The Jeremy Renner-starring twisted fairytale movie defeats other R-rated new releases, 'Parker' and 'Movie 43', which fail to claim victory despite their starry cast ensembles.
- Jan 28, 2013
AceShowbiz - This week's North American box office is loaded with newcomers of R-rated movies, including "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters" which claims the top spot of the chart. Despite the win, the Jeremy Renner-starring twisted fairytale pic is considered underperform since it only takes in $19.6 million.
The upcharge for a 3D ticket doesn't help boost the opening result for the movie. Additionally, a major snowstorm on Friday at the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic played role in the ticket-buying for the film. Still, the Tommy Wirkola-helm flick scores better overseas where it claims $25 million internationally for a total worldwide gross of $54.8 million.
"People simply stopped going out Friday night in the affected regions," Paramount Pictures president of domestic marketing and distribution Megan Colligan explains. "Your nighttime business is everything when you have an R-rated film."
Last week's winner, "Mama", drops to the second spot with $13 million for a total domestic cume of $48.6. *Oscar nominees "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Zero Dark Thirty (2012)", meanwhile, secure the third and fourth places respectively with $9.4 million and $9.7 million.
"Parker", an R-rated actioner that pairs Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez, opens on the fifth position with only $7 million against the budget of $35 million. The new movie from Statham debuts to a disappointing result, the same way his film "Safe" opened to $7.9 million last April.
Another R-rated new release this week is "Movie 43". Though it gathers a handful of famous celebrities, the comedy fails to score big and lands on the seventh spot with $4.8 million. However, Relativity Media, which spent only $6 million to produce the raunchy comedy, admits that the project is just a creative risk worth taking.
Top Ten Movies at Box Office for January 25-27:
*UPDATE (January 29, 2013 01:32 A.M. GMT): When the final figures came out on Monday, January 28, "Silver Linings Playbook" dropped another slot to the fourth. Hence, it swapped place with "Zero Dark Thirty", which now secured the third position on the chart.
