In what we can only assume is a rejection of digital projection as a replacement for celluloid—or a repudiation of the more dashing older version of that awkward kid from About A Boy—audiences largely declined to see Jack And The Giant Slayer, at least in the kind of numbers that would prevent it from becoming a catastrophe of John Carter-level dimensions. With a $28 million opening frame, the film easily won the weekend, but that’s but a small chip in its reported $200 million budget, which doesn’t factor the tens of millions more dumped into the worldwide marketing campaign. Worse still for Hollywood, box office was down 38% from last year, according to Ray Subers at Box Office Mojo, continuing a woeful early-year slump that Oz The Great And Powerful can only do so much to reverse this weekend. The two other wide releases, 21 & Over and The Last Exorcism Part II, performed feebly as well, taking in $9 million and $8 million, respectively, for third and fourth behind the unstoppable Identity Thief. But given that their grosses were reasonably close to their modest budgets, there will be no rending of designer garments in Hollywood over them.
In limited release, Park Chan-wook’s English-language debut Stoker enjoyed a solid outing with the week’s best per-screen-average by far: $22,686 per screen in seven screens. The visionary documentary Leviathan also scored a clean $10,000 on one screen, buoyed by reviews that highlighted its innovative style. By contrast, the well-meaning hunger documentary A Place At The Table had a difficult time feeding the minds of arthouse moviegoers, earning just $2,400 per screen on 35 screens. Other indie numbers too depressing to even think about, much less report.
For more detailed numbers, visit Box Office Mojo.