Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley in Shutter Island (top); Tracy Morgan, Bruce Willis in Cop Out (middle); Joe Anderson, Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Danielle Panabaker in The Crazies (bottom)
Shutter Island, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was the #1 movie at the domestic box office for the second weekend in a row, according to figures found at Box Office Mojo. Martin Scorsese’s thriller is expected to gross $22.2 million over the weekend for an impressive total of $75 million. Also in the Shutter Island cast: Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer, Jackie Earle Haley, Patricia Clarkson, Max von Sydow, and Elias Koteas.
For comparison's sake: Gangs of New York (2002) grossed a total of $77 million, The Aviator (2004) $102.6 million, and The Departed (2006) $132.3 million. (None of these figures have been adjusted for 2010 ticket prices.)
Despite much (well-timed) publicity surrounding Kevin Smith's being kicked out of an airplane because he was too heavy too fly, Cop Out failed to grab the top spot at the weekend box office. The cop comedy starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan had to settle for #2 with a solid $18.5 million at 3,150 theaters — but a just okay $5,894 per screen average. (Shutter Island's average was $7,393 at 3,003 screens.) Considering that Saturday and Sunday figures were less than impressive, expect a heavy drop for this movie on weekend #2.
Another new entry, Breck Eisner’s horror flick The Crazies, was #3. Starring Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell, The Crazies took in $16.5 million — a good $6,672 per screen average.
Avatar was #4 with $14 million, a small 13.8 percent drop from the previous weekend. James Cameron’s sci-fi adventure, starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver, has now passed the $700 million mark at the domestic box office. Its total currently stands at $706.9 million. Expect a more significant drop next weekend, when Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland will be replacing Avatar at numerous IMAX and 3D theaters.
At #5, Chris Columbus‘ $95-million adventure flick Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, starring Logan Lerman, earned $9.8 million for a total of $71.2 million. It must do very well overseas and in ancillary venues in order to recover its productions costs, as about half of what it earns at the domestic box office goes to exhibitors. Also, distribution costs aren't included in the studios' reported production price tag.
Percy Jackson was closely followed by Garry Marshall’s all-star Valentine’s Day with $9.5 million ($100.3 million total). The romantic comedy stars Bradley Cooper, Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Anne Hathaway, Taylor Lautner, Eric Dane, Carter Jenkins, Taylor Swift, and many others.
The #7 movie was the Channing Tatum-Amanda Seyfried romantic melodrama Dear John with $5 million and $72.6 million to date — or nearly three times its reported production costs. Joe Johnston’s The Wolfman, starring Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins, was next with $4.1 million for a grand total of $57 million. Not good for a film that cost between $110-$150 million.
Dwayne Johnson’s Tooth Fairy, which always does better on weekends, was #9 with 3.4 million and $53.8 to date. Reported production costs: $48 million.
Rounding out the top twelve were Jeff Bridges‘ Crazy Heart ($2.5 million), Sandra Bullock’s The Blind Side ($1.2 million), and Denzel Washington’s The Book of Eli ($1.1 million).
Photo: Shutter Island (Andrew Cooper / Paramount); The Crazies (Saeed Adyani / Overture Films); Cop Out (Abbot Genser / Warner Bros.)
This movie was amazing. I was puzzle the whole time while in the theatres but men it was a good one…