Just in case you thought nobody would go see a sequel to a 1987 Oliver Stone flick, the director pulled a rabbit out of his hat and helped the film release at #1 at the box office with an estimated $19 Million opening weekend. Zack Snyder’s Legend of the Guardians, which also opened on Friday, came in a close second with $16.5 Million.
Many may feel like $19 Million isn’t much of a take for a film of Wall Street’s caliber, but if you were to compare it to the film’s predecessor, it made nearly half of the all-time domestic gross of the original film in it’s first weekend alone. That’s right, 1987’s Wall Street only made $44 Million to date, and a laughable (By today’s standards) $4 Million in it’s first weekend. So $19 Million may not be considered big money in today’s scheme of things, but it’s quite a step up from $4 Million.
One notable piece of news from the weekend box office is what a massive flop that You Again turned out to be. The film stars Kristen Bell, Jaime Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, and the thought to be bankable Betty White. With an estimate production budget of $20 Million, the film greatly underwhelmed both critics and moviegoers, as it only pulled in $8.3 Million for the weekend and came in at #5.
In other films, Affleck’s The Town took an $8 Million cut from last weekend’s $23 Million at #3. Screen Gems’ Easy A took slightly more of a hit, only making under $11 Million this weekend.
Next weekend, we’re expecting a much bigger box office take, as Sony’s The Social Network opens in 2,700 screens. Horror remake Let Me In starring Kick-Ass star Chloe Moretz hits 2,000 screens from Overture Films, and Buena Vista’s Secretariat sneaks across the country in nearly 500 screens.