I was afraid of this. When four BIG movies open on the same weekend, you know only one or two will be successful at the box office and the others will flat out bomb. And the current glut of quality carryover films only make things more difficult for the newcomers.
DreamWorks Animation is probably regretting opening “Turbo” on both a Wednesday and in the middle of the most jam-packed summer of animated releases in modern movie history. While “Monsters University” isn’t drawing big crowds anymore, “Despicable Me 2” is still a force to be reckoned with. “Turbo” is a nice, sweet, original film that families should go see, especially those who have invested in Mike and Sully and the Minions once (or twice) already. But “Turbo” only made $31 million over its first five days. It could end-up being an even bigger disappointment for DWA than last year’s “Rise of the Guardians”, which was released on a crowded Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
“Red” opened in October 2010 to $21.8 million, #2 only to “Jackass 3D”‘s $50M take. It appears “Red 2” will not perform quite as well. It was originally slated to open on August 2nd, but was pushed-up to July 19, even though that move put it up against three other movies instead of only “2 Guns”, had it stayed in August. Instead, maybe Lionsgate should’ve moved it to the 26th. While it would’ve obviously suffered defeat at the hands of “The Wolverine”, the older crowd (and non-comic book fans) might’ve gone for it. “Red 2” will have a hard time equaling its predecessor’s $90M domestic total.
And then there’s “R.I.P.D.”. Also based on a comic, Universal’s Jeff Bridges/Ryan Reynolds sci-fi action comedy has been hammered by critics and barely crossed the $10 million mark on its opening weekend. This is a disaster for a studio that’s been having a very impressive summer so far (“Fast & Furious 6”, “The Purge”, “DM2”). Keep in mind that the film’s budget was $130 million.
So who wins? These days, it seems like the horror film always does. “The Conjuring” made over $40 million in nearly 1,000 fewer theaters than “Turbo”. Of course it will drop dramatically next weekend (as the horror flicks always do). With “The Wolverine” being the only new powerhouse (expect a $100M+ opening), “Turbo” could actually get back into the race next weekend. And even “Red 2” might get a bounce. As for “R.I.P.D.” – it was D.O.A. so not even a miracle could bring it back to life.