Actor Will Arnett voices the caped crusader in the animated "The Lego Batman Movie", dominating the North American box office"The Lego Batman Movie" dominated the North American box office over the Presidents' Day weekend, industry data showed Tuesday, almost matching the combined haul of "Fifty Shades Darker" and "The Great Wall."Featuring the voice of Will Arnett as the caped crusader, the Warner Bros spinoff of the "The Lego Movie" took $42.7 million from Friday to Monday for a two-week total of $107.3 million, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said.The 3D, computer-generated action comedy follows Batman as he tries to save Gotham City from being taken over by the Joker, voiced by Zach Galifianakis.Universal's second installment of the steamy "Fifty Shades" franchise based on the novels of E.L. James made $22.7 million for a total of $91.4 million while fantasy feature "The Great Wall" debuted at number three with a disappointing $21 million. Universal's lavish action thriller starring Matt Damon -- filmed with a $150 million budget and billed as the first English-language production shot entirely in China -- follows European mercenaries who get caught up defending the Great Wall of China against a group of monsters.
Lionsgate's "John Wick: Chapter 2" dropped one spot to fourth place during its second weekend with $19 million in revenue for a two-week total of $61.2 million. The thriller stars Keanu Reeves as a hitman forced out of retirement in order to repay a debt to a fellow hired killer with whom he has signed a blood oath."Fist Fight," another debut, came in fifth with $14.1 million for the three-day weekend.The comedy set at a school on senior pranks day follows a fired teacher played by Ice Cube, who challenges another teacher, Charlie Day, to an after-school fight.Rounding out the top 10 are:"A Dog's Purpose" ($5.7 million)"La La Land" ($4.6 million)"A Cure for Wellness" ($4.4 million)Action-packed new releases couldn't stack up to 3-D hit "The Lego Movie," which took the No. 1 slot in its third weekend at The Warner Bros. animated film bested Relativity Media's "3 Days to Kill" and Sony's "Pompeii" on their opening "The Lego Movie," featuring the voices of Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks and Morgan Freeman, earned $31.5 million, according to
The domestic total has passed $183 million. it grossed $23.1 million this weekend. Heading into full-fledged franchise territory with a sequel set to release in May 2017, "The Lego Movie" is the highest-grossing "It's been really tough for any of the newcomers to displace 'Lego,'" said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for"They had such a great release date that put them in this perfect position to dominate the marketplace for several weeks. For 'Lego' to earn $31 million in its third weekend, that would be impressive in its first weekend for any film in the first quarter." Relativity Media's crime drama "3 Days to Kill," starring Kevin Costner and Amber Heard, came in second with $12.3 million in its first weekend at the multiplex. "Pompeii," Sony's boiling gladiator drama starring "Game of Thrones" star Kit Harington, took third place with $10There was a fairly even gender split for the Constantin-financed film,
with the audience breaking down as 52 percent male and 48 percent female. film's slot in the top five was steered mostly by viewers under 30. "Pompeii got savaged by critics," Dergarabedian"'3 Days to Kill' wasn't loved by critics either, so you had two films that didn't have a shot at taking 'Lego' out. But these movies did about what we would expect." The box office results for "Pompeii" were much better overseas, as the film made $22.8 million internationally. In its second weekend, the Sony and MGM reboot "RoboCop" dropped from third to fourth with $9.4 million. Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman and Michael Keaton, the modernized sci-fi film (the 1987 original starred Peter Weller as a cop who gains a new robotic body) is down 57 percent from last weekend's domestic opener. For the second weekend in a row, the action film performed better overseas with $17.7 million. "The time of year that we're in, the movies just aren't
the critics' darlings," Dergarabedian said. "These films give peopleBut they won't necessarily set the world on fire at the box Sony's "The Monuments Men," directed by George Clooney, was pushed down to fifth place from last week's fourth-place spot with Still, Sony dominated the multiplex with four films in the"About Last Night," starring Kevin Hart, Michael Ealy, Joy Bryant and Regina Hall, gained $7.4 million in its second weekend after a strong Valentine's Day opening. It is down a hefty 71 percent from its opening with a $38.15 million domestic total. Kevin Hart's "Ride Along," also starring Ice Cube, marks another hit for the comedian as it remains in the top 10 for the sixth weekend in a row. The Universal Pictures buddy comedy earned $4.7 million. has made more than $123 million domestically since it opened on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. Because of its vast success, the studio has securedTim Story will be back to direct, while Phil Hay and
Matt Manfredi will return to pen the sequel. Disney's "Frozen," locked in at No. 8, refuses to thaw with $4.4 million over the weekend and $980 million worldwide during itsThe animated musical is the third-highest grossing domestic animatedRounding out the top 10, Universal's "Endless Love," starring Alex Pettyfer as the romantic lead opposite Gabriella Wilde, brought in $4.3 million, while the Colin Farrell-starring drama "Winter's Tale" gained $2.1 million. Next weekend, the action releases continue as Liam Neeson's "Non-Stop" hits theaters. Lupita Nyong'o, nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar for her role in "12 Years a Slave," also appears inIt's been a relatively quiet year in theaters so far, but with three new releases topping the box office with big premieres, things might be turning around. After a few lackluster weeks at the box office, things turned around in a big way this weekend with three impressive premieres for three highly anticipated films.
As expected, The Lego Batman Movie led the way with a $55.6 million opening weekend in U.S. theaters — the biggest premiere of the year so far. On its way to the top, the follow-up to 2014’s surprise hit The Lego Movie weathered a major meteorological obstacle in the form of a winter storm that hobbled much of the East Coast and brought down the overall box-office numbers for the weekend. More: ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ ups the ante — and the action — for even more fun Slightly outperforming expectations was the weekend’s second-biggest film, Fifty Shades Darker, the erotic thriller that continues the sadomasochistic saga that began with 2011’s Fifty Shades of Grey. Like its predecessor, the film did well despite poor reviews, and is likely to carry that success into the Valentine’s Day holiday for a decent second-week bump. It’s worth noting that although the top two films both enjoyed positive debuts, neither The Lego Movie nor Fifty Shades Darker managed to beat their predecessors’ opening weekends ($69 million for The Lego Movie and $85.1 million for Fifty Shades of Grey), so it will be interesting to see how well they do over the long run.
The Lego Batman Movie John Wick: Chapter Two The Space Between Us In third place for the weekend was John Wick: Chapter Two, which outperformed expectations in a big way with a $30 million premiere — more than double the first film’s $14.4 million debut in U.S. theaters. Keanu Reeves’ action sequel earned overwhelmingly positive reviews on par with The Lego Batman Movie, and is off to a great start in theaters. With the Academy Awards ceremony right around the corner, three of this year’s “Best Picture” nominees continued their strong runs among the week’s top ten films. Currently, Hidden Figures leads all nominees with $131.4 million domestically so far, but La La Land is close behind it with $126 million in U.S. theaters. This is the sixth consecutive week that Hidden Figures has finished among the weekend’s top five films. This upcoming week brings a wide range of new releases that could challenge for the top spot at the box office.