Weekend Box Office Report: February 20-22, 2015

Fifty Shades of Grey remains on top!

Audiences were still looking for a bit of bondage in their romance, putting FIFTY SHADES OF GREY at #1 again this weekend with an estimated $23.2 million!

While the BDSM bestseller adaptation held the box office crown (or crop) in its second week, it seems apparent that the hype drew the curious and core audiences on its first weekend. The softcore drama experienced a 72% drop in business from its opening — the kind of deep plunge usually reserved for genre material and/or disastrous word-of-mouth.

Regardless, FIFTY SHADES OF GREY has collected a 10-day worldwide total of $410 million (on a $40 million budget), already surpassing the $392 million global finish of TWILIGHT — the source of inspiration for the fan-fiction that ultimately transformed into E.L. James' racy book.

The next two movies on the list also retained position from last week, with KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE again in second with $17.5 million, down 51% from its opening last week. Director Matthew Vaughn's R-rated spy massacre is up to a worldwide total of $153.5 million. THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER remained floating in third with $15.5 million as it crossed $200 million worldwide.  

A week after his mixed-race melodrama BLACK OR WHITE departed the chart, Kevin Costner returned with MCFARLAND USA, opening in fourth place with $11.3 million. The true-life Disney sports drama had most critics cheering the underdog cross-country team (77% on Rotten Tomatoes), and moviegoers gave the high school students an 'A' CinemaScore.

In fifth place was the new acronymed teen comedy THE DUFF with an opening of $11 million. The Designated Ugly Fat Friend only cost a reported $8.5 million, and got a (barely) passing grade from critics with a 62% average on Rotten Tomatoes, while crowds marked it with an 'A-' CinemaScore.

On Oscar weekend, nominee AMERICAN SNIPER perched in sixth place with $9.6 million as it hit a domestic total of $319.6 million. The new R-rated comedy sequel HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2 circled the drain in seventh with an opening of $5.8 million. The $14 million time-travel follow-up, originally set to open last Christmas, got drowned by both critics (14% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences ('C-' CinemaScore).

The big-budget spectacle JUPITER ASCENDING further descended, while Best Picture nominee THE IMITATION GAME and adventurous bear PADDINGTON closed out the Top 10. Outside the chart, THE WEDDING RINGER, SEVENTH SON and PROJECT ALMANAC slipped out of sight, while the Alzheimer's drama STILL ALICE (starring Best Actress nominee Julianne Moore) surged with $2.1 million, and Best Picture nominee THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING rolled past $100 million worldwide.

Next weekend brings the Will Smith con-man comedy FOCUS and the horror flick THE LAZARUS EFFECT, plus limited releases of the war drama '71 and the Salma Hayek actioner EVERLY.

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