“The Expendables 2” didn’t open as big as Lionsgate hoped last weekend, but the AARP action flick still managed to stay on top of the box office on Friday.
The Simon West directed thriller found another $3.8 million in its 8th day of release for $42.6 million so far. That’s a good $10 million behind the first “Expendables” which had grossed $53.3 million at this point in 2010. It’s highly unlikely the sequel will be able to match the original’s $103 million domestic gross. Financier Millennium Films will have to hope to recoup the picture’s reported $100 million budget overseas.
Holding on to second place is Universal Pictures’ “The Bourne Legacy.” Tony Gilroy’s attempt to spin off a new renegade spy in the “Bourne” universe grossed another $2.7 million for $78.8 million to date. “Legacy” should be able to cross the $100 million mark, but it’s nowhere near previous “Bourne” features at the box office. The last Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) installment, “The Bourne Ultimatum,” ended up with $227 million domestic.
Dropping to third is Focus Features’ critically acclaimed stop-motion animated “ParaNorman.” The Laika produced feature made just another $2.3 million for $21.3 million in just 8 days. “Norman” appears as though it will top out between $50-60 million. Laika’s first endeavor, Oscar nominee “Coraline,” grossed $75.2 million in 2009.
Jumping up to the fourth slot, for the moment, is the independently released documentary “2016 Obama’s America.” The admittedly anti-Barack Obama film made $2.2 million for what could be a $6-7 million three-day gross. That figure is impressive, considering the picture is still playing in just 1,091 runs. For comparison’s sake, “The Expendables 2” is in over 3,300 theaters.
“The Campaign” continued its winning ways in the fifth slot finding another $2.2 million for $59.3 million in a little over two weeks of release. The political comedy won’t surpass the $100 million mark, but it’s looking like a solid triple (between $85-90 million) for stars Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis.
Debuting in 8th place is the Joseph Gordon-Levitt bicycle thriller “Premium Rush” with $1.9 million and an expected $6-6.5 million for the weekend.
Look for updated weekend estimates Sunday on HitFix.