Safe House Tops Vow, Rider - Mania.com
HomeREGISTER HomeRSS 
HomeHOME



Box Office Report

13 Comments | Add
 

Rate & Share:
 

Related Links:
 

Info:

Safe House Tops Vow, Rider

Action Thriller topples Presidential Box Office Race.

By Jarrod Sarafin     February 19, 2012


Denzel Washington's Safe House takes down the box office victory
© Universal Pictures/Robert Trate

 

This weekend is a box office tale of action thrillers versus romantic dramas and it seems the former is going to win out on this Presidential-theme race. While early Valentine’s Day celebrations helped The Vow take down the victory last weekend, the realm of fictional terrorism and Denzel Washington vs. Ryan Reynolds was the key to winning in our latest box office landscape. Despite estimates being too close to call---a mere $400,000 separating first and second---the early nod goes to Universal Pictures’ action release of Safe House.
The film grabbed $24.0 million over the last three days, averaging $7,690 per showing on each of its 3,121 venues across the nation. The film’s sophomore performance has its domestic total at $78.3 million in receipts, a respectable after 10 days of release given the studio’s $85 million price tag. If you include the $19.6 million that Universal has from its early foreign distribution, they have found a global score of $97.9 million thus far.
Landing right behind in the too-close-to-call race is Screen Gems’ romantic drama, The Vow. The release already opened surprised eyes last week by taking in $41.2 million over its premiere last weekend and kept those expectations wide open by hauling in another $23.6 million over its second frame. Produced for only $30 million in coin, the Rachel McAdams-Channing Tatum feature has a domestic tally at $85.5 million. With another $22.8 million from international waters, Sony’s genre label has a global sum of $108.3 million in coin.
Next up is another Sony release by way of their sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. The Nic Cage-led sequel opened in 3,174 theaters this weekend and shot up an estimated $22.0 million in sales over the last three days. While that’s well below the $45.3 million that its predecessor hauled in its opening frame back in 2007 and nowhere close to the $35 million that Sony expected over the 4-day holiday, the directing team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor managed to keep their budget down to the tune of only $57 million this time around. You can expect “Spirit” to hit that number in a couple of weeks, leaving the franchise open for more follow-ups. Moviegoers under the age of 25 made up 48 percent of the audience.
Dropping a place to the 4th position is Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line’s sequel, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. The Dwayne Johnson-led adventure found another $20.0 million over its second weekend of release, averaging $5,739 per showing in each of its 3,500 venues across the nation. The film now has a domestic cume of $53.2 million after 10 days at the theater. The film also scored the overseas victory this weekend, tacking on $128 million in foreign receipts to its global score of $181.2 million. Not bad at all for a film that was produced for $79 million.
And landing in the 5th place spot is 20th Century Fox’s action comedy, This Means War. The dynamic love triangle consisting of Tom Hardy, Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine opened up this weekend with $17.5 million by its name. With an early bout of showings, its domestic total is currently $19.1 million. The $65 million production also shot up another $10.8 million from its first foreign markets, adding up to a worldwide score of $29.9 million.
Check out the rest of the top 10 down below.
 

Rank
Movie
Weekend
Theaters
Average
Total
Budget
1
Safe House
$24.0 mil
3,121
$7,690
$78.3 mil
$85
2
The Vow
$23.6 mil
2,958
$7,978
$85.5 mil
$30
3
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
$22.0 mil
3,174
$6,931
$22.0 mil
$57
4
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
$20.0 mil
3,500
$5,739
$53.2 mil
$79
5
This Means War
$17.5 mil
3,189
$5,503
$19.1 mil
$65
6
Star Wars The Phantom Menace 3D
$7.8 mil
2,655
$2,962
$33.7 mil
----
7
Chronicle
$7.5 mil
2,556
$2,934
$50.9 mil
$12
8
The Woman in Black
$6.6 mil
2,559
$2,597
$45.2 mil
----
9
The Secret World of Arrietty
$6.4 mil
1,522
$4,205
$6.4 mil
----
10
The Grey
$3.0 mil
2,107
$1,439
$47.9 mil
$25

