By Chris Kavan - 07/09/12 at 12:17 AM CT
After a long holiday opening thanks the 4th falling on Wednesday, it was no surprise that a super hero once again made his way to the top of the box office.
The Amazing Spider-Man, coming off a five-year hiatus since Spider-Man 3 last gave us a look at the web-slinging hero, took in $65 million over the weekend tallied $140 since opening on the 3rd. It was in line with expectations, and just about matched the original Spider-Man ($144.2 million) though it couldn't match up to either Spider-Man 2 ($180.1 million) or Spider-Man 3 ($176.2 million). However, the good news is compared to another franchise that launched five years after its predecessor, it did much better than X-Men: First Class ($69.9 million).
The Amazing Spider-Man got a bit of help from IMAX screens, which accounted for a substantial $14.3 million (or about 10%) of its gross. But even with the IMAX screens, 3D only accounted for about 44% of its total. The film earned an A- score from audiences - mostly younger males and it should be able to coast along by word-of-mouth, though the real test will come when The Dark Knight Rises hits in two weeks.
Also opening to decent numbers was Oliver Stone's R-rated drug-infused bloodbath, Savages. The film took in $16.2 million for fourth place. It was Stone's third best opening behind Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps ($19 million) and World Trade Center ($18.7 million) - though it was his best opening for an R-rated film. The film earned just a C+, meaning chances are slim it will be sticking around the top 10 for long.
If Savages managed a decent opening, the same can't be said for Katy Perry: Part of Me. The concert documentary brought in just $7.15 million for an eight-place finish. As a comparison, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never brought in $29.5 and even the Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience (considered a bit of a flop itself) opened with $12.5 million. Though the largely female and slightly older audience awarded it an "A" cinemascore, chances are it won't be making many waves in the coming weeks.
Rounding out the top 5, Ted dropped 40% in its second week, but still took second place with $32.6 million and now stands at $120.2 million (and still tracking ahead of The Hangover at the same point). With little in the way of competition for an R-rated raunchy comedy in the next few weeks, Ted should manage to break the $200 million mark before the end of its run.
Pixar's Brave stayed in the 3rd spot for the second straight weekend. The animated film took in $20.1 million, down about 41% from last week. The total for the female-driven film is now at $174.5 million and even if Ice Age: Continental Drift steals some of its thunder, it should still be able to cross the $200 million mark as well.
Magic Mike rounds out the top five, taking in $15.6 million. The "event" film took a hefty 60% hit from its opening weekend, though it was widely expected. The film stands at $72.8 million and it's still up-in-the-air whether it will be Channing Tatum's third $100 million film of the year, or if it will fall just short.
Outside the top five, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted officially became the highest-grossing film in the series, taking in $7.7 million (7th place) and raising its total to $196 million.
Cracking the top 10 after expanding to 806 theaters, Woody Allen's To Rome With Love took in $3.5 million and the film stands at $5.6 million total and by next weekend, should be another hit for Sony Pictures Classic, in fact, their second-biggest hit behind Allen's Midnight in Paris.
Next week the only film that will break out in wide-release is Ice Age: Continental Drift and with Madagascar 3 and Brave still bringing in audiences, it will be interesting to see how well another family film does at the box office.
