Box Office: 'The Lone Ranger' is summer's third bomb
Credit: Walt Disney Pictures
Things aren't looking great for The Lone Ranger, the big budget update of the classic radio, TV and film series of the same name.
After a dismal opening day, prospects for the Johnny Depp/Armie Hammer vehicle remained grim throughout the weekend as the Western grossed roughly $10.6 million, totaling a projected five-day debut of approximately $50 million, which is not nearly enough for the film to make back its considerable production budget.
Costing roughly $250 million to produce, The Lone Ranger is the summer's third major box office disappointment following After Earth, starring Will Smith and son, Jaden; and the Jamie Foxx/Channing Tatum-starring White House Down.
The Lone Ranger has been a troubled production from the start. Before director Gore Verbinski began shooting, the production was almost shut down due to budget concerns. However, the filmmakers themselves, including producer Jerry Bruckheimer, agreed to bring the budget down to $215 million in order to keep the lights on. Yet despite the decreased budget, the price tag quickly ballooned once actual shooting began, due in part to the fact that all the stunts are real. In addition, the film's lengthy 149 minute runtime increased expenses considerably.
Disney had hoped the film would be a new tentpole franchise for the studio, capturing lightning in a bottle in much the same way producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Gore Verbinski and star Johnny Depp did with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. However, after four Pirates movies, audiences might be fatigued from the formula of genre-oriented adventure stories, bombastic setpieces, and Johnny Depp in quirky, flashy roles opposite a milquetoast leading man. It's still early in the film's theatrical run, so it's completely possible that the film will turn a profit once overseas numbers are factored in, especially considering Depp's huge star status in international markets. But as of now, things aren't looking pretty.
However, Universal and Illumination Entertainment have cause for celebration, as Despicable Me 2 continues its impressive box office run, adding $30.2 million to its box office total on Friday for a projected five-day opening of over $140 million. This marks one of the best showings ever for an animated film, rivaled only by Toy Story 3's first five days. In addition, in terms of overall box-office receipts, the animated comedy is helping to fuel one of the best Fourth of July holiday stretches on record.
Despicable Me 2 is also crushing records left and right. In North America, the film ranks as the second-highest Thursday gross in history behind Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ($29.1 million). The previous day, the film scored the third-highest opening day for an animated feature behind Toy Story 3 and Shrek the Third, although it should be noted that both of those films opened on a Friday. However, the film's success isn't confined to domestic markets. Internationally, Despicable Me 2 is No. 1 in 35 of the 38 markets in which it premiered this weekend, earning some all-time high numbers for an animated feature. For example, the film has earned the distinction of the highest all-time opening in Mexico, along with similar distinctions from smaller markets such as Indonesia, South Africa and Vietnam. opening of all time in Mexico and smaller territories including Indonesia, South Africa and Vietnam. It's also holding strong in five out of seven markets in which it premiered last week.
There were other notable entrants in the holiday box office race. Summit Entertainment's Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain delivered a solid five-day total of $17.4 million across 876 theaters. Summit is marketing the stand-up comedy film, shot live at New York's Madison Square Garden, to African-American audiences and comedy fans, who have little to get excited about among the current slate of box office releases. However, Summit may have a little competition on the comedy front with the release of Fox Searchlight's The Way, Way Back, which opened in 19 theaters on Friday, grossing $175,862 and equaling a location average of $9,256. The coming-of-age comedy, directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, stars Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Liam James, AnnaSophia Robb and Sam Rockwell.