Weekend Box Office (June 26 - 28, 2015)

by Gitesh Pandya

THIS WEEKEND For the third straight week, the dinosaur juggernaut Jurassic World held the number one spot at the North American and global box office breaking records and speeding to new industry milestones. Domestically, the Universal overachiever grossed $54.5M this weekend dropping 49% boosting the cume to an eye-popping $500.4M, according to final studio figures.

The Chris Pratt-led hit set a new record cracking the half-billion barrier in only 17 days breaking the old mark of 23 set in 2012 by The Avengers. Also it becomes only the third film to ever break $500M while still sitting at number one joining Avatar and Titanic. Avatar and Avengers were the only films ever to gross more on their third weekends than Jurassic World.

Obviously Jurassic World has outgrossed 1993's original Jurassic Park thanks in part to higher ticket prices including 3D and IMAX premium options today. But the new installment is also posting better admissions numbers too. Domestically, World has sold roughly 54 million tickets which is up a healthy 31% from the estimated 41 million sold by Park at the same point in its run. There are more theaters today and the population has grown over 22 years, but Jurassic World is still performing at incredible levels even when only looking at the number of bodies it is attracting.

Jurassic World now is the top-grossing movie of 2015 beating Avengers: Age of Ultron and sits at number five on the list of all-time domestic blockbusters passing Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Its trajectory still puts it on course to finish in the neighborhood of $650M from North America.

With China crossing $200M, overseas markets contributed another $84.3M this weekend boosting the international total to a stellar $745.5M vaulting the global haul to $1.25 billion in just under three weeks of play. Japan, the final territory, opens in August and a finish near $1.7 billion seems likely which would make Jurassic World the third largest global blockbuster of all-time behind only James Cameron's dynamic duo.

Disney and Pixar enjoyed another incredible performance in the runner-up spot with their latest offering Inside Out which grossed $52.3M, off just 42%. That marks the fourth best second weekend gross for any animated film ever and the best for one that isn't a sequel. And among all non-franchise films, the toon scored the fourth largest sophomore weekend behind Avatar and the R-rated pics American Sniper and The Passion of the Christ. The Pixar brand name is making Inside Out play like a mega-sequel. Strong word-of-mouth is not hurting either.

Joy and her emotional pals now stand at a whopping $185.1M after the sophomore frame. Compared to Pixar's biggest hits from recent years, that's 18% behind company champ Toy Story 3 and 9% ahead of Monsters University. Inside Out's second weekend hold is also better than University's 45%, Brave's 49%, and Toy Story 3's 46%. With the Fourth of July holiday period approaching, the toon will smash $200M quickly and could find its way to a final domestic tally in the $325M range. That sets the bar high for summer's next major toon offering, Minions opening July 10.

The R-rated comedy sequel Ted 2 opened in third place with results that were disappointing when compared to its predecessor, but satisfactory when considering its genre. Universal's latest franchise play debuted to $33.5M from 3,442 theaters for a solid $9,735 average. That ranks as the second best opening of the year for any R-rated comedy falling in between the $33.8M of Get Hard and the $29.1M of Spy. Both of those films are now at or near the $90M mark.

But it was a steep 38% tumble from the massive $54.4M opening weekend of the first Ted which also launched on the last weekend of June three years ago. That smash had the excitement of being Seth MacFarlane's debut as a movie director pulling in his large Family Guy fan base. Fast forward to 2015 and Ted 2 is his third directorial outing and follows his underwhelming performance as Oscar host plus last summer's flop A Million Ways to Die in the West. This time around, seeing a new Seth flick was nothing too special, but it did break $30M which is where so many solid R-rated comedies open at.

With a decent B+ CinemaScore, a holiday weekend next week, and no new raunchy comedies opening until mid July, Ted 2 should be able to find its way to the $100M mark domestically. It cost $85M to produce with the studio and Media Rights Capital footing the bill. The audience breakdown not surprisingly was 59% male and 51% over 25 showing good strength with hard-to-reach young adults. Reviews were not too positive.

Warner Bros. launched the military dog drama Max and saw respectable numbers against intense competition for the family crowd. The PG-rated film bowed to $12.2M from 2,855 locations for a $4,258 average. Not a flashy movie based on an existing brand, Max is trying to establish itself in the marketplace hoping that word-of-mouth will carry it forward with the Independence Day holiday around the corner and most kids now out of school for summer vacation.

The road ahead looks promising as the A CinemaScore grade is indicating that audiences are liking what they are getting. The grades from those under 18 and mature folks over 50 both came out as A+. With a patriotic holiday coming up, Max should connect with a broad audience looking for uplifting fare that honors all those who serve in the armed forces - even canine Marines. Reviews have been lackluster.

