Two new movies had robust openings, while a third couldn’t find any traction at the box office this weekend.
Ben Affleck’s latest movie The Town was warmly received, exceeding most industry expectations and winning the weekend box office with over $23.8 million. The film received great reviews, and audiences gave the film a solid B+ grade on Cinemascore.
The last time Affleck directed a movie (Gone Baby Gone) it did not earn that much during its entire theatrical run. He is definitely a rising directing talent.
Emma Stone proved that she can open a movie, as Easy A earned $18.2 million. The film had a reported budget of only $8 million, so from here on out its earnings are pure profit. Easy A also got high marks from audiences, scoring an A- on Cinemascore.
Despite having an intriguing premise, Devil failed to connect with audiences, although it did manage to make $12.5 million. Devil is the first movie in a trilogy “from the mind of M. Night Shyamalan” called Night Chronicles. The second movie is underway, and Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism) has been hired to direct.
Last week’s box office champ Resident Evil: Afterlife dropped to fourth place, losing almost 60% of its audience from opening weekend. Domestically, the movie has made $44 million, but worldwide it has earned more than $147 million. It’s no wonder that a fifth film has been greenlit.
Alpha and Omega landed in the fop five with $9.2 million.
Next week brings a slew of new releases, including Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, You Again, Buried, and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.
