission. Directing the film will be McG with original songs by Pharrell. There will be lots tie-in merchandise like the American Sniper action figures complete with its savage arabs dolls, toy sniper rifles, Happy Meals toys, and a 'Call of Duty: Chris Kyle tours' video game.