Fifty Shades dominates box office

Colin Firth stars as Harry, an impeccably suave spy, in Kingsman: The Secret Service. It came in second at last weekend’s box office and made about $42 million.
Colin Firth stars as Harry, an impeccably suave spy, in Kingsman: The Secret Service. It came in second at last weekend’s box office and made about $42 million.

LOS ANGELES -- Audiences were more than curious to check out the big-screen adaptation of the racy phenomenon Fifty Shades of Grey last weekend. The erotic R-rated drama sizzled in its debut, earning about $93 million from 3,646 theaters in its first four days, distributor Universal Pictures said.

The chart-topping film cost $40 million to produce and stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan as Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey.

"Our fondest wishes were realized," said Universal's president of domestic distribution, Nick Carpou. "This is one of those moments where I can speak for the entire studio and say we're celebrating."

Carpou was especially pleased that audiences in large, midsize, and small markets turned out to see the film despite weather challenges in the Northeast.

"We had a tremendous amount of interest from small-town exhibitors," said Carpou, noting strong outings in the South. "That speaks to their patrons really wanting to see the film as soon as possible and be part of what everyone is talking about."

According to Universal, North American audiences were 68 percent female.

Internationally, director Sam Taylor-Johnson's adaptation of E.L. James' book earned an estimated $156 million from 9,637 locations in 58 territories. That's the second-biggest international opening for Universal, right behind the $160.3 million debut from Fast & Furious 6, and the highest international opening for an R-rated film ever.

"Those are summer-style blockbuster numbers in February," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box office firm Rentrak.

"Controversy, or at least the conversation that's created by Fifty Shades of Grey, suddenly infuses this movie into the mainstream conversation," he added. "They had to very carefully create a movie that was edgy -- push the envelope, but without going too far to make it socially unacceptable."

Director Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman: The Secret Service also exceeded expectations, landing in second place with an estimated $42 million from 3,204 locations across the four-day period, according to Rentrak.

The R-rated comic book adaptation starring Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson cost a reported $81 million to produce.

Paramount Pictures' The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, which was No. 1 two weekends ago, again attracted families and teenagers. It came in at No. 3, dropping 45 percent in ticket sales but still grossing $40 million, raising its total to about $103.1 million.

The war drama American Sniper, at No. 4, crossed the $300 million mark domestically with about $19 million. The Clint Eastwood film, nominated for six Academy Awards, has pulled in about $306.4 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters.

Jupiter Ascending rounded out the top five with about $11 million. The Warner Bros. film has made about $34 million total domestically.

"We should learn in 2015 to not underestimate how well films can do," Dergarabedian said. "Coming off a 2014 where we were down 5.2 percent, where a lot of movies did not live up to expectations, 2015 is right now running like a freight train toward the first $11 billion year in North America."

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Note: The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters are for Friday through Monday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Tuesday by Rentrak. This listing is usually for a three-day weekend.

  1. Fifty Shades of Grey, Universal, $93,010,350, 3,646 locations, $25,510 average, $93,010,350, one week.

  2. Kingsman: The Secret Service, 20th Century Fox, $41,761,512, 3,204 locations, $13,034 average, $41,761,512, one week.

  3. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, Paramount, $40,007,494, 3,654 locations, $10,949 average, $103,140,055, two weeks.

  4. American Sniper, Warner Bros., $18,779,843, 3,436 locations, $5,466 average, $306,478,136, eight weeks.

  5. Jupiter Ascending, Warner Bros., $10,755,447, 3,181 locations, $3,381 average, $33,876,593, two weeks.

  6. Paddington, The Weinstein Co., $5,770,559, 2,244 locations, $2,572 average, $63,963,867, five weeks.

  7. Seventh Son, Universal, $4,841,540, 2,874 locations, $1,685 average, $14,111,980, two weeks.

  8. The Imitation Game, The Weinstein Co., $4,179,402, 1,551 locations, $2,695 average, $80,311,825, 12 weeks.

  9. The Wedding Ringer, Columbia, $3,707,333, 1,456 locations, $2,546 average, $60,050,350, five weeks.

  10. Project Almanac, Paramount, $3,300,551, 1,732 locations, $1,906 average, $20,130,127, three weeks.

  11. Black or White, Relativity Media, $3,166,371, 1,591 locations, $1,990 average, $17,882,673, three weeks.

  12. Still Alice, Sony Pictures Classics, $2,076,621, 502 locations, $4,137 average, $4,994,406, five weeks.

  13. The Boy Next Door, Universal, $2,003,705, 1,192 locations, $1,681 average, $34,038,525, four weeks.

  14. Taken 3, 20th Century Fox, $1,265,978, 691 locations, $1,832 average, $86,940,705, six weeks.

  15. Old Fashioned, Freestyle Releasing, $1,083,308, 224 locations, $4,836 average, $1,126,199, two weeks.

  16. Birdman, Fox Searchlight, $1,030,070, 481 locations, $2,142 average, $36,630,755, 18 weeks.

  17. Selma, Paramount, $1,250,195, 566 locations, $1,794 average, $48,514,386, eight weeks.

  18. The Theory of Everything, Focus Features, $904,301, 466 locations, $1,941 average, $33,339,004, 15 weeks.

  19. Big Hero 6, Disney, $890,686, 317 locations, $2,810 average, $219,482,366, 15 weeks.

  20. Whiplash, Sony Pictures Classics, $705,539, 515 locations, $1,370 average, $10,552,001, 19 weeks.

MovieStyle on 02/20/2015

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