“Taken 3” had enough power to finally knock “The Hobbit” from the top spot after spending 3 weeks there. It still opened below “Taken 2” by about $10 million. “Taken 3” ranks behind only “Cloverfield” and last years big January hit “Ride Along” for top January releases. It should close north of $110 million.
“Selma” was in nationwide expansion, moving into over 2,000 theaters, but it didn’t perform well. Opening far below similar films. In third place, “Into the Woods” dropped 49% from week 2 but it has crossed over that magical $100 million mark.
“The Hobbit” fell another 57% and it could be the weakest earner of the new trilogy. It needs to earn $258.5 to edge past “The Desolation of Smaug.”
| Rank | Title | Studio | Weekend Gross | % Change | Total Gross | Week # | |||||
| 1 | Taken 3 | Fox | $39,201,657 | – | $39,201,657 | 1 | |||||
| 2 | Selma | Par. | $11,307,394 | +1,685.8% | $13,594,343 | 3 | |||||
| 3 | Into the Woods | BV | $9,554,755 | -49.0% | $105,076,684 | 3 | |||||
| 4 | The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | WB | $9,377,118 | -56.9% | $236,459,605 | 4 | |||||
| 5 | Unbroken | Uni. | $8,170,305 | -55.0% | $101,404,575 | 3 | |||||
Next week adds some variety with a Kevin Hart comedy, a kids film and a thriller in “Blackhat.”
A quick note on budgets and dollar figures:
Films making back their budgets is a good sign, but that is just the money to film. It doesn’t include distribution and marketing. Marketing can cost as much as a film. That big Superbowl spot is spendy. So take that into account when judging a film’s success. Hitting $100 million isn’t the same as it once was.
All dollar amounts in the top 5 come from estimates based on ticket sales unless noted otherwise. Occasionally this article will be published when actual results come out, which is usually late Monday afternoon. For more about this and other ins and outs of movie tracking click here.