It was a pretty slow weekend with only two heavily marketed releases, and really only The Wolverine had a mutant's chance in Hell at making any real noise. Four years removed from the last crack at a solo film for the X-man, the sequel's $55M debut falls $30M short of its predecessor, and nearly $70M less than X-men: The Last Stand. Both of those movies are considered disasters by most, and even though the franchise has been redeemed thanks to X-men: First Class, it's not totally unexpected that audiences would be weary of another Wolverine-centric offering. It's also possible that fans are only interested in the character when he's part of a team. Or the Japanese setting and lack of a clear storyline may have kept some away. Fortunately, the international flavor of it seems to have had a big impact on its foreign box office, reeling in $86M for a worldwide total of $141M.
2. The Conjuring- $22.1M/$86.9M
Slipping only 47% in its second week, The Conjuring is shaping up to not just be another successful horror smash for James Wan, but one of the most successful horrors ever. At the rate it's going, the film will surpass $100M by this time next week, and more than validates New Line's decision to get moving on a sequel.
3. Despicable Me 2- $16M/$306.4M
Only two movies have crossed the $300M domestic mark this year, Despicable Me 2 and Iron Man 3. Not bad company to be in. While the animated sequel probably won't sniff the $1B+ of Marvel's hero, it has racked up a jaw-dropping $660M worldwide.
4. Turbo- $13.3M/$55.8M
5. Grown Ups 2- $11.5M/$101.7M
6. Red 2- $9.4M/$35.1M
7. Pacific Rim- $7.5M/$84M
8. The Heat- $6.85M/$141.2M
9. RIPD- $5.85M/$24.35M
10. Fruitvale Station- $4.65M/$6.3M
Stepping into semi-wide release in its third week, Fruitvale Station racked up $4.65M in only 1064 theaters. The award-winning biopic on the life of Oscar Grant has been pegged by many as a possible player for the Academy Awards, and it could probably be argued that it would have done bigger business if it had held on to its original fall release date. But these are still terrific early numbers, and it's likely to improve as the roll out continues.
Aubrey Plaza's raunchy sex comedy The To Do List wasn't on anybody's list as it opened to a tiny $1.5M at only 591 sites. Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine averaged a remarkable $102K at only 6 locations for a total of $613K.
