As had been widely expected, Fox’s Spy debuted in first place this weekend with $29.09 million. However, the Melissa McCarthy led comedy opened below expectations, which had tended to range from $35 million to $40 million. Despite very strong critical reviews, Spy wasn’t able to open as strong as some of McCarthy’s previous efforts, as it opened 26 percent below the $39.12 million start of 2013’s The Heat and 16 percent below the $34.55 million debut of 2013’s Identity Thief. The potential for Spy appears to have been limited by the stronger than expected performance of Warner’s San Andreas thus far and by audiences who are waiting for Universal’s Jurassic World to arrive next weekend.
Spy took in $10.30 million on Friday (which included an estimated $1.5 million from Thursday shows that started at 5 p.m.), increased 9 percent on Saturday to gross $11.18 million and declined 32 percent on Sunday to gross $7.60 million. That placed the film’s opening weekend to Friday ratio at a so-so 2.82 to 1. The film received a solid B+ rating on CinemaScore. In all likelihood Spy will hold up well going forward, as McCarthy’s films have a history of displaying strong holding power. However, competition will be fierce throughout June with the arrival of the mentioned Jurassic World, Disney’s Inside Out and Universal’s Ted 2.
On the heels of last weekend’s break-out start, San Andreas experienced a very respectable second weekend hold with a second place take of $25.84 million. The Dwayne Johnson led 3D disaster film declined 53 percent from last weekend. San Andreas is on the brink of the $100 million domestic mark with a ten-day start of $98.47 million. That places the film 22 percent ahead of the $80.88 million ten-day take of 2013’sG.I. Joe: Retaliation and 20 percent behind the $123.70 million ten-day gross of 2013’s World War Z. San Andreas will hope to see its healthy word of mouth help withstand the direct hit it will take from Jurassic World next weekend.
Focus’ Insidious: Chapter 3 followed in third place with $22.69 million. The third chapter of the horror franchise from Gramercy and Blumhouse Productions debuted on the low end of pre-release expectations.Insidious: Chapter 3 opened a significant 44 percent below the $40.27 million debut of 2013’s Insidious: Chapter 2; but had been widely expected to open softer than its predecessor due in part to its nature as a prequel. Insidious: Chapter 3 opened nearly on par with the $22.62 million three-day start of Fox’s Poltergeistand the close proximity of the films to one another may have ultimately weakened any break-out potential for both.
Insidious: Chapter 3 opened with $10.46 million on Friday (which included an estimated $1.55 million from Thursday evening shows), fell a sizable 27 percent on Saturday to gross $7.61 million and declined 39 percent on Sunday to gross $4.63 million. That placed the film’s opening weekend to Friday ratio at an expectedly front-loaded 2.17 to 1. Insidious: Chapter 3 received a B+ rating on CinemaScore, which is very healthy by horror film standards. Going forward Insidious: Chapter 3 will hope to hold up a bit better than its predecessor did (a feat that was accomplished by The Purge: Anarchy last summer).
Meanwhile, Warner’s Entourage was off to a soft fourth place start of just $10.28 million. The theatrical version of the HBO comedy series opened below expectations, which had been strengthened due in part to the film’s strong online pre-sales earlier in the week. Since its release on Wednesday, Entourage has grossed $17.67 million in its first five days. That places the film 28 percent behind the $24.48 million five-day start of 2012’s The Dictator. Entourage has been very front-loaded thus far, especially for a film of its size. The film’s five-day to three-day ratio of 1.72 to 1 strongly indicates that the film is only appealing to the series’ pre-existing fanbase and isn’t a good sign going forward. Given its significant front-loading thus far, the film’s strong A- rating on CinemaScore likely won’t make much of an impact.
Fellow Warner Bros. release Mad Max: Fury Road rounded out the weekend’s top five with $7.83 million. The critically acclaimed action film starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron was down a respectable 45 percent from last weekend. Thanks in part to very solid holding power for its genre, Mad Max: Fury Road continues to perform on the very high end of expectations with a 24-day take of $130.67 million.
Universal’s Pitch Perfect 2 claimed sixth place with $7.57 million. The successful musical comedy sequel starring Anna Kendrick was down a sizable 49 percent from last weekend. While it remains front-loaded, in the bigger picture Pitch Perfect 2 is still exceeding expectations in a big way with a 24-day gross of $160.85 million.
Disney’s Tomorrowland placed in seventh with $7.20 million. The pricy Brad Bird directed sci-fi film starring George Clooney was down a sharp 50 percent. Tomorrowland has grossed a softer than expected $76.41 million in 17 days and has clearly taken a hit from mixed word of mouth on the heels of what was already an underwhelming start over Memorial Day weekend.
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