This weekend was another busy one at the box office, with both White House Down and The Heat hitting theaters. But Disney and Pixar’s Monsters University had a strong second weekend, which was enough to beat both films.
Monsters U opened to $82 million last weekend, giving it the second-biggest debut in Pixar history. That strength continued in its second weekend and it only dropped to $46.2 million. According to Box Office Mojo, that’s a stunning 44 percent drop, better than Brave’s 49 percent drop in its second weekend last year. The Monsters Inc. prequel is already up to $171 million after 10 days.
The Heat, which stars Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy and was directed by Bridesmaids’ Paul Feig, opened to $40 million. It’s the only major studio release with female leads and audiences ate up the R-rated buddy cop comedy.
“We positioned this movie as a female summer movie event, and it worked,” Chris Aronson, Fox's president of domestic distribution, told THR. “That was the entire thrust of the marketing campaign, but due to the popularity of the stars and the storyline, men also turned out.”
Behind The Heat was Brad Pitt’s World War Z, which made $29.8 million in its second weekend. The film is up to $123.7 million and clearly audiences aren’t seeing it as just another horror movie. According to Deadline, the film is also a hit overseas, grossing $263 million internationally in 10 days. However, the film’s massive budget (over $200 million plus marketing and distribution costs) means that it still has a way to go to be profitable. Still, Paramount is already planning a sequel.
White House Down with Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum grossed $25.7 million. That’s lower than the last ‘White House under siege” movie, Olympus Has Fallen. Just three months ago, that film opened to a surprising $30.4 million. While the audiences that saw it gave it an A- CinemaScore grade, it’s going to be a hard road to $100 million.
Man of Steel added $20.8 million, bringing its domestic total to $248.7 million.
image: Sony