Sequels, reboots, remakes and sequels of rebooted remakes. We all hate them. We all complain about them. Very few conversations about Hollywood don’t contain that complaint. But just like you and I, the powers-that-be in Hollywood look at the box office grosses and see that a well-reviewed original piece of work like Tom Cruise’s “Edge of Tomorrow” is tanking while sequels, reboots, and remakes work as their own cash machine.
A good example is this weekend. A sequel to a reboot of a forgotten 80’s television show will probably make its budget back by Monday. “22 Jump Street” debuted at number 1 with nearly $60 million.
In second place is “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” which will debut to somewhere around $54 million.
Meanwhile, “Edge of Tomorrow” has already sunk to fifth place with a total gross of only $57 million in its second week.
Anyone want to question why there is already talk of a “23 Jump Street?”
Rounding out the weekend are “Maleficent” at number 3. In its third weekend, Angelina Jolie’s twist on “Sleeping Beauty” earned another $20 million for a total of $164 million. As of now $200 million is out of reach.
“The Fault In Our Stars” jerked enough teenage tears for $19 million its second weekend. That puts the low budget phenom at $84 million in just two weeks.
“Godzilla” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past” have run out of gas in their respective 5th and 4th weeks. “X-Men” will fall short of $225 million. “Godzilla” will not see $200 million.
The crammed summer box office finally takes a break next weekend. Clint Eastwood’s musical “Jersey Boys” and the comedy sequel “Think Like a Man Too” are unlikely to shake much of anything up.
The decks clear the following weekend, though, when “Transformers: Age of Extinction” arrives.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
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