For the second weekend in a row, Taken 2 finished first. Even though the Liam Neeson-led kidnapping thriller dropped 55% from the previous weekend, its $22.5 million total was still $2 million more than the second-place finisher, Argo. With $86 million earned to date, Taken 2 is seriously outpacing its predecessor. Taken had only earned $53 million by its second week, but it did have very low week-over-week drops that helped make it a sleeper hit.
Ben Affleck's writing/directing/starring effort, Argo placed second with $20.1 million. Affleck's last movie, The Town, opened slightly higher, at $23 million, and ended up earning four times its
opening weekend. Argo, with an "A+" CinemaScore in exit polls, could easily surpass that figure, earning five or six times its opening weekend, especially if the positive word-of-mouth is complemented by recognition come awards season. 74% of viewers were over the age of 35. My parents, who were in their late twenties during the Iranian hostage crisis depicted in the film, reported the '70s costumes, big glasses, and old news footage helped bring that time of their life back in vivid (and suspenseful) detail.
The horror flick Sinister did solid business with an $18.2 million total. Younger audiences turned out for the scares, with a fairly even male/female split. Although that's right around the same amount as slow-burn horror sensation
Insidious, it's more likely that Sinister will get steamrolled by Paranormal Activity 4 next weekend.
Here Comes the Boom had a disappointing opening weekend of just $12 million. That's far below star Kevin James' other openings, including the $31 million opening weekend of Paul Blart: Mall Cop and the $20 million for The Zookeeper.
There's a chance this movie could turn around. Family-driven titles
tend to stick around for a while, and this one earned an "A" CinemaScore rating from viewers.
Seven Psychopaths had a disappointing weekend, with a nationwide release that yielded just $4.2 million. That's the worst wide opening ever for CBS Films, which already has a bad track record with a number of films that have opened below $10 million. Despite its poor showing, audiences liked the movie. The majority of viewers were male, and 71% of the audience was over 25.
Younger viewers (18-34), though, were most enamored with the black comedy about crime, giving it an "A-" rating that exceeded the overall average of "B+."
The Perks of Being a Wallflower added 500 theatres for 726 total. The Emma Watson-led comedy about outsider teens added $2.1 million to its total thanks to the expansion, a 36% increase from the previous week.
Higher up on the chart, Pitch Perfect posted a strong hold, dipping just 37% to earn $9.3 million. With $36 million to date, the a capella comedy has already made back two times its budget. Sounds like a success for Universal.
Despite added attention thanks to conservative-driven movies in the marketplace, Atlas Shrugged: Part II performed on par with its predecessor. Part I opened to $1.6 million last April, while Part II debuted to $1.7 million. What's worse is that the follow-up opened in three times as many theatres, meaning every location's theatres were one-third as full, and distribution costs were higher.
On the heels of a "60 Minutes" story about the doc last Sunday, Searching for Sugar Man soared 135% from the previous week for a total of $203,000, its highest weekend in a three-month run. The doc about a musician who becomes a hit in an apartheid-era South Africa and never knows it also expanded from 38 to 157 locations.
This Friday, Paranormal Activity 4 will jump on the pre-Halloween horror bandwagon, and Tyler Perry will play a smart action hero in Alex Cross. Well-reviewed The Sessions will open small with an eye towards gathering accolades come awards season.
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