Think Like a Man box office: Sleeper hit
April 23 update: Think Like a Man, inspired by TV/radio comedian Steve Harvey’s bestselling book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, dethroned Gary Ross / Jennifer Lawrence’s The Hunger Games at the North American box office this weekend. The Hunger Games, in fact, was down two spots, also trailing the Zac Efron / Taylor Schilling romantic drama The Lucky One, based on Nicholas Sparks’ bestselling novel. All three films performed above expectations.
According to box office actuals found at boxofficemojo.com, Think Like a Man took in a surprisingly strong $33.6 million – about 10 percent above early estimates released as late as Friday night – averaging a highly impressive $16,693 per-theater at 2,017 locations. It has become distributor Sony Pictures/ScreenGems’ biggest hit targeted at black Americans, surpassing the Beyoncé Knowles’ 2009 movie Obsessed, which earned $28.6 million (approx. $29.8 million today).
Sony had been (officially) predicting a $17 million opening weekend, though Box Office Mojo’s Ray Subers was expecting $25+ million, and earlier this week Fandango had been reporting a huge demand for tickets for the film. In other words, Think Like a Man overperformed by a wide margin – though not nearly as wide as those lazily quoting Sony will claim.
After all, it’s a much better story when your movie way “overperforms.” It certainly beats the negative buzz of underperforming, or the blah-buzz for movies that merely meet their target.
If Think Like a Man did indeed cost about $12–$13 million as reported and if box office estimates are accurate, the film has already earned back its production cost (not including marketing / distribution expenses) and some extra change over the course of a single weekend at the domestic box office. (Remember, studios get about 50–55 percent of a movie’s domestic gross.)
That’s good news for Sony, especially considering that those types of niche movies tend to plummet on the second weekend (and ensuing weekends as well) and have near-zero box office appeal overseas.
Obsessed, for instance, took in $68.3 million in North America, but a paltry (reported) $5.6 million overseas. Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail earned $90.5 million domestically, but Box Office Mojo offers no international figures, which generally means the film wasn’t released abroad (except, perhaps, on DVD). International distributors may have been reticent following the performance of Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion, which collected $63.3 million in North America, but an absurdly tiny (reported) $50,939 abroad.
And much like Perry’s comedies, Think Like a Man doesn’t have many fans among North American film reviewers: the Steve Harvey-inspired comedy has a mediocre 52 percent approval rating among Rotten Tomatoes’ top critics.
Directed by Fantastic Four / Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer’s Tim Story, Think Like a Man features Michael Ealy, Entourage’s Jerry Ferrara, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart, Meagan Good, Gabrielle Union, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson (featured in Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All by Myself and The Family That Preys).
Overall, North American box office figures were down 5 percent compared to last year.
April 21 update: The Hunger Games is no longer the no. 1 movie at the North American box office. After four consecutive weekends on top, Gary Ross’ movie adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ novel was down two spots at no. 3 on Friday.
The new box office leader is Tim Story’s comedy Think Like a Man, inspired by TV/radio comedian Steve Harvey’s bestselling book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. At no. 2 was the Zac Efron / Taylor Schilling romantic drama The Lucky One, based on Nicholas Sparks’ bestselling novel. Both films performed above expectations.
I should add that Think Like a Man cost like a low-budget flick: about $12 million. In other words, if the film’s budget and box office estimates are accurate, Think Like a Man will have earned back its production cost (not including marketing / distribution expenses) over the course of a single weekend at the domestic box office. (Remember, studios get about 50-55 percent of a movie’s domestic gross.)
That’s good news for Sony, especially considering that those types of niche comedies tend to plummet on the second weekend (and ensuing weekends as well) and have near-zero box office appeal overseas, where Hollywood studios have been earning most of their box office cash.
Like Tyler Perry’s comedies, Think Like a Man doesn’t have many fans among critics: Story’s comedy has a mediocre 52 percent approval rating among Rotten Tomatoes’ “top critics.” The mostly black/part-black cast includes Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart, Meagan Good, Gabrielle Union, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson (featured in Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All by Myself and The Family That Preys).
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The Hunger Games has lost the box office crown at the North American box office. After four weekends on top, Gary Ross’ film version of Suzanne Collins’ bestselling novel has been beaten by two new entries: Tim Story’s comedy Think Like a Man, based on the bestselling book by TV/radio comedian Steve Harvey and whose target audience are US blacks, and the Zac Efron / Taylor Schilling romantic drama The Lucky One, based on a bestselling Nicholas Sparks novel and aimed at American / Canadian teenagers and young women, and their boyfriends and/or gal pals (regardless of ethnicity, apparently, though both leads are white).
Worth mentioning: Think Like a Man cost like a low-budget flick: about $12 million. In other words, if budget and box office estimates are accurate, the film has earned back its production cost (not including marketing / distribution expenses) over the course of a single weekend at the domestic box office. (Remember, studios get about 50-55 percent of a movie’s domestic gross.)
That’s good news for Sony, especially considering that those types of niche comedies tend to plummet on the second weekend (and ensuing weekends as well) and have near-zero box office appeal overseas, where Hollywood studios have been earning most of their box office dough.
