And it’s still winter … at least at the box office as Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier topped the tallies again with an estimated second-weekend take of $41.4 million. That’s a couple million more than the decidedly more tropical-feeling Rio 2, which flew south for an estimated $39.0 million.
In just two weeks in theaters, the Captain America sequel has earned $159 million in North America and another $317.7 million overseas for a total international cume of $476.7 million. For perspective, that’s already $100 million more than the first Captain America movie made in its total run.
And the Marvel movie juggernaut continues to pick up steam. No wonder Captain America 3 is already slotted for a May 2016 release. In fact, a recent Hollywood Reporter article said that Marvel Studios (now owned by Disney) has its superhero calendar booked all the way through 2028. If you expected the superhero wave at the box office to crest anytime soon, well, looks like you’re going to have to wait at least another decade and a half.
Once we move past colorful flying shields and colorful flying birds, however, there’s one color that everything else on the weekend box office list saw a lot less of: green. As in green with envy. The horror thriller Oculus (about a seriously haunted mirror) scared up only an estimated $12.0 million. Meanwhile, Draft Day‘s numbers were even scarier. The football-themed movie starring Kevin Costner signed up only enough moviegoers to collect $9.8 million, about half of what Moneyball (the 2011 film it’s frequently being compared to) made in its debut.
Rounding out the Top 5 is Divergent, which diverted another $7.5 million to bring its four-week take to $124.9 million domestically (and another $50.3 million overseas). Those numbers have been strong enough for Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment execs to greenlight the next two books in author Veronica Roth’s young adult series, Insurgent and Allegiant, for the big-screen treatment. (And just as we’ve seen with the concluding chapters in the Harry Potter, Twilight and Hunger Games franchises, the third book, Allegiant, will once again be split into two films.)
Two spiritually themed films of note that fell out of the Top 5 this weekend are Noah and God’s Not Dead. Darren Aronofsky’s controversial film about the Genesis flood took in slightly less than Divergent’s $7.5 million, bringing its total take to about $85 million domestically. While that figure is somewhat underwhelming, it’s buoyed by an additional $162 million from, ahem, overseas showings. God’s Not Dead continues to perform remarkably well in a crowded multiplex environment. The $2 million Christian film made another $5.5 million over the weekend, pushing its total over the $40 million mark—a number that marks it as one of the most successful Christian films of all time.
Finally, Disney’s smash animation Frozen continues its mind-boggling run up the all-time highest-earning movies list. It’s now topped the James Bond film Skyfall to move into the No. 8 slot on the international box office list, having now earned an eye-popping $1.11 billion. Next week may very well see Anna, Elsa and Olaf freeze out Frodo, Sam and Gandalf’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Final figures update: 1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier, $41.3 million; 2. Rio 2, $39.3 million; 3. Oculus, $12 million; 4. Draft Day, $9.8 million; 5. Noah, $7.6 million.
Recent Comments