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Box Office Results: Identity Thief Steals Back the #1 Spot

Source: Edward Douglas

February 24, 2013

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films and then check back on Monday for the final figures based on actual box office.

Universal Pictures continues to have a great 2013 as their hit comedy Identity Thief, starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy, bounced back to #1 after dropping to second place last weekend. It brought in $14.1 million to take first place, down 40% from the holiday weekend with a total gross of $93.7 million in three weeks. Not counting the Oscar-nominated movies that opened in late December that have been dominating the box office, it's currently the highest-grossing movie of 2013, although it has some competition for that spot in the coming weeks.

Dwayne Johnson starred in the true life crime thriller Snitch (Summit Entertainment), co-starring Susan Sarandon, Jon Bernthal, Barry Pepper, Michael K. Williams and Benjamin Bratt, which had to settle for an opening in second place with an estimated $13 million in 2,511 theaters, averaging $5,177 per site.

The animated family comedy Escape From Planet Earth (The Weinstein Company) jumped up from fourth place to third in its second weekend, taking in $11 million and bringing its total to $35 million. Hard to believe, but that amount would already put it in the top 10 highest grossing movies for the distributor and that's after just ten days. It could ultimately catch up to their earlier animated hit Hoodwinked! to join the company's top 5 biggest hits.

The Nicholas Sparks adaptation Safe Haven (Relativity Media, starring Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel, took a plunge from the previous weekend, dropping to fourth place with $10.6 million, which is down 50% from last week. It has grossed $48.1 million so far and will likely end up among the second tier of Nicholas Sparks films.

By comparison, Bruce Willis' return as John McClane in A Good Day to Die Hard (20th Century Fox) took an even nastier plunge in its second weekend, dropping a whopping 60% to fifth place (from first last week) with $10 million and $51.8 million total so far. Right now, it's looking doubtful that the movie will even gross $100 million domestically.

The alien invasion thriller Dark Skies (Dimension Films), starring Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton, opened weakly in sixth place with $8.9 million in 2,313 theaters, roughly $3800 per site.

On the other hand, David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company) continues to do big business during the Oscar weekend where it won three Independent Spirit Awards including Best Picture and Director on Saturday. With a negligible 3% drop from the holiday weekend, it brought in another $6 million to bring its total gross to $107.5 million, which makes it the Weinstein Company's fourth-highest grossing movie of all time. Their #1 is currently Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, which has grossed nearly $160 million domestically and another $222 million internationally, although the latter distribution is being handled by Sony Pictures.

Summit Entertainment's zombie comedy Warm Bodies took eighth place with $4.8 million, down 48% as it brought its total to $58 million after four weeks.

Ninth place went to Steven Soderbergh's psychological thriller Side Effects (Open Road) with $3.5 million and a running total of $25.2 million after three weeks.

The romantic fantasy Beautiful Creatures (Warner Bros.) rounded out the Top 10 with $3.4 million, down 55% from its opening weekend and bringing its total to $16.4 million.

The Top 10 grossed roughly $85 million, which continued the trend for the month by being down 21% from the same weekend last year when Act of Valor topped the box office with $24.5 million while Tyler Perry's Good Deeds took second place with $15.6 million.

Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films.

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