Much like the reviews for Tyler Perry’s comedies, Think Like a Man doesn’t have many fans among critics: Story’s comedy has a mediocre 52 percent approval rating among Rotten Tomatoes’ top critics. The mostly black/part-black cast includes Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara, Regina Hall, Taraji P. Henson (featured in Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All by Myself and The Family That Preys), Kevin Hart, Meagan Good, and Gabrielle Union.
At no. 3 this weekend behind Think Like a Man and The Lucky One, Gary Ross’ The Hunger Games is expected to collect about $13 million. Its Friday take was $4 million according to studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth star.
The Hunger Games’ domestic cume stands at an estimated $346.4 million, which means the dystopian adventure drama is now the no. 20 movie ever at the domestic box office. That is, if you live on a planet where little things called “inflation” and “IMAX surcharges” don’t exist.
On Box Office Mojo’s all-time box office chart, The Hunger Games currently finds itself sandwiched between Michael Bay’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon’s $352 million and Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ $342 million. By Sunday evening, The Hunger Games will have surpassed Dark of the Moon, and will shortly be surpassing Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park.
However, in terms of estimated ticket sales – which happen to be the true measure of a film’s popularity (in relation to the population of the country or region in question) – The Hunger Games is, huh, no. 123, slightly ahead of the high-brow Ben Stiller / Robert De Niro comedy Meet the Fockers and, once again, slightly behind the just-as-highbrow sci-fier / actioner Dark of the Moon.
Chiefly as a result of its domestic success, The Hunger Games is no. 82 on the all-time worldwide box office chart, ahead of The Empire Strikes Back and behind Despicable Me.
At no. 4 on Friday, DisneyNature’s Chimpanzee may collect approximately $10.5 million by Sunday evening after raking in $3.53 million at 1,563 locations on Friday. For comparison’s sake, Oceans and African Cats each grossed around $6 million on their debut weekends.
April 23
At no. 3 this weekend behind Tim Story’s Think Like a Man and the Scott Hicks-Zac Efron collaboration The Lucky One, Gary Ross’ The Hunger Games grossed a better-than-expected $14.7 million (down 31 percent) in North America according to box office actuals found at Box Office Mojo. The dystopian adventure drama based on Suzanne Collins’ novel features Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Alexander Ludwig, Donald Sutherland, and Wes Bentley.
The Hunger Games’ domestic cume stands at $357.1 million, which places it as the 19th biggest box office hit ever in the U.S. and Canada. That is, if you live on a planet where little things called “inflation” and “IMAX surcharges” don’t exist.
On Box Office Mojo’s all-time box office chart, The Hunger Games currently finds itself sandwiched between Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park ($357.1 million) and Michael Bay’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($352 million). By Monday evening, The Hunger Games will be the no. 18 movie, behind Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ ($370.8 million).
However, in terms of estimated ticket sales – the true measure of a film’s popularity (in relation to the population of the country or region in question) – The Hunger Games is no. 112, having jumped 11 slots since Friday. It is now sandwiched between Joe Dante’s Gremlins and Disney’s multiple-released Peter Pan. A week from now, The Hunger Games will likely jump another ten slots, landing behind Tom Cruise’s Top Gun. (I should add that the inflation-adjusted chart is just that; there’s no adjustment in regard to, say, 3D or IMAX surcharges, or discounted ticket prices for children.)
Chiefly as a result of its domestic success, The Hunger Games is no. 74 on the all-time worldwide box office chart, ahead of The Smurfs and behind the Ben Stiller comedy Night at the Museum. The Hunger Games worldwide total stands at $572.7 million.
This weekend’s no. 4 movie was DisneyNature’s Chimpanzee, which raked in $10.7 million at 1,563 locations, averaging a a good $6,529 per theater. For comparison’s sake, Oceans and African Cats each grossed approximately $6 million on their debut weekends.
At no. 5, Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly’s The Three Stooges, which surged 86 percent on Saturday, brought in $9.8 million (down 43 percent) – about $500,000 more than estimated on Sunday. The Three Stooges stars Sean Hayes, Will Sasso, and Chris Diamantopoulos. Domestic total: $29.9 million. Cost: $30 million.
Samson and Delilah ahead of The Hunger Games?
Hedy Lamarr’s biggest box office hit was Cecil B. DeMille’s Samson and Delilah (Victor Mature played Samson), which earned Paramount $11.5 million in domestic rentals in 1949–1950, or approximately $180 million in 2012 dollars* – which could theoretically represent a $360 million gross today, placing DeMille’s epic ahead of The Hunger Games, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Iron Man. (Studios have usually gotten 50–55 percent of the gross of domestic releases.)
* Estimate based on average annual ticket prices according to the National Association of Theater Owners. Note: the year 1950 doesn’t have a published average listed; as a result, I used an approximation (50 cents) taking into account the published averages for 1949 (46 cents) and 1951 (53 cents).
Michael Ealy and Taraji P. Henson Think Like a Man image: Alan Markfield | ScreenGems/Sony Pictures.
Julia Roberts and Nathan Lane Mirror Mirror image: Relativity Media.
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