Skip to main content

BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE Featurette

#BoxOffice Report: 'Panda 3' Kick Its Way to the Top

The animated three-peater scores the biggest January opening ever.

Story by Matt Cummings

In what's generally been a tough month for film, January did deliver a last-minute surprise as 20th Century Fox took No. 1 this weekend with DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 3. Making an estimated $41.3m, it's the best opening for a January cartoon and the third best January opening ever, behind American Sniper ($89.3m) and Ride Along ($41.5m). That's an excellent start for a series which saw Panda #1 make $631.7m and Panda #2 and $665.7m respectively.

The news couldn't be better for a studio that has apparently seen the box office light. With so many big films opening between now and the end of March - including Disney’s Zootopia (March 4), Deadpool (February 12) and Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice (March 18) - Fox rolled the dice and hit big with Panda.

Meanwhile, The Revenant held on to No. 2 with $12.8m, giving it a six-week cum of $138.8m. Star Wars: The Force Awakens also held on to its previous No. 3 spot, making just over $11.1m, down only 21%. Even though it's made $895.5m, audiences are still finding time to re-visit a galaxy far, far away.

The Disney disaster film The Finest Hours debuted with a very soft $10.3m, making it perhaps the first big disappointment of 2016. Although it received an A- from CinemaScore, audiences weren't exactly enamored with the headline of Chris Pine and Holliday Grainger in the leading roles. Its roughly $100m budget (production and marketing) will be hard to recoup with opening numbers like these. Ride Along 2 rounded out the top five with $8.4m, giving it a three-week total of $70.9m, which is more than 20% off what the original had done by this time.

But it was also a weekend filled with more dud releases, including Fifty Shades of Black barely making the top ten with just $5.9m and the Natalie Portman western Jane Got a Gun with a disastrous $836,000. Whether it's fair to say it or not, neither really registered on anyone's radar from the outset, with Shades looking like more Marlon Wayans crap. We're ready to anoint him as a disciple to Adam Sandler, because his projects are so obviously low-brow, cheaply produced comedies hoping to capture the low-hanging fruit of uneducated teens who think this sort of stuff is funny. Jane could be a different story, but we'll need to see more critic reviews of it before burying this deep in the desert.

Discuss this review with fellow SJF fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @SandwichJohnFilms, and follow author Matt Cummings at @mfc90125.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New Clip & Release Date For Chaos Walking Starring Tom Holland & Daisy Ridley

In the not too distant future, Todd Hewitt ( Tom Holland ) discovers Viola ( Daisy Ridley ), a mysterious girl who crash lands on his planet, where all the women have disappeared and the men are afflicted by “the Noise” – a force that puts all their thoughts on display. In this dangerous landscape, Viola’s life is threatened – and as Todd vows to protect her, he will have to discover his own inner power and unlock the planet’s dark secrets. .   In theater & IMAX March 5th.   Discuss this with fellow SJF fans on Facebook . On Twitter, follow us at @SandwichJohnFilms Please Leave A Comment-

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania Trailer

In the film, which officially kicks off phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Super-Hero partners Scott Lang ( Paul Rudd ) and Hope Van Dyne ( Evangeline Lilly ) return to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together, with Hope’s parents Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne ( Michelle Pfeiffer ), the family finds themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought was possible. Jonathan Majors joins the adventure as Kang. Director Peyton Reed returns to direct the film; Kevin Feige and Stephen Broussard produce.     Discuss this with fellow SJF fans on Facebook . On Twitter, follow us at @SandwichJohnFilms Please Leave A Comment-

Sex Tape Review: Overly Sexual, Rude, Vulgar, and Absolutely Hilarious

The raunchy Sex Tape will divide audiences and critics, but who cares? Sex Tape suggests a growing practice among loving partners: that of making a raunchy testament of their escapades for posterity. But what happens when that evidence gets seen by friends, neighbors, and even the mailman? This is the plot that pits Jay (Jason Segel) and Annie (Cameron Diaz) in an effort to secure every iPad gift Jay has given, his record company playlists being the envy of the recipients, but which has also inadvertently spread the video to every device. The reason for the act - termed in the movie as pulling "the full Lincoln " for its three-hour length - stems from the couple's non-existent social life, brought on by the constant demands of their children. The couple has a lot to lose: a burgeoning business relationship between Annie and Hank (Rob Lowe) could end if the iPad she's given to Hank exposes the video, and so the couple sets out to reclaim and wipe the incrim