300: Rise of an Empire Rises to the Top
Warner Bros. Pictures’ 300: Rise of an Empire led the way last weekend with a debut of $45.04 million. Despite a gap of seven years between it and 2007’s 300, the 3D action sequel was off to a healthy start last weekend, as moving the film away from last summer clearly paid off. Rise of an Empire wasn’t expected to open anywhere near the $70.89 million start of 300. Without adjusting for ticket price inflation, 300: Rise of an Empire claimed the 10th largest opening weekend ever for the month of March and the second largest opening weekend of 2014 to date (behind only fellow Warner Bros. release The Lego Movie). 300: Rise of an Empire took in an estimated $6.59 million from 342 IMAX locations. That represented 14.6 percent of the film’s total gross last weekend. The film also received a significant boost from higher priced 3D admissions, as 3D grosses accounted for 63 percent of the film’s overall grosses.
Mr. Peabody & Sherman debuted with a respectable second place take of $32.21 million. The 3D computer animated film from 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Animation opened on the lower end of expectations. There is little doubt that initial demand for the film was softened at least somewhat by the recent success of both Disney’s Frozen and The Lego Movie. Being an adaptation of 1960s animated television characters likely limited the film’s potential a bit to begin with as well (by the box office standards of DreamWorks Animation).
Universal Pictures’ Non-Stop was down two spots and 45 percent last weekend to place in third with $15.83 million. That represented a respectable second weekend hold for the action thriller starring Liam Neeson, especially given the new direct competition the film faced from 300: Rise of an Empire. Non-Stop continues to perform on the very high end of expectations with a 10-day start of $52.57 million.
The Lego Movie placed in fourth with $10.91 million. The 3D computer animated blockbuster was down a sizable 48 percent from the previous weekend, but the decline was understandable with both 300: Rise of an Empire and Mr. Peabody & Sherman entering the marketplace. The Lego Movie has grossed an impressive $224.88 million in 31 days and is highly likely to re-stabilize next weekend.
20th Century Fox’s Son of God rounded out the weekend’s top five with $10.38 million. The modestly budgeted biblical epic was down three spots and a sizable 59 percent from its opening weekend. There is no doubt that the previous weekend’s performance was significantly inflated by strong group sales and the film likely also took a hit from 300: Rise of an Empire as well last weekend. Despite last weekend’s decline, Son of God is still performing strong with a 10-day take of $41.87 million.
This Week | Last Week | Movie | Weekend Gross | Cumulative Gross | Weeks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | N/A | 300: Rise of an Empire | $45.04M | $45.04M | 1 |
2 | N/A | Mr. Peabody & Sherman | $32.21M | $32.21M | 1 |
3 | 1 | Non-Stop | $15.83M | $52.57M | 2 |
4 | 3 | The Lego Movie | $20.83M | $209.14M | 4 |
5 | 2 | Son of God | $10.38M | $41.87M | 2 |
6 | 5 | The Monuments Men | $3.07M | $70.58M | 5 |
7 | 4 | 3 Days to a Kill | $3.01M | $25.50M | 3 |
8 | 8 | Frozen | $2.95M | $392.99M | 16 |
9 | N/A | 12 Years a Slave | $2.11M | $53.04M | 21 |
10 | 10 | Ride Along | $2.02M | $129.99M | 8 |
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.