Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx have more to deal with than just terrorists this weekend, as “White House Down” stumbled at the box office Friday night in the wake of the new comedy “The Heat” and Pixar’s holdover “Monsters University.”
Neither “Heat” nor “House” were enough to topple “Monsters U.” from the No. 1 spot. It picked up another $14.2 million, bringing its domestic total to an already monstrous $139 million.
Opening to an excellent $13.6 million, Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock’s “The Heat” burned fellow newcomer “White House Down,” which only picked up a less-than-expected $9 million. The former will likely earn a hot $39 million for the weekend, while “White House” will likely bring in just $25 million.
The difference is more striking once budgets are factored in; “Heat” reportedly cost just $43 million, while the Roland Emmerich-directed “White House” cost around $150 million.
The actioner’s soft opening could be partially attributed to its proximity to the similarly-plotted, but much cheaper, “Olympus Has Fallen,” which opened to $30 million in March. Could this signal an end to Tatum’s box office streak?
It’s also a low opening number for Emmerich, whose “2012” (2009) debuted to $65 million, while “The Day After Tomorrow” (2004) earned $68.7 million in its first weekend of release.
There’s even a chance that the Brad Pitt vs. zombies holdover “World War Z,” which came in fourth, could pull ahead of “White House” by Monday. “WWZ” scared up $8.9 million on Friday, bringing its total to $102.8 million.
Meanwhile, in fifth place, Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” scored an additional $6 million. The Superman reboot has earned a heroic $233.8 million to date. An impressive figure, but one that likely won’t approach the dough earned by such recent superhero smashes as “The Avengers” and “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Look for updated weekend estimates Sunday on HitFix.