Dolphin Tale box office: No. 1 on weekend no. 2
Sept. 30–Oct. 2 weekend box office: Dolphin Tale grossed slightly less than estimated according to North American box office actuals found at boxofficemojo.com. Directed by Charles Martin Smith, and featuring Harry Connick Jr, Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble, Austin Stowell, and Morgan Freeman, Dolphin Tale pulled in $13.9 million.
At no. 2, Bennett Miller’s Moneyball collected $12 million. Brad Pitt stars, along with Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, and Chris Pratt.
At no. 3, The Lion King 3D added $10.6 million. Originally released in 1994, The Lion King features songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, and the voices of Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, and others.
Contrary to Sunday estimates, the Christian-themed drama Courageous ended up ahead of the cancer-themed dramedy 50/50. Courageous raked in $9.1 million at no. 4, while 50/50 earned $8.6 million at no. 5.
Directed by Jonathan Levine from a screenplay by Will Reiser, 50/50 features Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Anjelica Huston. Directed by Alex Kendrick (Fireproof, Facing the Giants), who also co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Stephen Kendrick, Courageous features director Kendrick, Ben Davies, Kevin Downes, Ken Bevel, and Tony Stallings.
Directed by Charles Martin Smith, Dolphin Tale features Harry Connick Jr, Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble, Austin Stowell, and Morgan Freeman, who created a ruckus last weekend with his anti-Tea Party remarks on Piers Morgan’s CNN talk show. Looking at Dolphin Tale’s figures and its estimated weekend-to-weekend drop-off rate, it doesn’t seem at all likely that Freeman’s accusing Tea Partiers of being racists in any way affected the film’s box office revenues. Dolphin Tale’s current cume is $37.5 million. Cost: $37 million.
Directed by Capote’s Bennett Miller and starring Brad Pitt, the baseball drama Moneyball was the no. 2 movie at the North American box office this weekend (Sept. 30-Oct. 2), according to studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo. Sandwiched between Dolphin Tale and The Lion King 3D, Moneyball grossed $12.5 million, down an acceptable down 36 percent from last weekend. Featuring Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, and Chris Pratt, Moneyball’s cume currently stands at $38.5 million. Cost: $50 million.
As per studio estimates, the no. 4 spot this weekend belongs to the inspirational cancer comedy-drama 50/50, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen. However, with a gross of $8.86 million from 2,458 locations, 50/50 was only 58,000 ahead of Sony Pictures’ inspirational Christian drama Courageous’ $8.85 million from 1,161 theaters. When box office actuals are released on Monday, Courageous may jump one spot.
Also worth noting, Courageous’ per-theater average was obviously much higher than 50/50’s: $7,580 vs. $3,604. In fact, Courageous’ average was the highest among North America’s top twelve movies this weekend.
Distributed by Summit Entertainment, 50/50 has a much better critics’ score than Courageous: 93 percent vs. 45 percent approval rating among Rotten Tomatoes’ critics. But first-weekend audiences clearly opted for the inspirational message from a Christian viewpoint.
Directed by Jonathan Levine from a screenplay by Will Reiser, 50/50 also features Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Anjelica Huston. Directed by Alex Kendrick (Fireproof, Facing the Giants), who also co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Stephen Kendrick, Courageous tells the story of four cops who struggle with their religious beliefs in the aftermath of a major tragedy. The cast includes director Kendrick, Ben Davies, Kevin Downes, Ken Bevel, and Tony Stallings.
For comparison’s sake: Kendrick’s previous Christian-themed effort, the Samuel Goldwyn-released 2008 drama Fireproof, pulled in $6.8 million (approx. $7.5 million today) at 839 locations on its first weekend out, averaging $8,148 ($9,044) per theater.
In other words, looking merely at the unadjusted box office figures, it looks like Courageous performed much better than Fireproof. But when adding a little context – inflation, per-theater averages – Fireproof, perhaps because of the presence of Kirk Cameron and some romance, actually performed slightly better, especially considering that it was distributed by a much smaller entity than the mighty Sony Pictures.
Courageous reportedly cost $1–$2 million. But “grassroots marketing” or no, selling the film – as Sony tried to expand its audience beyond the Evangelical Christian crowd – surely cost much more than making it.
Released by Universal, directed by multiple Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan, and starring James Bond a.k.a. Daniel Craig, Oscar winner Rachel Weisz, Oscar nominee Naomi Watts, and Marton Csokas, the widely panned mystery thriller Dream House raked in only $8.1 million from 2,661 locations at no. 6.
That’s Daniel Craig’s second box office flop this year, following the hugely disappointing performance of Jon Favreau’s Cowboys & Aliens, Craig’s highly expensive summer pairing with Harrison Ford.
Craig, in fact, hasn’t been very box office friendly when not in Bond mode. Prior to his three-year hiatus from films, Defiance, The Invasion, Flashbacks of a Fool, and The Golden Compass were all domestic financial misfires, though the last film did become a major international blockbuster. We’ll see if David Fincher’s remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will enhance Craig’s box office appeal in North America.
The no. 8 movie was Mark Mylod’s comedy What’s Your Number?, featuring an extensive cast that includes Captain America: The First Avenger’s Chris Evans, The House Bunny’s Anna Faris, Star Trek’s Zachary Quinto, Ari Graynor, Martin Freeman, Blythe Danner, Chris Pratt, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, and Anthony Mackie.
On its debut weekend at no. 8 on the chart, the comedy What’s Your Number?, starring Chris Evans and Anna Faris, scored a measly $5.4 million from 3,002 locations; its per theater average was a dismal $1,865. As per Box Office Mojo’s Ray Subers, that’s “one of the worst numbers for a super-saturated (3,000+ theaters) release ever.” The fourth-worst, to be more precise, after Luke Wilson-Logan Lerman’s Hoot, David L. Cunningham’s fantasy The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising, Eddie Murphy-Elizabeth Banks’ Meet Dave.
Reviewers surely didn’t help What’s Your Number?’s box office prospects, as the film has a 7 percent approval rating among the “top critics” at rottentomatoes.com. Anna Faris, by the way, also received credit as executive producer.
“Dolphin Tale Box Office” notes
Austin Stowell Dolphin Tale image: Jon Farmer | Warner Bros.
*last modified in June 2025.
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