After a successfulfirst weekend at the box office,The Boss Baby, an animated comedy from DreamWorks Animation, had no trouble repeating at the box office. The hit movie went up against Warner Bros.' comedy remakeGoing in Style, Sony’s animated adventureSmurfs: The Lost Villageand PureFlix’s faith-based dramaThe Case For Christ. None of these new releases stood a chance, withThe Boss Babyrepeating atop the box office with $26.3 million, followed closely by Disney’s blockbusterBeauty and the Beastwith $25 million.
Box Office Mojoreports thatSmurfs: The Lost Village, Sony’s newfully animated moviein the beloved franchise, opened in 3,610 theaters, debuting in third place with $14 million for a meager $3,882 per-screen average.Going in Styledebuted in 3,061 theaters in fourth place with $12.5 million with a $4,084 per-screen average, whileThe Case for Christopened in 10th place with $3.9 million.Smurfs: The Lost VillageandGoing In Styleweren’t critically acclaimed, withSmurfsgetting a 39% rating on Rotten Tomatoes andGoing in Stylegetting 44%, althoughThe Case For Christwas a critical hit with 83%.The Boss Babyhas now earned $89.3 million domestically.
Smurfs: The Lost Villagecouldn’t out-gross the debuts of its predecessors, despite a this new movie marking the return to a fully animated movie that many fans had been hoping for. 2011’sThe Smurfs, which blended the animated Smurfs with live-action characters played byNeil Patrick Harris,Jayma MaysandHank Azaria, which fared quite well at the box office, debuting with $35.6 million en route to a $142.6 million domestic take and $563.7 million worldwide take, from just a $110 million budget. The 2013 follow-upThe Smurfs 2managed to stumble quite a bit from its predecessor, at lease at the domestic box office, debuting with just $17.5 million, with a $71 million domestic take, although it still fared well in international territories, with a worldwide gross of $347.5 million from a $105 million budget.
In this fully animated, all-new take on the Smurfs, a mysterious map sets Smurfette and her best friends Brainy, Clumsy and Hefty on an exciting and thrilling race through the Forbidden Forest filled with magical creatures to find a mysterious lost village before the evil wizard Gargamel does. Embarking on a rollercoaster journey full of action and danger, the Smurfs are on a course that leads to the discovery of the biggest secret in Smurf history! Sony Pictures Animation’s fully-animated features an all new voice cast which includesDemi Lovatoas Smurfette,Rainn Wilsonas Gargamel,Joe Manganielloas Hefty Smurf,Jack McBrayeras Clumsy Smurf,Danny Pudias Brainy Smurf andMandy Patinkinas Papa Smurf.
Going in Styleis a remake of the 1979 comedy of the same name, which starredGeorge Burns,Lee StrasbergandArt Carney. This new rendition stars Oscar winnersMorgan Freeman(Million Dollar Baby),Michael Caine(The Cider House Rules,Hannah and Her Sisters) andAlan Arkin(Little Miss Sunshine) , who play lifelong buddies Willie, Joe and Al. They decide to buck retirement and step off the straight-and-narrow for the first time in their lives when their pension fund becomes a corporate casualty, in directorZach Braff’s comedyGoing in Style. Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, the three risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money.
Zach Braff(Garden State) directs from a screenplay byTheodore Melfi(St. Vincent). The film also stars two-time Oscar nomineeAnn-Margret(Tommy,Carnal Knowledge) as Annie, a grocery cashier who’s been checking Al out in more ways than one.Joey King(Wish I Was Here) stars as Joe’s whip-smart granddaughter, Brooklyn; with Oscar nomineeMatt Dillon(Crash) as FBI Agent Hamer; andChristopher Lloyd(Back to the Futuretrilogy) as the guys' lodge buddy, Milton.John Ortiz(Silver Linings Playbook) also stars as Jesus, a man of unspecified credentials who agrees to show the guys the ropes, andPeter Serafinowicz(Guardians of the Galaxy) as Joe’s former son-in-law, Murphy, whose pot clinic connections may finally prove useful.
The top 10 is rounded out byGhost in the Shell($7.3 million),Power Rangers($6.2 million),Kong: Skull Island($5.8 million),Logan($4.05 million),Get Out($4.02 million) andThe Case for Christ($3.9 million). Also opening in limited release is Neon’sColossal, which earned $125,809 from four theaters for an impressive $31,452 per-screen average. Fox Searchlight’sGiftedearned $476,000 from 56 theaters for a decent $8,500 per-screen average, while IFC’sGraduationearned $11,040 from two theaters for a $5,520 per-screen average. STX Entertainment’sTheir Finestearned $77,000 from four theaters for a $19,250 per-screen average, but not box office data was released for Magnolia’sAlive and KickingandCezanne et moi, Parade Deck’sThe Eyes, Well Go USA’sMine, Shout! Factory’sThe Ticket, FilmRise’sTrumanScreen Media’sThe Voidand Funimation’sYour Name. It isn’t clear at this time if any of these films are planning to expand nationwide in the weeks ahead.
Looking ahead to next weekend, Universal’s highly-anticipated sequelThe Fate of the Furiouswill open nationwide, going up against the Open Road Films animated comedySpark.The Fate of the Furiouswill likely debut to huge numbers next weekend, but it isn’t known how many theaters it will be arriving in at this time, but the animated comedySparkshouldn’t provide too much competition for this action sequel. Also opening in limited release is the Indican horror film7 Witches, Abramorama’s documentaryChasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary, The Orchard’s documentaryJeremiah Tower, Bleecker Street’s action-adventureThe Lost City of Z, Sony Pictures Classic’s dramatic thrillerNorman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, Music Box Films' dramaA Quiet Passion, Under the Milky Way’s dramaThe Studentand Roadside Attractions' dramaTommy’s Honour. Take a look at the top 10 for the weekend of April 7, and check back Sunday for the box office estimates.