*It really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Big Will Smith is back in familiar territory, on top of the box office charts with the Warner Bros. production of “Focus” although the con man comedy came in a little under analyst’s and the studio’s projections. The bottom line is that the film took in $19.1 million.
The weekend’s other new film was with the best showing … at #5 was the low-budget horror film “The Lazarus Effect,” which also came in slightly under expectations as well with an estimated $10.6 million.
On the positive side, “Focus” ended the two-week reign of the record-breaking “Fifty Shades of Grey,” and of course it did the opposite of the expensive and forgettable 2012 sci-fi space saga “After Earth.” It’s Smith’s best outing since 2008’s “Hancock.”
According to TheWrap, “Focus,” the first R-rated film Smith has starred in since “Bad Boys II” in 2003, might have done better on a weekend other than the one following the Oscars. The overall box office was down from the same weekend last year by more than 20 percent and lousy weather in the South and Midwest didn’t help. But moviegoers may have been simply catching their breath after a sizzling January driven by “American Sniper,” a record Presidents Day weekend debut by “Fifty Shades” and last Sunday’s Academy Awards.
The audience for “Focus” — 88 percent over the age of 25 –suggested Smith isn’t the only one getting a little older. The crowd, which was 53 percent women, gave “Focus” a “B” CinemaScore. That was in line with the critics, who had it at 56 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes.
The overseas performance of “Focus” will provide an indicator of where Smith, once a major force at the foreign box office, stands today. And it will have a lot to do with the profitability of the $55 million caper tale directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (“Crazy, Stupid, Love”).
Here’s the box office breakdown via Deadline:
1). Focus (WB), 3,323 theaters / $6.47M Fri.*/$7.65M Sat. (+18%)/ $4.97M Sun. (-35%)/3-Day: $19.1M/Wk 1
2). Kingsman: The Secret Service (FOX), 3,282 theaters (+16) / $3.1M Fri. /$5.5M Sat. (+78%)/ $3M Sun. (-45%)/3-Day: $11.75M (-36%)/ Total Cume: $85.69M/ Wk 3
3). The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (PAR), 3,467 theaters (-213) / $2.1M Fri. /$5.3M Sat. (+156%)/ $3.7M Sun. (-31%)/ 3-Day: $11.2M (-32%)/Total Cume: $140.3M/ Wk 4
4). Fifty Shades Of Grey (UNI/Focus), 3,383 theaters (-272) / $3.5M Fri. / $4.6M Sat. (+32%)/ $2.7M Sun. (-41%)/ 3-Day: $10.9M (-51%)/Total Cume: $147.7M/ Wk 3
5). The Lazarus Effect (REL), 2,666 theaters / $3.8M Fri.*/ $4.3M Sat. (+13%)/ $2.4M Sun. (-45%)/3-Day: $10.6M/Wk 1
6). McFarland USA (DIS), 2,765 theaters (+10)/ $1.9M Fri./ $3.6M Sat. (+82%)/ $2.1M Sun. (-40%)/ 3-Day: $7.79M (-29%)/Total Cume: $21.9M/ Wk 2
7). American Sniper (WB), 3,235 theaters (-321)/ $1.9M Fri./ $3.6M Sat. (+91%)/ $2.1M Sun. (-40%)/3-Day: $7.7M (-23%)/ Total Cume: $331.1M/ Wk 10
8). The Duff (CBS/LGF), 2,622 theaters (+47)/ $2.1M Fri./ $3.2M Sat. (+50%)/ $1.8M Sun. (-44%)/ 3-Day: $7.15M (-34%)/Total Cume: $20.1M/ Wk 2
9). Still Alice (SPC), 1,318 theaters (+553) / $755K Fri./ $1.1M Sat. (+59%)/ $718 Sun. (-40%)/ 3-Day: $2.69M (+24%) /Total Cume: $11.98M /Wk 7
10). Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (PAR), 2,901 theaters (+21)/ $692K Fri./ $1M Sat. (+54%)/ $641K Sun. (-40%)/ 3-Day: $2.4M (-60%)/ Total Cume: $10.2M/ Wk 2
*includes Thursday night previews
Notables:
Birdman (FSL) 1,213 theaters (+806)/ $522K Fri./ $918K Sat. (+76%)/ $535K Sun. (-42%)/ 3-day cume: $1.975M (+125%)/Total Cume: $40.2M/Wk 20
The Imitation Game (TWC), 1,103 theaters (-305) / $495K Fri. /$924K Sat. (+87%)/ $508K Sun. (-45%)/ 3-Day: $1.927M (-24%)/ Total cume: $86.8M / Wk 14
A La Mala (LGF), 384 theaters / $431K Fri./ $532K Sat. (+23%)/ $477K Sun. (-10%)/ 3-Day: $1.4M/Wk 1
Maps To The Stars (FOCW), 66 theaters / $40K Fri./ $61K Sat. (+53%)/ $40K Sun. (-35%)/ 3-Day: $141K/Wk 1
71 (RSA), 4 theaters / $15K Fri./ $25K Sat. (+71%)/ $16K Sun. (-35%)/PSA: $14,068/3-Day: $56K/Wk 1
Deli Man (CMG), 15 theaters / $9K Fri./ $16K Sat. (+90%)/ $10K Sun. (-40%)/3-Day: $34K/Wk 1
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