The most iconic member of the X-Men took control of the box office this weekend, but posted lower than expected numbers.
The Wolverine (read our review) is number 1 this weekend with $55 million. While a $50 million+ opening is nothing to scoff at, analysts expected the film to do much better. That being said, the film has grossed $141 million worldwide, which suggests the latest adventures of the Wolverine might end up doing just fine.
For comparison’s sake, though, it’s important to point out that the abysmal X-Men Origins: Wolverine opened with $85 million and went on to gross $179 million in domestic markets.
It’s likely that the reception to Origins negatively impacted The Wolverine‘s potential, but perhaps strong word of mouth could help carry it to decent overall box office numbers. Regardless of how things turn out with The Wolverine, the character will return for X-Men: Days of Future Past next summer.
Coming in at number 2 is The Conjuring with $22 million. Although horror films tend to have a steep drop off after their first weekend, The Conjuring only dropped 47%. The film is now up to $83 million, which is nearly quadruple its budget.
Despicable Me 2 is the number 3 film this weekend with $16 million. Now at $306 million, Universal’s animated sequel has passed Man of Steel as the number 2 highest grossing film of the year. Despicable Me 2 is also the third highest grossing 2013 release worldwide – behind only Iron Man 3 and Fast and Furious 6 – with $660 million.
In at number 4 is Ryan Reynolds’ animated snail movie Turbo with $13 million. Although the film only dropped 37% from last weekend, its $55 million over two weeks is on the low end for animated films.
Rounding out the top 5 is Grown Ups 2 with $11 million, which brings its domestic total up to $101 million. Say what you will about the quality of this sequel or the talent of its stars, but Grown Ups 2 is Adam Sandler’s 14th movie to cross the $100 million mark.
Red 2 comes in at number 6 with $9 million. Bruce Willis’ star-studded sequel is now at $35 million after two weeks, which is unfortunately well below its predecessor. It’s safe to say these former CIA agents are probably going to stay retired for a while.
Coming in at number 7 is Pacific Rim with $7 million. We had high hopes for this one, but alas, it has only grossed $84 million domestic. That being said, the film has grossed $224 million worldwide, which might justify a sequel if demand is high enough.
The Heat holds strong at number 8 with $6 million. The Melissa McCarthy/Sandra Bullock buddy comedy has accumulated $141 million over 5 weeks.
R.I.P.D. is the number 9 film with $5 million. Ryan Reynolds’ other summer release of 2013, which cost $130 million to make, has grossed a very low $24 million over two weeks. Ouch.
Rounding out the top 10 is Fruitvale Station with $4 million. The Sundance winner stars Michael B. Jordan (who is rumored to be up for the reboot of Fantastic Four) and has been getting nothing but stellar reviews from critics. It is now at $6 million domestic.
Outside the top 10: The To-Do List (read our review) earned $1.5 million on 591 screens, which is not bad but isn’t great; and Woody Allen’s latest film, Blue Jasmine, grossed $613,000 on 6 screens for a huge per screen average of $102,167.
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[NOTE: These are only weekend box office estimates – based on Friday and Saturday ticket sales coupled with adjusted expectations for Sunday. Official weekend box office results will be released Monday, July 28th – at which time we’ll update this post with any changes.]
