Despite a painfully slow weekend at the box office, Dreamworks’ animated tale, Kung Fu Panda 3, was able to retain dibs on the top spot thanks to the dreaded Super Bowl weekend and a surprisingly weak showing of the George Clooney-led comedy, Hail, Caesar!
Movie industry insiders know that Super Bowl weekend usually translates into a slow weekend for Hollywood but even with that tidbit in mind, thanks to opening at less than $12 million, Hail, Casear! could very well be on its way to flopsville. Because the movie industry typically concedes to the big game on this particular Sunday every year, the lion’s share of the three-day total is made on Friday and Saturday, but Caesar was never able to win any of the days against Panda and appears to have not been able to connect with audiences.
To this day, 2008’s Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus stands as the all-time Super Bowl weekend champ with an estimated take of $31.1 million followed closely by Nicholas Sparks’ Dear John, which pulled in $30.5 million in 2010.
According to media analyst Paul Dergarabedian most movie studios more or less write the weekend off as a promotional expense.
“It’s one of those weekends that Hollywood braces for, but they know how to course-correct before it happens,” Dergarabedian says.
When it was all said and done, Kung Fu Panda 3’s $21 million was easily enough to top the petite $11.5 million, Hail!, Caesar! The heavily buzzed about and critically acclaimed The Revenant landed at No. 3 with another $7.1 million added to its jackpot. At No. 4 with its $6.8 million earned this week, Star Wars: The Force Awakens officially crossed over the $2 billion worldwide mark with $900 million being accounted for stateside. And rounding out the top five is the Nicolas Sparks romantic drama, The Choice, which brought in an even $6 million.
For the full weekend top 10, check out the list below:
1. Kung Fu Panda 3 – $12M
2. Hail, Caesar! – $11.4M
3. The Revenant – $7.1M
4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – $6.8M
5. The Choice – $6M
6. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – $5.2M
7. The Finest Hours – $4.7M
8. Ride Along 2 – $4.5M
9. The Boy – $4.098M
10. Dirty Grandpa – $4.050M
