July 21, 2013–The summer’s lengthy list of box office flops included a new film this weekend — Universal’s “R.I.P.D.,” which cost $130 million to produce and opened with a dismal $12.8 million domestically.
In contrast, Warner-New Line’s low-budget thriller, “The Conjuring,” over-performed with a solid gross of $41.5 million through Sunday.
“The Conjuring,” which was made for just $20 million, was the brightest spot during a weekend of mostly underperformers.
Fox’s second DreamWorks Animation release, “Turbo,” was disappointing, earning just $21.5 million in three days, with $31.2 million in five. The toon marks one of the lowest three-day openings for a recent DWA CGI-animated film.
Rising star Ryan Reynolds had to swallow two huge misfire in one weekend: R.I.P.D. and Turbo.
Lionsgate-Summit’s “Red 2″ succumbed to the weight of an overcrowded frame, earning just $18.5 million, roughly $3 million less than its predecessor’s debut weekend.
Strong holdovers in the market influenced the fate of newcomers, including U’s “Despicable Me 2,” which fell just 43% in its third frame, for a three-day estimate of $25.1 million. “Despicable Me” crossed the $275 million domestic mark.
“Even though we’re having a great summer and a great year, this still hurts,” said Universal distribution prexy Nikki Rocco, referring to the “R.I.P.D.” flop.
At the weekend’s specialty box office, the Weinstein Co. had a successful expansion of last week’s per-screen champ, “Fruitvale Station,” which in its second outing grossed more than $742,000 from just 34 locations. The film averaged $21,832 per screen.
Weinstein’s video-on-demand distribution arm Radius bowed Ryan Gosling indie “Only God Forgives” to strong early results. The film is on track to rival previous VOD champ “Arbitrage,” according to Radius, based on the film’s performance on iTunes. “Only God Forgives” also bowed theatrically this weekend at 78 locations, estimating north of $315,000 for an average of just $4,038 per screen.
