Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules movie with Zachary Gordon and Robert Capron: At the domestic box office, David Bowers’ sequel had a slightly stronger debut – but far weaker legs – than its Thor Freudenthal-directed predecessor.- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules movie box office: Distributed by 20th Century Fox and directed by David Bowers, the sequel to 2010’s domestic sleeper hit Diary of a Wimpy Kid opened with slightly better numbers than the original. (Update: Rodrick Rules turned out to have unsteadier legs than its predecessor.)
- In limited release, Cary Joji Fukunaga’s Jane Eyre is doing solid business while François Ozon’s Potiche has been performing more modestly. Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska star in the former; Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu star in the latter.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules movie box office: Sequel to domestic sleeper hit has marginally stronger opening than predecessor
March 25–27 weekend box office: The big news in North America (U.S. and Canada only) was the lackluster debut of Warner Bros.’ Zack Snyder-directed something-or-other known as Sucker Punch. But first, let’s take a look at 20th Century Fox’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, the no. 1 title on the less-than-stellar weekend box office chart.
First, the good news: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules opened with $23.8 million from 3,167 theaters according to final studio figures found at boxofficemojo.com. The critically dismissed “family comedy” thus beat the first-weekend gross of the original Diary of a Wimpy Kid ($22.1 million last year) while also earning more than its reported $21 million production budget (as always, not including marketing and distribution expenses).
Now the not-so-good news: Rodrick Rules took in about $700,000 less than Fox’s late weekend estimates. And that generally means a more dramatic Sunday downturn than expected, which could be a reflection of weak word-of-mouth.
Original Diary of a Wimpy Kid box office
Directed by Thor Freudenthal, the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid went on to earn $64 million domestically, in addition to a paltry $12.2 million (likely incomplete) overseas, totaling $76.2 million worldwide. Though hardly blockbuster material, Diary of a Wimpy Kid undoubtedly earned a tidy profit on its modest $15 million budget.
Next weekend we’ll likely find out whether Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules will end up being as profitable.
In the Rodrick Rules cast: Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick, Robert Capron, Rachael Harris, and Steve Zahn.
Sequel proved to have far weaker domestic legs
Update: On its second weekend, David Bowers’ Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules grossed $10 million – or down a whopping 58 percent. In all fairness, the original didn’t perform much better on weekend no. 2, as it was down 54 percent.
Rodrick Rules ultimately collected $52.7 million domestically – or far less than Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Internationally, the sequel ended its run with a reported $19.8 million – significantly more than the original but a flop all the same. Worldwide total: $72.5 million, or about $4 million less than its predecessor yet likely enough for the (costlier) sequel to be modestly profitable.
Rodrick Rules’ top international markets were the United Kingdom/Ireland ($8.5 million), Australia ($6.2 million), and Germany ($2.3 million).
Top Five movies: Two holdovers have modest drops
Trailing Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules and Sucker Punch on this past weekend’s domestic box office chart were:
- At no. 3, Neil Burger’s sci-fi thriller Limitless grossed $15.1 million (down a surprisingly modest 20 percent on its second weekend). Cume: $41.1 million. Cast: Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish, and Robert De Niro.
- At no. 4, Brad Furman’s legal drama The Lincoln Lawyer grossed $10.8 million (down an equally modest 19 percent on its second weekend). Cume: $28.7 million. Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Phillippe, and Marisa Tomei.
- At no. 5, Gore Verbinski’s computer-animated comedy Western Rango grossed $9.8 million (down 35 percent on its fourth weekend). Cume: $106.3 million. Voice cast: Johnny Depp and Isla Fischer.
Jane Eyre with Michael Fassbender as Rochester and Mia Wasikowska as the titular governess: A modest performer in the U.S. and Canada, Jane Eyre fared relatively better in its other “domestic market,” the United Kingdom.Notable titles in limited release: Jane Eyre & Potiche
Lastly, below are a couple of notable titles in limited release in the domestic market:
- Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, Focus Features’ Jane Eyre scored a solid $970,000 from 90 venues ($10,777 per venue) on its third weekend out. This Anglo-American reboot of Charlotte Brontë’s 19th-century literary classic stars Michael Fassbender as a more conventionally handsome Rochester and Mia Wasikowska as the titular governess.
- Performing more modestly, Music Box Films’ François Ozon-directed French comedy Potiche took in $86,000 from seven venues ($12,288 per venue*). The good news: Potiche has already taken in $21.5 million overseas, $18.2 million of which in France†. Veteran Oscar nominees Catherine Deneuve (Indochine, 1992) and Gérard Depardieu (Cyrano de Bergerac, 1990) star.
* All things being equal, the fewer the number of theaters the higher the per-theater average should be.
† Periodic reminder that Hollywood studios still consider Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia as part of France.
Jane Eyre does well in the U.K., Potiche is a hit in France
Update: Cary Joji Fukunaga’s Jane Eyre ultimately collected a modest $11.2 million domestically and a far stronger $23.5 million (likely incomplete) internationally. Worldwide total: $34.7 million.
Its top “international” market by far was the United Kingdom/Ireland ($7.8 million) – where, as it happens, Jane Eyre is also a “domestic” release. Next in line was another English-language territory, Australia ($3.3 million).
François Ozon’s Potiche ultimately collected a mere $1.6 million in the U.S. and Canada, and a far, far stronger $30.7 million (likely incomplete) internationally. Worldwide total: $32.3 million.
Its top market by far was its native France ($18.2 million), followed by Germany ($4.3 million) and the United Kingdom/Ireland ($1.3 million).
”Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules Movie Box Office” endnotes
Unless otherwise noted, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules Movie Box Office: Better Debut But Far Wobblier Legs” box office information via Box Office Mojo. Budget info – which should be taken with a grain of salt – via BOM and/or other sources (e.g., the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Screen Daily, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline.com, etc.).
Comments about Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules and other titles being hits/profitable or flops/money-losers at the box office (see paragraph below) are based on the available data about their production budget, additional marketing and distribution expenses (as a general rule of thumb, around 50 percent of the production cost), and worldwide gross (as a general rule of thumb when it comes to the Hollywood studios, around 50–55 percent of the domestic gross and 40 percent of the international gross goes to the distributing/producing companies).
Bear in mind that data regarding rebates, domestic/international sales/pre-sales, and other credits and/or contractual details that help to alleviate/split production costs and apportion revenues are oftentimes unavailable, and that reported international grosses may be incomplete (i.e., not every territory is fully – or even partially – accounted for).
Also bear in mind that ancillary revenues (domestic/global television rights, home video sales, streaming, merchandising, etc.) can represent anywhere between 40–70 percent of a movie’s total take. However, these revenues and their apportionment are only infrequently made public.
Robert Capron and Zachary Gordon Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules movie image: Diyah Pera | 20th Century Fox.
Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska Jane Eyre movie image: Focus Features.
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules Movie Box Office: Better Debut But Far Wobblier Legs” last updated in January 2023.