With small further expansions of Oscar nominees and only one major release otherwise, it was a quiet weekend at the box office, which will only get quieter next week with the Super Bowl approaching. The top 5 was almost identical to last week, with Ride Along clinching the number 1 position for the second weekend in a row. It added $21 million to the tally for $75.4 million overall, an impressive showing. Lone Survivor held on at number 2 with $12.6 million for the weekend and $93.6 million overall. Both films, it should be noted, are Universal releases and both have turned hefty profits.
The big flop of the weekend was the only major release, the Aaron Eckhart-starring I, Frankenstein, which took in $8.3 million and landed in sixth place, a very low number for its budget and its marketing push. It earned a relatively decent B Cinemascore, but it’s likely that audiences saw the trailers and decided not to brave the cold to see it. It seems likely that it will be the first big flop of the year, since there’s no way it will take back its $65 million cost unless it’s massively successful overseas.
The Oscar contenders all had bumps from screen expansions, with 12 Years a Slave, Gravity, Nebraska and Dallas Buyers Club all enjoying increase of 8% to 117% (the latter for Dallas). All four are now in the top 20 and taking in around $2 million apiece for the weekend.
Source: BoxOfficeMojo
