I assumed most studios were scared of opening against Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch, what with only that and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules opening wide this weekend, but even without any real competition, Sucker Punch lost in a route, $24.4 million for Wimpy Kid to Sucker Punch‘s $19 million. Ouch. Though Sucker Punch will probably earn back its $82 million budget internationally, no matter how they try to spin it, no one expected it to get beat by a movie about… what the hell is Diary of a Wimpy Kid about, again? Forget it. I refuse to look this up.
Striking approximately 3,900 screens at 3,033 locations, Sucker Punch mustered an estimated $19 million, which included an estimated $4 million at 229 IMAX venues (representing a record share for regular IMAX at 21 percent). That was a tad behind Kick-Ass‘s opening last Spring but much greater than the debuts of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Jennifer’s Body. However, it was no match for the Kill Bill and Resident Evil movies among other comparable titles, and, for all its hype, it was barely average for an action heroine movie. It was also director Zack Snyder’s worst live-action start yet, following 300, Watchmen, and Dawn of the Dead. [BoxOfficeMojo]
Though a wise man might blame the paltry numbers on the fact that the movie wasn’t very good, bad word of mouth, a lack of any real stars, a marketing campaign that stressed that none of the cool scenery was real, the fact that they watered down the appeal by going for a PG-13 rating, etc… let’s face it, this is Hollywood. Wise men don’t stay long. Guaranteed this makes studios even less apt than they already are to take a chance on anything that isn’t a sequel, remake, comic book, toy, or video game adaptation. And that sucks, because if the Family Circus movie actually makes it into production, it will knock off the invention of the anime fleshlight as the low point of civilization. I’m not exaggerating, someone should die for that.
| Film | Weekend | Per | Total | |
| 1 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules | $24,400,000 | $7,704 | $24,400,000 |
| 2 | Sucker Punch | $19,015,000 | $6,269 | $19,015,000 |
| 3 | Limitless | $15,225,000 (-19.5%) | $5,428 | $41,281,000 |
| 4 | The Lincoln Lawyer | $11,000,000 (-16.7%) | $4,064 | $28,967,000 |
| 5 | Rango | $9,800,000 (-35.0%) | $2,689 | $106,363,000 |
| 6 | Battle: Los Angeles | $7,600,000 (-47.7%) | $2,437 | $72,580,000 |
| 7 | Paul | $7,506,000 (-42.5%) | $2,675 | $24,610,000 |
| 8 | Red Riding Hood | $4,340,000 (-39.6%) | $1,599 | $32,453,000 |
| 9 | The Adjustment Bureau | $4,245,000 (-26.5%) | $1,860 | $54,871,000 |
| 10 | Mars Needs Moms | $2,186,000 (-58.9%) | $1,007 | $19,152,000 |
[chart via CHUD]