Movies
Box Office Recap: ’22 Jump Street’ Tops ‘How to Train Your Dragon 2′ With $60 Million
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”!
10. Chef – $2.3 million
Film Synopsis
Chef Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) suddenly quits his job at a prominent Los Angeles restaurant after refusing to compromise his creative integrity for its controlling owner (Dustin Hoffman), he is left to figure out what’s next. Finding himself in Miami, he teams up with his ex-wife (Sofia Vergara), his friend (John Leguizamo) and his son to launch a food truck. Taking to the road, Chef Carl goes back to his roots to reignite his passion for the kitchen — and zest for life and love.
9. Neighbors – $2.5 million
Film Synopsis
Seth Rogen, Zac Efron and Rose Byrne lead the cast of Neighbors, a comedy about a young couple suffering from arrested development who are forced to live next to a fraternity house after the birth of their newborn baby. Neighbors is directed by Nick Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek).
8. A Million Ways to Die in the West – $3.1 million
Film Synopsis
Seth MacFarlane directs, produces, co-writes and plays the role of the cowardly sheep farmer Albert in A Million Ways to Die in the West. After Albert backs out of a gunfight, his fickle girlfriend leaves him for another man. When a mysterious and beautiful woman rides into town, she helps him find his courage and they begin to fall in love. But when her husband, a notorious outlaw, arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test. Starring alongside MacFarlane are Oscar (R) winner Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman and Neil Patrick Harris. MacFarlane reunites many of the filmmakers behind Universal and MRC’s hit film Ted including Scott Stuber (Bluegrass Films) and Jason Clark who produce, and Wellesley Wild and Alec Sulkin who co-wrote the script.
7. Godzilla – $3.2 million
Film Synopsis
In Summer 2014, the world’s most revered monster is reborn as Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures unleash the epic action adventure Godzilla. From visionary new director Gareth Edwards (“Monsters”) comes a powerful story of human courage and reconciliation in the face of titanic forces of nature, when the awe-inspiring Godzilla rises to restore balance as humanity stands defenseless.
6. X-Men: Days of Future Past – $9.5 million
Film Synopsis
The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-Men: Days of Future Past. The beloved characters from the original X-Men film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from the past, X-Men: First Class, in order to change a major historical event and fight in an epic battle that could save our future.
5. The Fault in Our Stars – 15.7 million
Film Synopsis
Hazel and Gus are two extraordinary teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them – and us – on an unforgettable journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous, given that they met and fell in love at a cancer support group. The Fault in Our Stars, based upon the number-one bestselling novel by John Green, explores the funny, thrilling and tragic business of being alive and in love.
4. Edge of Tomorrow – $16.2 million
Film Synopsis
The epic action of Edge of Tomorrow unfolds in a near future in which an alien race has hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, unbeatable by any military unit in the world. Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously dropped into what amounts to a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop-forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again…and again. But with each battle, Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt). And, as Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy.
3. Maleficent – $19 million
Film Synopsis
Maleficent explores the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the classic Sleeping Beauty and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king’s newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever.
2. How to Train Your Dragon 2 – $50 million
Film Synopsis
DreamWorks Animation returns to the world of dragons and Vikings in this sequel to their successful 2010 outing How to Train Your Dragon. The original film followed the exploits of a Viking chief’s son, who must capture a dragon in order to mark his passage into manhood and prove his worthiness to the tribe.
1. 22 Jump Street – $60 million
Film Synopsis
After making their way through high school (twice), big changes are in store for officers Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) when they go deep undercover at a local college. But when Jenko meets a kindred spirit on the football team, and Schmidt infiltrates the bohemian art major scene, they begin to question their partnership. Now they don’t have to just crack the case – they have to figure out if they can have a mature relationship. If these two overgrown adolescents can grow from freshmen into real men, college might be the best thing that ever happened to them.