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| Hugh Jackman comes out on top in The Wolverine |
It wasn't on par with X-Men Origins: Wolverine ($85.1 million opening in 2009) but 20th Century Fox's The Wolverine sliced its way to the top of the box office heap this weekend, easily finishing #1 ahead of The Conjuring. $55 million is nothing to sneeze at; but it's at least $10 million less than projected... not exactly great news for a summer blockbuster hopeful. Luckily (is it luck, when it's a great movie?) Hugh Jackman and his "metal awesomeness" did over $86 million worth of business overseas, all but cementing a second sequel: The Wolverine opened #1 in 100 countries!
International success notwithstanding, The Wolverine's stateside showing has to concern Hollywood studios... especially in the face of several notable bombs this year. Ask me, and I'd tell you there's way too many blockbusters to begin with: After all, how many movies can you expect folks to run to week after week? That said, total box office was up a whopping 30% over last year. The Conjuring ($22.1M) became the top grossing horror film of 2013 ($83.9 million over 10 days) and slipped just 47% in its second weekend. Animated flicks Despicable Me 2 ($16M) and Turbo ($13.3M) held their own, finishing third and fourth respectively ahead of Sony's Grown Ups 2 ($11.5M) which topped the $100 million mark in just 17 days. May I remind you, Grown Ups 2 currently clocks in at 7% on Rotten Tomatoes. Who says there's no accounting for taste?
Year to date, domestic grosses are up 10% over last year's record take.
The top 10 films for this weekend...
1. The Wolverine $55M
2. The Conjuring $22.1M
3. Despicable Me 2 $16M
4. Turbo $13.3M
5. Grown Ups 2 $11.5M
6. Red 2 $9.4M
7. Pacific Rim $7.5M
8. The Heat $6.9M
9. R.I.P.D. $5.9M
10. Fruitvale Station $4.7M
