Friday Box Office: ‘Hansel And Gretel’ Opens Weak With $6.1 Million
The box office was off to a rough start on Friday thanks to some weak performances from this weekend’s new releases.
Director Tommy Wirkola’s Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters earned around $6.1 million on opening day. Although this figure isn’t exactly strong, it was apparently large enough to propel the action-horror hybrid into the top position. Estimates put the film’s three-day haul at around $17 million.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this weekend’s other new releases didn’t fare much better than Witch Hunters. The Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez thriller Parker earned around $2.1 on opening day. Taylor Hackford’s flick also fell short of studio expectations.
The comedic anthology Movie 43, which features such strong talent as Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Emma Stone, Halle Berry, Gerard Butler, and Naomi Watts, failed to make much of a dent at the box office on Friday as well. According to Deadline, the film earned around $5 million on opening day. However, the film’s $6 million budget takes some of the sting out of that figure.
Last weekend’s number one movie Mama has claimed the second place position with $3.8 million in receipts. Director David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence generated around $2.3 million on Friday, while Kathryn Bigelow’s controversial thriller Zero Dark Thirty also earned about $2.3 million.
According to The Chicago Tribune, Paramount and MGM had hoped Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters would bring in around $25 million over the course of the weekend. However, it would appear that estimates may have missed the mark by $8 million.
FilmDistrict will also have to make some adjustments to its forecast for the Jason Statham flick Parker. Instead of $10 million, the latest motion picture featuring author Donald Westlake’s professional thief is expected to make around $6 million.
Which movie do you think will emerge victorious at the box office this weekend? Are you planning to catch Hansel and Gretel, Movie 43, or Parker in theaters?
