Over the 10th busiest movie-going weekend of all-time, Universal’s Despicable Me 2 had one of the largest debuts ever for an animated film while Disney’s The Lone Ranger fell far short of expectations.
The Steve Carell-fronted, minion-based film opened to a whopping $142.1 million, surpassing even Toy Story 3‘s debut of $141 million. On a budget of a relatively average $76 million, Despicable Me 2 is already far into the plus, with worldwide receipts for the film totaling $293 million. For comparison, 2010’s Despicable Me earned $543 million during its run at the box office on a budget of $69 million.
Meanwhile, Armie Hammer and Johhny Depp’s western-based saga opened to a disappointing $48.9 million. Rather than The Lone Ranger living up to expectations, it followed suit of failed western films Cowboys & Aliens, Wild, Wild West and Disney’s John Carter.
“We thought it would appeal to a broader audience than it did,” Dave Hollis, head of distribution for Disney, said. The film audience skewed heavily toward older moviegoers because of the film’s PG-13 rating due to violence. Over 68 percent of The Lone Ranger‘s audience was older than 25. Cowen & Co. analyst Doug Cruetz has predicted a $100 million lose for Disney.
Due to strong competition from Despicable Me 2, Monsters University‘s take at the box office dropped 57% from last week to take the #4 spot with estimated $19.6 million.
The Top 10 films at this weekend’s box office are as follows (according to BoxOfficeMojo):
|
TW
|
LW
|
Title (click to view)
|
Studio
|
Weekend Gross
|
% Change
|
Theater Count / Change
|
Average
|
Total Gross
|
Budget*
|
|
1
|
N
|
Despicable Me 2 |
Uni. |
$82,518,000
|
–
|
3,997
|
–
|
$20,645
|
$142,076,000
|
$76
|
|
2
|
N
|
The Lone Ranger |
BV |
$29,432,000
|
–
|
3,904
|
–
|
$7,539
|
$48,936,000
|
$215
|
|
3
|
2
|
The Heat |
Fox |
$25,000,000
|
-36.1%
|
3,184
|
+3
|
$7,852
|
$86,398,000
|
$43
|
|
4
|
1
|
Monsters University |
BV |
$19,590,000
|
-57.0%
|
3,739
|
-265
|
$5,239
|
$216,127,000
|
–
|
|
5
|
3
|
World War Z |
Par. |
$18,200,000
|
-38.9%
|
3,316
|
-291
|
$5,489
|
$158,758,000
|
$190
|
|
6
|
4
|
White House Down |
Sony |
$13,500,000
|
-45.7%
|
3,222
|
–
|
$4,190
|
$50,478,000
|
$150
|
|
7
|
5
|
Man of Steel |
WB |
$11,415,000
|
-45.0%
|
2,905
|
-1,226
|
$3,929
|
$271,206,000
|
$225
|
|
8
|
N
|
Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain |
LG/S |
$10,100,000
|
–
|
876
|
–
|
$11,530
|
$17,460,000
|
–
|
|
9
|
6
|
This is the End |
Sony |
$5,800,000
|
-33.3%
|
2,104
|
-606
|
$2,757
|
$85,554,000
|
$32
|
|
10
|
7
|
Now You See Me |
LG/S |
$2,770,000
|
-50.6%
|
1,606
|
-958
|
$1,725
|
$110,415,000
|
$75
|
