"Deadpool" has finally been unseated, after spending 3 weeks in the top spot. The knockout punch was delivered by "Zootopia," the Buena Vista 3D computer-animated buddy-action comedy produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 55th Disney animated feature film, and was directed by the duo of Byron Howard and Rich Moore, and starring the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons, Tommy Chong, Octavia Spencer, Jenny Slate, and Shakira.
Released in the Disney Digital 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D formats, the film details the unlikely partnership between a rabbit police officer and a red fox con artist as they uncover a conspiracy that involves missing predator civilians.
Idris Elba voices a character named Chief Bogo, described as a Cape buffalo who is the chief of the Zootopia Police Department. And Octavia Spencer is Mrs. Otterton, a slender North American river otter.
The film earned a strong $73.7 million over its 3-day opening weekend, making it one of the strongest openings for a Walt Disney Animation Studios animated feature film in the last decade.
The "Olympus Has Fallen" sequel, "London Has Fallen," starring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, and Angela Bassett all reprising their roles (although this one isn’t directed by Fuqua), opened at number 2, with $21.7 million – well shy of the $30+ million that the first film opened with, maybe suggesting not enough of an appetite for the second as there was for the first. "Olympus Has Fallen" grossed $161 million worldwide ($98 million of that was domestic), on a $70 million production budget (not including P&A costs); enough of a box office hit for FilmDistrict (the releasing studio, recently swallowed up by Universal) to consider backing a sequel.
The production is directed by Swedish-Iranian filmmaker Babak Najafi, and follows our good old American heroes as they set out to stop a terrorist plot to assassinate all the attending world leaders of the British Prime Minister’s funeral, in London.
"Deadpool" came in 3rd place, still quite strong after 4 weeks, grossing $16.4 million, and a cumulative of over $311 million, making it, so far, the highest grossing film of 2016, with the second highest grossing film, "Kung Fu Panda 3," far behind, with $133.8 million total. Although, we’re still in March, and there are a handful of major motion pictures set to be released this spring and summer that will very likely blow "Deadpool’s" numbers away ("Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," "Captain America: Civil War," and "X-Men: Apocalypse" to name just 3). But "Deadpool’s" comparatively low $58 million budget may just make it one of the most profitable Hollywood studio films of the year. Worldwide, the movie is grossed over $673 million, which is astounding, and not something that most expected. And again, on a $58 million budget; compared to the estimated $250 to $400 million range for other superhero films, like the upcoming trio I listed above in this paragraph.
As expected, "Gods of Egypt" is indeed a flop for Lionsgate, dropping another 64% this weekend, for a total gross of $22.8 million after 3 weeks, nowhere near its reported $140+ million budget, and will likely never get anywhere close to that figure, making it one of this year’s biggest flops – and it’s only March.
On the indie front, opening this weekend is a new documentary from Dawn Porter (director of 2 excellent documentary features previously covered on this blog – "Gideon’s Army" and "Spies Of Mississippi"), which made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this year, where it won a Special Jury Award. Titled "Trapped" and distributed by Abramorama Entertainment, Porter’s film takes you to the frontlines of the anti-abortion war in the southern USA, where abortion laws are putting abortion clinics in a fight for their existence.
The documentary opened in just 3 theaters in New York, Washington DC, and Los Angeles, taking in $20,385. A film of this kind of very limited release, as well as the fact that it’s an indie documentary, thrives on strong word of mouth, and continuous healthy discussion around the subject it tackles, so if you’ve been lucky enough to see it, and you appreciated it, spread the word! I’m sure the filmmaker and the indie distributor could use the push. It’ll continue to expand to other cities around the country through April, so check out the list below to find out if it’s coming to a theater near you. Underneath it, you’ll find this weekend’s top 10 box office grossers.
03.11 — ATLANTA / MIDTOWN ART CINEMA
03.11 — MINNEAPOLIS / EDINA CINEMA
03.11 — ALBANY / SPECTRUM 8 THEATRES
03.11 — PASADENA / LAEMMLE PLAYHOUSE
03.11 — CHICAGO / LANDMARK CENTURY
03.11 — IRVINE / TOWN CENTER 6
03.11 — BOSTON / KENDALL SQUARE
03.17 — DALLAS / TEXAS THEATRE
03.18 — SAN FRANCISCO / CLAY THEATRE
03.18 — BERKELEY / LANDMARK SHATTUCK
03.18 — PORTLAND / CINEMA 21
03.18 — NEW ORLEANS / ZEITGEIST CENTER
03.18 — CUPERTINO / BLUELIGHT CINEMAS
03.18 — SAN RAFAEL / CALIF. FILM INSTITUTE
03.25 — TACOMA / GRAND CINEMA
03.25 — SEBASTOPOL / RIALTO CINEMAS
04.08 — LINCOLN / ROSS MEDIA ARTS CENTER
04.12 — KANSAS CITY / TIVOLI CINEMAS
| 1 | N | Zootopia | BV | $73,700,000 | $73,700,000 | ||||||
| 2 | N | London Has Fallen | Focus | $21,714,000 | $21,714,000 | ||||||
| 3 | 1 | Deadpool | Fox | $16,400,000 | $311,158,132 | ||||||
| 4 | N | Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | Par. | $7,600,000 | $7,600,000 | ||||||
| 5 | 2 | Gods of Egypt | LG/S | $5,000,000 | $22,848,320 | ||||||
| 6 | 4 | Risen | Sony | $3,885,000 | $28,650,923 | ||||||
| 7 | 3 | Kung Fu Panda 3 | Fox | $3,525,000 | $133,831,833 | ||||||
| 8 | 10 | The Revenant | Fox | $3,325,000 | $175,976,921 | ||||||
| 9 | 6 | Eddie the Eagle | Fox | $3,100,000 | $10,861,132 | ||||||
| 10 | 7 | The Witch | A24 | $2,509,453 | $20,920,027 |
