Box office roundup – June 22, 2014 – Think Like a Man Too cleans out the box office
Cedric (Kevin Hart) and the guys reluctantly prepare to take the stage at The Hustler Club to clear a debt.
1. Think Like a Man Too – $30 million [debut week] – The sequel to the breakout 2012 hit didn’t match the $33.6 of its predecessor, but it did earn enough to win this week’s box office. It’s possible the lousy critical response – the film has a terrible 13% freshness rating on rottentomatoes.com – played a part in the film failing to exceed the original’s debut despite being in 210 more theaters.
For star Kevin Hart, this marks his third film this year that’s opened to at least $25 million – a very impressive feat that continues to prove he’s a box office draw.
This marks a record ninth consecutive week where the previous champ failed to hold serve and retain its box office crown. The last film to successfully repeat was back in April with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And with the fourth Transformers film coming to theaters next week, a 10th week is a lock for another changing of the guard.
2. 22 Jump Street – $29 million [2nd week; $114 million] – Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill’s sequel saw a significant 63 percent drop from its gangbusters opening weekend, but crossing the $100 million milestone all but ensures we’ll certainly be getting a 23 Jump Street.
3. How to Train Your Dragon 2 – $25.3 million [2nd week; $95 million in total] – I’m kinda surprised that this film is somewhat struggling to find its audience when you consider how beloved the 2010 original was and the rave reviews this has earned, including an ‘A’ CinemaScore and its 92% freshness on rottentomatoes.com. It may just be a case of the core audience moving on from the franchise and finding something else to occupy their viewing time? Either way this is slightly trailing behind the pace of the first film and probably won’t match its $217.5 million gross.
4. Jersey Boys – $13 million [debut week] Clint Eastwood’s latest drama, a musical based on Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, didn’t exactly light up the box office charts, but it did give the Oscar-winning director his highest grossing debut since 2000’s Space Cowboys. If it holds accordingly to other recent Eastwood films, it’ll likely wrap its box office stint around $40 million.
5. Maleficent – $13 million [4th week; $195 million] Angelina Jolie’s fantasy epic is now the highest-grossing live-action film of her career with this weekend finally surpassing Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which earned $186.3 million in 2005. You can almost hear the non-creative execs coming up with a plot for Maleficent 2 with this impressive box office haul.