Lot of the unexpected at this weekend’s box office report. Early predictions were that “Smurfs 2” would rule at somewhere around $30 million-plus and that the Denzel Washington/Mark Wahlberg comedy-action pic “2 Guns” would post a respectable $20 million. Now that the actual numbers are in, not only has Denzel won the top spot with a $27 million showing, but “Smurfs” pulled in third with only $18 million; and lost second place to last weekend holdover, “The Wolverine.”
(To be clear, predictions that “Smurfs 2” would hit $30 million-plus included it’s total haul since opening on Wednesday, which is 27.5 million. A miss but not a catastrophic one.)
In her box office report, Deadline Nikke Finke makes three important points. Like its predecessor, “Smurfs 2” is expected to be a smash overseas, the overall box office is up 4% over this same weekend last year, and Denzel Washington’s films always do well because moviegoers have learned to trust his choices. He is never in a bad movie.
Here are the top five. Deadline has the top 10 and much more analysis, along with updates.
1. 2 Guns – $27.0M
2. The Wolverine – $18.7M, Cume $92.0M
3. The Smurfs 2 – $18.0M, Cume $27.5M
4. The Conjuring – $12.5M, Cume $107.4M
5. Despicable Me 2 – $10.1M, Cume $326.3M
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