1. Chappie- $13.3M
In an incredibly soft box office weekend it was Neill Blomkamp's R-rated sci-fi film Chappie that took the top spot with a mediocre $13.3M. Good thing Blomkamp knows how to keep his expenses low, with the exception of the $100M+ Elysium. Chappie cost only about $50M and should make far more than that worldwide, but this was never going to be a huge domestic hit. His first film, 2009's District 9, rode a wave of incredible buzz to a $37M debut on the way to $210M overall. His follow-up was the big-budget, star-studded Elysium which cost over $100M but made $280M, most of it in foreign grosses. That may be how Chappie plays out, too, as it features international stars Hugh Jackman, Dev Patel, and rap group Die Antwoord.
2. Focus- $10M/$34.5M
Holding up relatively well with $10M is the Will Smith/Margot Robbie caper comedy, Focus. The film only cost about $50M (same as Chappie, which is sorta amazing) and with international totals factored in it's nearing the break-even point. There have been a mountain of articles written this week about the supposed death of Smith's career, but that's just lazy reporting in my eyes. Focus is a mid-level film and was always designed as such, which is why it wasn't given a prime summer slot. That it's doing as well as it is largely has to do with Smith, and the solid reviews certainly don't hurt.
3. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel- $8.6M
2012's The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel opened opposite The Avengers and became a quiet success story. It was basically an escape from those who don't give a crap about superhero movies, and the Brit comedy charmed its way to $137M worldwide, $46M of that right here in the States. The sequel opened with $8.6M, a modest number for a modest movie that only exists to give older audiences somewhere to go for a couple hours. Reviews have been middle of the road (including mine), but considering the budget was probably small it may make enough to warrant a third hotel opening.
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service- $8.3M/$98M
5. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water- $7M/$148.9M
6. Fifty Shades of Grey- $5.6M/$156.4M
At $527M worldwide, Fifty Shades of Grey has lived up to the hype as a global phenomenon. Regardless of whatever behind-the-scenes chicanery is going on those sequels are going to get made with money like this on the line.
7. McFarland, USA- $5.3M/$29.4M
8. The Lazarus Effect- $5.1M/$17.4M
9. The DUFF- $4.85M/$26.1M
10. Unfinished Business- $4.8M
Um, yeah. It has been diminishing returns for Vince Vaughn comedies for a few years now, and the low point has been reached with Unfinished Business, which did practically no business with $4.8M. That's even less than the $7M debut of 2013's Delivery Man (only $51M worldwide), and maybe now is a good time to split up Vaughn and director Ken Scott because clearly something's not working. The truth is that every time Vaughn has had a hit it has been alongside somebody else that people actually like. On his own the results turn out like this. Good thing he's got HBO's True Detective coming up. They don't ask about box office over on cable TV.
