“ParaNorman” pulls ahead of “Sparkle” to land at No. 3; “Odd Life of Timothy Green” performs better than expected.
A crush of new films — led by The Expendables 2 — opened on the softer side as the dog days of August gripped the North American box office.
One exception was Disney’s whimsical drama The Odd Life of Timothy Green, which met its mark in posting a five-day debut of $15.2 million on the strength of younger and older females (the movie opened on Wednesday).
Expendables 2, from Lionsgate and Millennium Films, easily topped the box office with $28.8 million, but came in $6 million behind The Expendables, which debuted to $34.8 million on the same weekend in 2010.
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The sequel has even more star power, having added Chuck Norris,Jean-Claude Van Damme and Liam Hemsworth to its lineup. And while Arnold Schwarzenegger made a cameo in the first film, he’s featured far more this time around.
The rest of the cast includes Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham,Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture andTerry Crews.
Financially, Lionsgate is on solid ground, having acquired North American and U.K. rights to Expendables 2 for $35 million.
Lionsgate executive vice president of distribution David Spitz says there are several reasons why Expendables 2 will have long legs. One is the film’s A- CinemaScore, portending good worth of mouth (the first film received a B+).
The sequel also played older than the 2010 title, with 65 percent of the audience over the age of 25, versus 60 percent for Expendables.
“We think we’ll have a great run,” Spitz said. “Older audiences don’t rush out to the cinema on opening weekend.”
Bourne Legacy came in No. 2 in its second weekend, grossing $17 million for a domestic total of $69.6 million. Overseas, the pic grossed $18.2 million from 18 territories for an early international total of $28.1 million and worldwide cume of $97.7 million.
Among the weekend’s other new films, Focus Features’ family entry ParaNorman came in No. 3, grossing $14 million. The 3D stop-motion pic, earning a B+ CinemaScore, was produced by Laika, the creative force behind Coraline (Focus has a distribution deal with Laika).
ParaNorman came in on the low end of expectations and behind Coraline’s $16.8 million debut in February 2009. One milestone — the movie is playing in 3,429 locations, the widest bow ever for Focus.
The tale of boy who must stop the destruction of his hometown by a witch’s spell, ParaNorman is voiced by Casey Affleck, Tempestt Bledsoe, Jeff Garlin, John Goodman, Anna Kendrick and Leslie Mann.
“We have a good number of weeks in front of us before the 3D rerelease of FInding Nemo on Sept. 14. We also have the Labor Day holiday,” said Focus president of distribution Jack Foley.
He noted that ParaNorman saw an 18 percent jump from Friday to Saturday, whereas most animated summer films are flat or only see a 10 percent gain.
Warner Bros.’ raunchy political comedy The Campaign, starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, placed No. 4, grossing $13.4 million in its second weekend for a domestic total of $51.7 million.
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TriStar’s musical drama Sparkle — Whitney Houston’s final movie — came in No. 5 in its debut, grossing $12 million (also the low end of expectations). The film received a glowing A CinemaScore and cost a modest $14 million to produce.
The remake of the 1976 film stars American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, Derek Luke, Mike Epps, Cee Lo Green, Cameron Ejogo and Tika Sumpter and is about three sisters who form a singing group in Detroit during the Motown era. Houston plays their mother.
“Given the storyline, the campaign for Sparkle was aimed at women and audiences who would connect with themes from the film, such as the music, fashion and faith. Opening weekend exit surveys show the film played exactly as we expected: Older and female,” said a Sony spokesman.
Of those turning out, 74 percent of the audience was female and 62 percent over the age of 35.
Timothy Green, starring Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton as a childless couple who dream up a 10-year-old boy, received an A- CinemaScore. Directed by Peter Hedges, the movie cost $25 million to produce.
“It’s gratifying to see quality, family filmmaking recognized by audiences who, with their favorable CinemaScore, leave us hopeful that word of mouth will propel a nice, long run,” Disney executive vice president of distribution Dave Hollis said.
Disney also made box office headlines as Brave jumped the $400 million mark at the worldwide box office, the 11th Pixar title to reach the milestone.
The specialty box office generated news as David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis, starring Robert Pattinson, scored the best average of the weekend, grossing $96,437 from three theaters in New York and Los Angeles for a location average of $32,146. Entertainment One is distributing the film.
Samuel Goldwyn’s Robot & Frank debuted to $38,234 from two theaters in New York and Los Angeles for a per theater average of $19,117; Magnolia’s Compliance debuted in one theater, grossing $16,000.
