"SpongeBob" soaks up the competition with $55M opening

1. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” – $55 million [debut week] Paramount Pictures’ spongy hero far and away exceeded expectations to wash out the box office. This was in line with “Big Hero 6,” which opened to $56 million in November en route to a $218 million gross. It’s off a bit from the $69 million debut.

2. American Sniper – $24 million [4th week; $282 million in total] After a three-week reign, Bradley Cooper’s career best grosser just slipped to the second spot. This week’s tally allowed “Sniper” to shoot past “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” for third place in 2014 releases …despite opening nationwide on Jan. 16 in 2015. I know, it’s ridiculously confusing to me too.

3. Jupiter Ascending – $18.3 million [debut week] Since “The Matrix Reloaded” shattered box office records with its $91.7 million opening in 2003, The Wachowskis have seen staggering diminishing returns. “The Matrix Revolutions” debuted to $48 million in November 2003 while “Speed Racer” only managed $18.5 million in 2008. “Cloud Atlas” was an even bigger disappointment with its $9.6 million debut in 2012. I say all that to cover the good news for The Wachowskis. “Jupiter Ascending” shows a trend upwards, but there’s no way in heck the film will recover its $176 million budget and may finally spell the end of their collaboration with Warner Bros. Here’s a thought though. Why not put The Wachowskis on one of the DC films (along with an actual screenwriter of course)?

4. Seventh Son – $7 million [debut week] The other sci-fi/fantasy film released this week also failed to connect with audiences and didn’t make any noticeable dent in its $90 million budget.