Box Office: ‘The Best Man Holiday’ Will Give ‘Thor 2? A Run For Its Money

Box Office: ‘The Best Man Holiday’ Will Give ‘Thor 2? A Run For Its Money

2ND UPDATE: Considering it has been 14 years since Malcolm Lee directed the first installment, The Best Man Holiday is way overachieving, and the question is whether the $ 17 million-budget film could double its negative cost on opening weekend. I’ve seen estimates it will finish under $ 30 million, but I am going to stick with the original call that the film will finish in the mid-$ 30 million range. That will put it neck and neck with Thor: The Dark World, which is expected to finish near $ 35 million. If there is an upset that will be a giant facial for the hammer-wielding Marvel hero. There isn’t much new to crow about here, and most of the remaining top 10 held serve. Given the paucity of new product, you wonder if DreamWorks is regretting that the V ince Vaughn film Delivery Man isn’t opening this week, instead of being counterprogramming up against The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Related: Hot Trailer: ‘The Best Man Holiday’

In the limited-release category comes the Alexander Payne-directed Nebraska, which is neck and neck with Fruitvale Station for the best film I’ve seen so far this year. One film coming back to Earth is 12 Years A Slave; and Ender’s Game is showing once again why this will likely be a one-off franchise ender. Captain Phillips will crack the $ 100 million domestic gross mark next week, and About Time seems about done in the Top 10.

Related: Hot Trailer: ‘12 Years A Slave’

Top 10
1) Thor: The Dark World/ PG13/ Disney / Week 2/ Runs: 3841/ $ 10.527 Fri./ $ 15.264 Sat. 45% / $ 9.158 Sun. -40% = $ 34.949 Weekend -59%. Per Screen Average, $ 9,099. Total domestic gross $ 143.5 million.

2) The Best Man Holiday/ R/ Universal/ Week 1/ Runs: 2024/ $ 12.500 Fri./ $ 13.550 Sat. 10% / $ 6.353 Sun. -45% = $ 34 Million Weekend. Per Screen Average, $ 14,033. Total domestic gross $ 34 million.

3) Last Vegas/ PG13/ CBS Films / Week 3/ Runs: 3237/ 155 / $ 2.377 Fri./ $ 3.565 Sat. 50% / $ 1.961 Sun. -45% = $ 7.902 Wknd -28%. Per Screen Average: $ 2,441. Total domestic gross $ 46 million.

4) Free Birds/ PG/ Relativity/ Week 3/ Runs: 3510/ -226 / $ 1.743 Fri./ $ 3.485 Sat. 100% / $ 2.265 Sun. -35% = $ 7.493 Weekend, -33%. Per screen average: $ 2,135. Total domestic gross $ 41.4 million.

5) Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa/ R/ Paramount/ Week 4/ Runs: 3190/ 3 / $ 2.165 Fri./ $ 3.140 Sat. 45% / $ 1.884 Sun. -40% = $ 7.189 Weekend. -37%. Per screen average: $ 2,254. Total domestic gross $ 89.7 million

6) Gravity/ PG13/ Warner Bros / Week 7/ Runs: 2560/ -160 / $ 1.698 Fri./ $ 2.887 Sat. 70% / $ 1.588 Sun. -45% = $ 6.173 Weekend -28%. Per screen average: $ 2,411. Total domestic gross $ 240.4 million.

7) Ender’s Game/ PG13/ Lionsgate/ Week 3/ Runs: 3236/ -171 / $ 1.598 Fri./ $ 2.478 Sat. 55% / $ 1.487 Sun. -40% = $ 5.562 weekend. -46%. Per screen average: $ 1,719. Total domestic gross $ 53.1 million.

Eight) 12 Years A Slave/ R/ Fox Searchlight/ Week 5/ Runs: 1411/ 267 / $ 1.338 Fri./ $ 2.073 Sat. 55% / $ 1.244 Sun. -40% = $ 4.655 Weekend. -30%. Per screen average: $ 3,299. Total domestic gross $ 24.9 million.

9) Captain Phillips/ PG13/ Sony/ Week 6/ Runs: 2626/ -20 / $ 1.238 Fri./ $ 1.980 Sat. 60% / $ 1.089 Sun. -45% = $ 4.307 Weekend. -25%. Per screen average: $ 1,640. Total domestic gross $ 97.4 million.

10) About Time/ R/ Universal/ Week 3/ Runs: 1280/ 80 / $ 1.049 Fri./ $ 1.311 Sat. 25% / $ 0.786 Sun. -40% = $ 3.146 Weekend. -34%. Per screen average: $ 2,458. Total domestic gross: $ 11.3 million.

EARLIER, FRIDAY 5:34 PM: Universal’s The Best Man Holiday, the sequel to the studio’s 1999 hit, might not wield the pop culture hammer of Marvel/Disney’s Thor: The Dark World, but don’t be surprised if it makes a run for No. 1 at the box office this weekend against the comic hero. The Malcolm D Lee-directed Best Man Holiday — which was made for $ 17M and boasts a strong ensemble ca st including Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard and Sanaa Lathan — likely will finish the weekend in the mid-$ 30M range after afternoon estimates suggest a $ 12.5M-$ 13.5M Friday. I’m hearing that Thor 2 is expected to take $ 37.4M in its second week in the marketplace after notching the year’s fourth-biggest opening last frame. Of course both will be overtaken next weekend, when Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire takes all the oxygen out of the room. MORE TO COME

Deadline.com