‘Identity Thief’ steals box office on Oscars weekend, beats Dwayne Johnson’s Snitch’

Melissa McCarthy’s Identity Thief made its way back to the top of the box office this weekend, although it didn’t take much to beat Snitch. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s film was the latest action film to disappoint in the first weeks of 2013.

According to Box Office Mojo, Identity Thief fell 41 percent from last weekend and it still won the box office. It grossed just $14.1 million. It is now the top grossing film of 2013, just narrowly beating Django Unchained, which has made $90.5 million in the new year. Identity Thief, despite poor reviews, should become the first film to hit $100 million this year by the end of the week.

Snitch came in a very close second, grossing $13 million, notes Entertainment Weekly. That’s actually not bad for Johnson’s non-franchise efforts. It couldn’t compete with his last hit, though, Journey 2: Mysterious Island, which debuted to $27.3 million.

At least it did better than the other action flops of 2013. Snitch out-grossed The Last Stand ($6.3 million) Parker ($7 million) and Bullet to the Head ($4.5 million).

The animated film Escape from Planet Earth jumped to No. 4, grossing $11 million. Safe Heaven added $10.6 million, while A Good Day To Die Hard only made $10 million in its second weekend.

The new horror film Dark Skies opened to $8.9 million. The film earned just a C+ CinemaScore grade from audiences, but it only cost $3.5 million to make.

Next week, Jack the Giant Slayer opens against 21 And Over and The Last Exorcism Part II.