The arrival of another R-rated comedy was no major obstacle to Melissa McCarthy's well-liked Spy which dropped a slim 30% in its fourth mission to $7.9M giving Fox $88.5M to date. Hit disaster flick San Andreas declined by 38% to $5.4M putting Warner Bros. at a solid $142M to date here and $441M worldwide.

Indie hopeful Dope fell a disturbing 54% in its second weekend to $2.8M after last week's sluggish debut. The Open Road release, acquired by the distributor at Sundance for $7M plus a $15M investment into P&A, has grossed $11.7M and should end its domestic run in the disappointing $16-18M range. Reviews were quite good, but summer audiences just did not find this one to be a top priority given all the other high-profile choices now.

Down 51%, the horror threequel Insidious: Chapter 3 took in $2M putting the total at a nice $49.8M for Focus. Action hit Mad Max: Fury Road followed with $1.8M, down 42%, for a $147.1M cume. Global is now $356M. Rounding out the top ten was Avengers: Age of Ultron with $1.7M, down 41%, and $452.5M so far. It is no longer the top-grossing blockbuster of the year, but its hefty totals now stand at $919.1M international and $1.37 billion worldwide with its final market Japan opening next weekend.

The top ten films grossed $174.1M which was up 2% from last year when Transformers: Age of Extinction opened at number one with $100M; but off 4% from 2013 when Monsters University stayed in the top spot with $45.6M.


Compared to projections, Ted 2 came in well below my $51M forecast while Max debuted a bit above my $10M prediction.

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Watch the NEW trailer for Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension.

Be sure to check back on Wednesday for a complete summary, including projections, for next weekend when Magic Mike XXL and Terminator: Genisys both open.

# Title Jun 26 - 28 Jun 19 - 21 % Chg. Theaters Weeks AVG Cumulative Distributor
1 Jurassic World $ 54,532,615 $ 106,588,440 -48.8 4,198 3 $ 12,990 $ 500,373,420 Universal
2 Inside Out 52,323,354 90,440,272 -42.1 4,132 2 12,663 185,140,364 Disney
3 Ted 2 33,507,870 3,442 1 9,735 33,507,870 Universal
4 Max 12,155,254 2,855 1 4,258 12,155,254 Warner Bros.
5 Spy 7,911,786 11,225,366 -29.5 3,194 4 2,477 88,462,290 Fox
6 San Andreas 5,402,416 8,706,339 -37.9 2,620 5 2,062 141,997,929 Warner Bros.
7 Dope 2,782,840 6,100,010 -54.4 1,851 2 1,503 11,697,218 Open Road
8 Insidious: Chapter 3 2,004,222 4,063,701 -50.7 1,612 4 1,243 49,795,400 Focus
9 Mad Max: Fury Road 1,764,436 3,033,049 -41.8 961 7 1,836 147,107,258 Warner Bros.
10 Avengers: Age of Ultron 1,688,938 2,847,404 -40.7 1,097 9 1,540 452,474,193 Disney
11 Pitch Perfect 2 1,464,180 3,519,440 -58.4 1,061 7 1,380 181,057,940 Universal
12 Love & Mercy 1,272,491 1,748,331 -27.2 728 4 1,748 9,255,698 Roadside Attr.
13 Tomorrowland 1,051,966 2,216,375 -52.5 714 6 1,473 90,164,982 Disney
14 Me and Earl and the Dying Girl 992,439 364,039 172.6 354 3 2,804 1,856,490 Fox Searchlight
15 Entourage 808,157 1,927,183 -58.1 544 4 1,486 31,386,676 Warner Bros.
16 I'll See You In My Dreams 609,698 685,101 -11.0 290 7 2,102 5,030,850 Bleecker St.
17 Home 399,315 315,613 26.5 275 14 1,452 174,744,026 Fox
18 Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 318,020 330,666 -3.8 236 11 1,348 69,832,200 Sony
19 Cinderella 261,264 344,535 -24.2 235 16 1,112 200,286,777 Disney
20 Aloha 197,063 401,336 -50.9 240 5 821 20,482,456 Sony
Top 5 $ 160,430,879 $ 223,060,427 -28.1
Top 10 174,073,731 238,740,396 -27.1
Top 20 181,448,324 245,565,068 -26.1
Top 20 vs. 2014 181,448,324 176,348,328 2.9

Last Updated: June 30, 2015 at 3:25PM ET

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