‘Maze Runner’ Easily Tops Resurgent Box Office
Along with two other new releases, this marks a much-needed box office rebound. The total Top 10 take came to $29 million, almost $8 million higher than the same weekend last year, when “Prisoners” opened to $7 million.
Two lower-grossing newbies also boosted the overall take, but neither showed significant strength: “A Walk Among the Tombstones” (Universal), another actioner starring old reliable Liam Neeson, took second place with a modest $4.7 million, much below the initial response to “Non-Stop” and the two “Taken” films. In third place with $3.9 million was the family comedy-drama “This Is Where I Leave You” (Warner Bros.), whose multi-generation ensemble includes Adam Driver, Jason Bateman, Tina Fey and Jane Fonda. This might get a Saturday night boost, but it’s still soft given that there’s little competition for older audiences who have proved reliable all year.
Last week’s top two performers took steep dives as they placed fourth and fifth. “No Good Deed” (Sony) dropped to $3 million from just under $9 million last Friday, and “Dolphin Tale 2” (Warner Bros.) pulled just over $2.1 million, about half of last week.
None of the rest of the Top Ten will get close to $5 million for the weekend. “Guardians of the Galaxy” (Buena Vista) is finally losing steam at #6 and $1.4 million, down only a third from last week. “Let’s Be Cops” (Fox) at #7 took in $760,000, also with a decent hold. Fox Searchlight’s “The Drop,” despite a nearly 50% increase in theaters, grossed only $645,000, a fall of more than half. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (Paramount) at $630,000 and “If I Stay” (Warner Bros.) with $540,000 round out the Top 10.
Two films in more limited release had notable responses. “Aagadu,” a Telugu-language release from the southern region of India, took in around $400,000 in only 125 theaters just below the Top 10. That gross was actually ahead of Kevin Smith’s “Tusk” (A24) which totaled $375,000 in four times as many theaters (602).
