"Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" holds second place slot
By Jessica Herndon
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. --Superheroes continue to defeat their foes at the box office.
Disney's "Thor: The Dark World," earning $86.1 million, dominated the weekend box office as it opened domestically at No. 1, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Starring Chris Hemsworth, the Marvel superhero sequel earned $109.4 million when it opened internationally last weekend and $94 million internationally this weekend.
"It's an extraordinary thing," said Dave Hollis, executive vice president of distribution at Walt Disney Studios. "These guys at Marvel have been some of the most consistent when it comes to making movies and creating big events that drive a ton of people to the movie theater. They overdelivered on expectations."
However, some observers were expecting the weekend total to reach over $100 million.
In limited theaters Thursday evening, "Thor: The Dark World" brought in $7.1 million overnight.
Surpassing the ticket sales of "Thor," which scored $65.7 million when it opened in May of 2011, "Thor: The Dark World" marks a record for a Disney November opening, topping the $70.5 million "The Incredibles" earned in 2004.
But, come Nov. 22, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" is predicted to take the No. 1 spot.
"We have a great little stretch of time prior to 'Hunger Games,' " Hollis said. "Yes, 'Hunger Games' will do a whole bunch of business, but that's not to say we don't expect to still be a relevant option for consumers that weekend and onto the Thanksgiving weekend that follows."
Paramount hidden-camera comedy "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" held the second-place slot at the box office for the second weekend in a row, earning $11.3 million during its third weekend, with a domestic total reaching more than $78 million.
"Audiences can't get enough of these films," said box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak. "They are like that guilty pleasure. It's completely unique compared to everything else out there."
Relativity Media's 3-D animated kiddie flick "Free Birds," soared into third place with $11.2 million in its second weekend.
CBS Films' "Last Vegas," featuring an all-star cast including Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline, took fourth place in its second weekend.
Last weekend's box office champ, the sci-fi adaptation "Ender's Game," starring Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield and Viola Davis, dropped to fifth place in its second weekend.
"Once 'Thor' opened, it presented a pretty healthy competitor to all of the movies in the marketplace," Dergarabedian said. "We're starting this process of the holiday movie season, which dollar for dollar, is just as important as the summer movie season. In a seven- to eight-week period, we are talking about close to 20 percent of the total-year box office."
Expanding to 1,144 theaters in its fourth week, possible Oscar contender "12 Years a Slave" brought in an impressive $6.6 million over the weekend at No. 7.
In its first weekend "The Book Thief," starring Emily Watson, Geoffrey Rush and Sophie Nelisse, had a firm opening with $27,000. It debuted in limited release in just four locations.
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Where available, latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Thor: The Dark World," $86.1 million ($94 million international).
2. "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa," $11.3 million ($3.4 million international).
3. "Free Birds," $11.2 million ($1 million international).
4. "Last Vegas," $11.1 million.
5. "Ender's Game," $10.2 million ($4 million international).
6. "Gravity," $8.4 million ($26.3 million international).
7. "12 Years a Slave," $6.6 million.
8. "Captain Phillips," $5.8 million ($7.7 million international).
9. "About Time," $5.1 million ($3.1 million international).
10. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2," $2.8 million ($7.7 million international).
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Estimated weekend ticket sales Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:
1. "Thor: The Dark World," 94 million.
2. "Gravity," $26.3 million.
3. "Escape Plan," $15.5 million.
4. "Sole a Catinelle," $10.7 million.
5. "Fack Ju Gohte," $9.5 million.
6. "Captain Phillips," $7.7 million.
(tie) "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2," $7.7 million.
8. "Turbo," $5 million.
9. "Ender's Game," $4 million.
10. "Planes," $3.9 million.
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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More