Weekend Box Office Report: March 22-24, 2013

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Croods rule!

There hasn’t been much in theaters this year for the kiddies, so crowds flocked to the first big family offering, putting the new computer-animated release THE CROODS at the top with $44.7 million.

Audiences also gave an ‘A’ CinemaScore to the caveman clan fronted by Nicolas Cage (aside from GHOST RIDER and NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS, it’s the biggest opening of anything the actor has been associated with). Additionally, the 3D flick has gathered more than $63M from overseas for a $108M global total.

For a DreamWorks Animation production, the Stone Age tribe’s domestic opening is just below MEGAMIND ($46M) but slightly better than HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON ($43.7M), which also came from THE CROODS co-director Chris Sanders (and went on to nearly $500M worldwide). The movie was distributed by Fox, who already has prehistoric CG success with the ICE AGE series.

The explosive new R-rated OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN detonated in second place with a $30.5 million opening. That’s certainly a boost for star Gerard Butler, who has fallen flat at the box office lately with releases like CHASING MAVERICKS, PLAYING FOR KEEPS and MACHINE GUN PREACHER. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of head-stabbing to get back on track!

OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN is also the biggest opening for director Antoine Fuqua, who’s seemingly still coasting on goodwill from TRAINING DAY despite following that with mediocrity like SHOOTER, TEARS OF THE SUN and KING ARTHUR. The $70M action-thriller also gets the jump on director Roland Emmerich’s similar DC destruction WHITE HOUSE DOWN, which opens in June and features hero Channing Tatum and President Jamie Foxx.

Coming in third place was the previous winner of the past two weeks, the Sam Raimi-directed OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL with $22 million. Although it cost over $200M to make, Disney’s 3D trip down the Yellow Brick Road has collected $356.3M worldwide in three weekends, demonstrating that there’s still cash to be found somewhere over the rainbow.

Last week’s surprise second-placer THE CALL dropped to fourth with $8.7 million, still enough to keep Halle Berry ahead of the new Tina Fey/Paul Rudd comedy-drama ADMISSION, which premiered in fifth with just $6.4 million. That wasn’t too much more than SPRING BREAKERS on half as many screens — the crime tale expanded from limited release to over 1000 theaters and swiped $5 million, already surpassing its modest budget.

THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE and JACK THE GIANT SLAYER continue to slip, and IDENTITY THIEF is preparing to leave after scoring $127.7M. With SNITCH hanging on the chart for over a month, The Rock has accomplished something that elder action stars Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis could not: staying in the Top 10 for more than three weeks.

Outside the chart, SAFE HAVEN and 21 AND OVER drop out of sight, and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK finally slides from the chart after nearly five months in theaters (and a $127.2M total). And the new Rob Schneider spoof INAPPROPRIATE COMEDY, directed by the ShamWow guy (yes, really), made a pitiful $625 per-screen average at 275 locations.

Next weekend offers a reduced team of soldiers against the forces of Cobra in G.I. JOE: RETALIATION, plus the young-adult sci-fi thriller THE HOST (based on the book by TWILIGHT writer Stephenie Meyer), Tyler Perry in the new Tyler Perry movie TYLER PERRY’S TEMPTATION: CONFESSIONS OF A MARRIAGE COUNSELOR, and the Ryan Gosling/Bradley Cooper drama THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES in limited release.

Are you planning to check uot G.I. JOE: RETALIATION next weekend? VOTE HERE!