The undercover cop comedy, 22 Jump Street, was the winner this Father’s Day weekend, scoring a solid $60 million across 3,300 locations, according to studio estimates from the box office Sunday.
The sequel, which reunited Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, has become the second biggest opening for a R-rated comedy in history. It ranked in between 2011’s The Hangover Part II ($85.9 million) and 2008’s Sex and the City ($57 million).
Both summertime sequels 22 and How to Train Your Dragon 2 were expected to gross about $50 million, with Dragon doing just that. According to studio estimates, the family film followed in second place with $50 million in ticket sales across 4,235 locations.
“It’s extraordinary to have two films open to $50 million on the same weekend,” said Chris Aronson, Twentieth Century Fox domestic distribution chief. “Any time you have a PG animated film opening against an R-rated comedy, that’s the kind of competitive environment you’re looking for.”
Critics and fans alike were fond of the comedy, which nearly doubled the original film’s $36 million debut, with critics giving it an 83 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Dragon, however, ended up getting the higher critic rating, with a 92 percent on the “tomatometer.”
If Sony distribution chief Rory Bruer had it his way, he would make the Jump Street franchise a trilogy, with 23 Jump Street next to hit theaters.
“When you’ve got two guys with great chemistry you want to see it again and again,” said Bruer.
In its third week of release, Disney’s Maleficent remains strong ranking third place on the box office charts despite the solid competition of sequels. Warner Brother’s Edge of Tomorrow took the fourth spot, followed by last week’s top film, Fox’s romantic comedy drama The Fault in Our Stars.
See what films made the top 10 list at the box office this weekend by clicking “Next”!
