Spring is traditionally a fallow season for the box office. The blockbusters of summer are still months away. Oscar hopefuls are still being gussied up for their November/December debut. March and April are supposed to be times for the “other guys”—quirky action flicks, cute kids stories … films that might do pretty well if given a little breathing room.
And if this was an ordinary spring, the premiere weekends for both Wrath of the Titans and Mirror Mirror probably wouldn’t look half bad.
But when Katniss is on the prowl, no one else stands a chance.
The Hunger Games suffered nearly a 60% drop from its opening weekend take and still cleared an estimated $61.1 million. That gives Games a total of $251 million in just 9 days and makes it the year’s top-grossing film. Clearly, interest in The Hunger Games—both at the box office and even on this little blog—is still running high. (By the way, dominating the cineplex apparently isn’t enough for the franchise: Suzanne Collins’ original book and the film soundtrack are both No. 1 this week, too.)
Wrath of the Titans finished second behind Katniss and company, collecting $34.2 million. While not horrible by spring standards, the take must’ve been a titanic disappointment for its makers. Predecessor Clash of the Titans (itself a remake of a 1981 Ray Harryhausen film) made a tidy $61.2 million its opening weekend a couple years back. But most folks thought the first installment was pretty awful and apparently didn’t care to revisit a more wrathful version of it—even if Warner Bros. did spend an estimated $150 million making it.
Mirror Mirror, a sweet and funny reworking of the Snow White story, landed in third place with $19 million. Personally, I believe this film deserved a better fate: Sure, it might not be the fairest of them all—at least, not judging from the lack of lines at the box office—but it sure is fairly family friendly.
Two long-in-the-tooth holdovers, 21 Jump Street and Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, nailed down the fourth and fifth place slots respectively.
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