The Boss Takes Charge with $23 Million

It was an extremely close race between Universal Pictures’ The Boss and Warner Bros. Pictures’ Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice for first place last weekend. But, The Boss was ultimately able to outdo Batman v Superman by a slim $223,566 for the period.

The Boss just beat Batman v Superman for top place in the box office over the weekend by $223,566.
(Photo: Hopper Stone/Universal Pictures)

The Boss outpaced expectations and performed well with its modest price tag in mind bringing in $23.59 million over the weekend. The Melissa McCarthy led R-rated comedy also proved to be critic-proof. The film’s opening weekend performance was 9 percent ahead of the $21.58 million opening weekend of 2014’s Tammy, although Tammy’s opening weekend was softened by a Wednesday debut, and 19 percent below the $29.09 million debut of last year’s Spy, however The Boss had been widely expected to open below Spy. With last weekend’s performance of The Boss, McCarthy continues to remain one of the more consistent box office draws in recent years. McCarthy will next appear in Sony Pictures’ Ghostbusters, which arrives on July 15.

After leading the box office for the previous two weeks, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice fell to a close second place with $23.36 million. The blockbuster 3D superhero film starring Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill continued to fall off sharply, as it was down 54 percent from the previous weekend. The movie is now on the verge of reaching the $300 million domestic mark with a 17-day take of $296.61 million. However Batman v Superman faces strong completion from Walt Disney Studio’s highly anticipated The Jungle Book entering theaters this Friday.

While Batman v Superman continued to decline sharply last weekend, Disney’s Zootopia continued to display strong holding power with a third place take of $14.35 million. The blockbuster 3D computer animated film was down just 26 percent from the previous weekend. Without taking into account inflation, the film registered the eighth largest sixth weekend gross of all-time. Zootopia is also on the verge of reaching the $300 million domestic mark with a 38-day take of $296.00 million.

Universal’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 finished in fourth with $6.48 million. The PG-13 rated comedy sequel starring and written by Nia Vardalos was down 42 percent, as the film took a hit from the debut of The Boss. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 continues to perform towards the higher end of expectations with a 17-day take of $46.81 million.

Hardcore Henry rounded out the weekend’s top five with $5.11 million. The low-budget action film from STX Entertainment opened below expectations. It’s trailer had gone over well, especially online, but that reception ultimately failed to get moviegoers to see the film last weekend. Hardcore Henry delivered the lowest debut for STX Entertainment to date in the distributor’s young history. Much like The Boss, Hardcore Henry doesn’t appear to be going over all that well with moviegoers.

Faith-based films Miracles from Heaven and God’s Not Dead 2 claimed sixth and seventh place with respective estimated takes of $4.71 million and $4.24 million. Sony’s Miracles from Heaven was down a very solid 35 percent, while God’s Not Dead 2 was down a sizable 44 percent. Miracles from Heaven passed the $50 million mark and continues to perform nicely with $53.71 million in 26 days. God’s Not Dead 2 has been far less impressive with $14.02 million in 10 days and clearly isn’t duplicating the word of mouth or the performance of its predecessor, 2014’s God’s Not Dead, which grossed $21.75 million in its first 10 days after falling just 4.5 percent in its second weekend to take in $8.80 million.

Mark Heckathorn

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.