While the $45M domestic opening of 300: Rise of an Empire is pretty good, especially considering it lacks Zack Snyder's direction and it's been seven years between films, it's the $87.8M overseas that must have studio reps swooning.Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures teamed up on this one (one of their last since they recently split up), and they have to be happy that dudes again turned out in droves (62% of the audience was male) and that they paid the extra cash to see half-naked warriors (including the phenomenal Eva Green) slicing one another up in IMAX. Overall it may not approach 300's $456M haul but it doesn't really have to in order to be successful and ensure we get one more film to complete the trilogy.
2. Mr. Peabody & Sherman- $32.5M
Dreamworks' Mr. Peabody & Sherman was never a threat to match the blazing start of Frozen or The LEGO Movie, but $32.5M has to be a little disappointing. It's a step down from the debuts of their most recent early-season debuts, such as last year's The Croods (opened with $43M), and it may have something to do with the marketing campaign that didn't seem to have much focus. The property is recognizable to adults who remember the Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons, but it was obviously geared toward kids who other (and better) animated films to choose from right now. If Dreamworks could hop in the WABAC machine and pick a better release date, I'm betting they would.
3. Non-Stop- $15.3M/$52.1M
Is it bad that I had to sit and think what this movie was for a second? Yeah, Non-Stop was pretty forgettable, and 53% of audiences "forgot" to attend it this weekend.
4. The LEGO Movie- $11M/$224.9M
5. Son of God- $10M/$41.4M
6. The Monuments Men- $3.1M/$70.6M
7. 3 Days to Kill- $3.06M/$25.5M
8. Frozen- $3.01M/$393M
9. 12 Years a Slave- $2.1M/$53.1M
See what winning Best Picture can do for you? Steve McQueen's Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave spiked 122%, moving into an additional 650 theaters, even as it hit Blu-Ray this past Tuesday. It's not alone, as Dallas Buyers Club jumped up 47% in the wake of Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto's award wins.
10. Ride Along- $2M/$129.9M