 
 
Friday, February 24, 2012 Releases:
Wide
Act of Valor (3,000+)
Gone (2,000+)
Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds (2,000+)
Wanderlust (1,900+)
Limited
The Fairy
Around June
Forgiveness of Blood
Jodi Breakers
Neon Flesh
Tomorrow When the War Began

COMICS REVIEWS

COMMENTS AND RESPONSES

Showing items 1 - 10 of 13
1 2 >  >>  
Wiseguy 2/19/2012 4:11:58 PM

I'm predicting that Ghost Rider will be parking his motorcycle at Marvel Studios very soon. Like Punisher after 2 films with mediocre and underwhelming fan response I can't see Sony wanting to pay to hold on this rights

Didn't catch anything this weekend but will catch up with GR sometime during the week. Btw, first time ever I didn't catch a Marvel superhero's film on opening day

shac2846 2/19/2012 5:33:47 PM

 Wow so you saw Electra on opening weekend too? Props for the commitment.

Wiseguy 2/19/2012 6:00:48 PM

What can I say big fan of pretty much everything Marvel, DC too for that matter. Yeah even the Nolan films get me in the theater opening day or weekend

vitieddie 2/20/2012 2:15:52 AM

 Unlike Wise, I managed to catch two movies in the past week.

The Grey (2/5)

This was a bit underwhelming. Guess I had high expectations for this one. The biggest factor was the running time - too long for such a simple plot.

This Means War (2/5)

(spoilers)

Is Tom Hardy the biggest jobber or what. First it was Warrior, now this and next comes TDKR. And in this movie, he gets shafted twice! I guess nice guys do finish last - even hollywood believes it.

There were some genuine laugh out moments but as the movie came to a close, I couldnt help think how unlikable the characters were. The guys found it ok to spy on her, and she found it ok to date/sleep with two men and also found it ok they spied on her.  

Dazzler 2/20/2012 4:19:47 AM

I saw GR.  Wow that sucked.  First one better, first bike better, first story better.  Time for reboot again for him.  They should have focused on Zaratos the Angel.  Maybe they should have placed the setting in hel.  They don't know how to write for ths as usual.

Journey 2.  Enjoyable.  Nemo's ship was great.  Simple, predictable plot.  They are fishing for the Moon for next one.  Looks like the numbers are right so far for it.  Bee riding was pretty good, they borrowed from Return of Jedi for hover bike p.o.v.

Can't wait for the Call of duty movie next week! 

 

Duckbeaver 2/20/2012 4:44:36 AM

 Saw Safe House 2 weeks ago.  You can pretty much call the rest of the plot in the first 10 minutes, but it's still pretty enjoyable.  Denzel is awesome as always and it's actually one of the first movies I've seen that doesn't have Ryan Reynolds being a smug jackass for most of the film.

Yeah, Ghost Rider was pretty bad.  Only two things really kept me engaged in it: the effects and Nic Cage.  The scene where he's interrogating someone/fighting off turning into the Rider was pretty entertaining, but other than that, I really was never in awe of the film.

VinJoy 2/20/2012 5:09:03 AM

Marvel's Avengers. Nothing else matters.

Eldogg42 2/20/2012 6:23:09 AM

 Yeah Wise, me too.  Me and my buddies always catch opening night comic movies (especially marvel). We were so burned on the first GR that we didn't even think of seeing this one.  Apparently I saved $10.  MAybe I'll download later just to see how bad it really is.  i'll just wait for Avengers.   

greyhoundsrule 2/20/2012 8:13:15 AM

So disappointed in GR.

CoolerKing 2/20/2012 9:08:11 AM

GR2 was directed by 2 drunkin retarded 12 yr olds. Damn that movie was terrible!! I rather watch Jason takes manhattan or Halloween 2 50 times in a row than watch this flaming turd again.

1 2 >  >>  

ADD A COMMENT

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Please click here to login.

COMICS NEWS UPDATES

MORE CONTENT BY JARROD SARAFIN

POPULAR TOPICS