Box Office: '300: Rise of an Empire' Rules With $45.1 Million Debut
Credit: Warner Bros.
The battle for the top spot at the box office was between two new arrivals, one a testosterone-fueled action blockbuster, and the other a family-friendly animated adaptation of a classic cartoon. So which film won? The dude-flick, of course.
300: Rise of an Empire was No. 1 at the box office with an impressive $45.1 million debut, topping the $32.5 million debut of this week's other big new arrival, Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Yet the action sequel was unable to beat the record-breaking debut of the first entry in the franchise, as 300 made history on this same weekend in 2007 with $70.9 million. However, while the sequel didn't top the original in North America, 300: Rise of an Empire is overtaking the original in overseas markets, opening to a monumental $87.8 million from 58 markets. This brings the film's worldwide total to $132.9 million, an impressive first-week gross.
As for the No. 2 film this week, Mr. Peabody & Sherman brought in an impressive haul, but its gross was likely hurt somewhat by the continued strength of The LEGO Movie, its chief competition. Coming in at No. 4 in its fifth weekend, The LEGO Movie raked in $11 million, bringing its domestic total to $225 million. One would imagine that Peabody & Sherman would have been much stronger had its release been further away from The LEGO Movie, which has siphoned away a considerable amount of potential viewers from competing family films.
But 20th Century Fox is remaining optimistic: "With spring holidays are ahead of us, and terrific exit polls, Peabody & Sherman will be entertaining audiences for some time to come," said Fox distribution chief Chris Aronson.
Meanwhile, another new arrival made box office history: Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel earned the top location average of all time for a live-action title, opening in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles, and grossing $800,000 for a theater average of $200,000. This bests the $147,262 gross of Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master in 2012.
Among holdovers, Non-Stop falls from the top spot to No. 3, earning $15.4 million. However, its considerable gross isn't nearly as impressive as the ongoing momentum of Son of God, which continues to surprise at the box office. The big-screen spinoff of the TV miniseries The Bible has proven its staying power by raking in $10 million to round out the top 5. It continues to be the most successful religious-themed release since Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, although it may face competition for that title from Darren Aronofsky's Noah, which releases at the end of the month. The film, a largely modified retelling of the story of Noah's Ark, is expected to do big business upon release. Given the $130 million budget and the considerable star power behind it, including Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Hopkins, Emma Watson, and Logan Lerman, one would certainly hope it'd do huge numbers. But then, there's no guarantee that just because Son of God is doing solid business that Noah will be just as strong. I suppose we'll see soon enough though.
Elsewhere, the re-release of 12 Years A Slave received a bump from its Oscar win for Best Picture, re-entering the top 10 with $2.2 million. Also remaining strong is Ride Along, which rounds out the top 10 nearly two months after its box office debut.
So which other films made a dent at the box office this weekend? Check out the full Top 10 below:
- 300: Rise of An Empire ($45.1 million)
- Mr. Peabody & Sherman ($32.5 million)
- Non-Stop ($15.4 million)
- The LEGO Movie ($11 million)
- Son of God ($10 million)
- The Monuments Men ($3.1million)
- 3 Days to Kill. ($3.06 million)
- Frozen ($3.01 million)
- 12 Years a Slave ($2.2 million)
- Ride Along ($2 million)
Did you hit up the movies this weekend? What did you see? Sound off in the comments!