With a take of an estimated $60.6 million, it was first by a long shot. In second was not the newest wide release, “The Longest Ride,” but rather “Home.”
“Home” grabbed $19 million while The Nichols Spark drama “The Longest Ride” finished around $13 million. It is a romance film starring The Scott Eastwood and Britt Robertson. It was never going to win the box office with the competition in “Furious 7,” so a solid third is good for that film. It did do better than expected.
But, once again the weekend belonged to “Furious 7.” Along the way, it sits around $800 million worldwide and it is likely to cross over the coveted $1 billion mark when it runs out of gas.
Weekend
1. “Furious 7” – $60.6 million (updated, $56.6 million)
2. “Home” – $19 million
3. “The Longest Ride” – $13 million
4. “Get Hard” – $8.6 million
5. “Cinderella” – $7.2 million
“Furious 7” did fall about 60 percent and that would be devastating for many films. But when a film opens like this one did, it didn’t matter. A fall is expected and when a film opens really big, the second weekend can stumble higher than usual.
One attraction to many for “Furious 7,” noted The Wrap, was IMAX. The way of watching this film accounts for 23 percent of its gross, domestically. That should also bode well with the drive in theaters.
Add in large format and those IMAX showings, and that is around 14 percent. Deadline reports that repeat viewing is taking shape as well. They also indicated that the south and west portion of the United States has it playing real well.
For “The Longest Ride,” it did give audiences something else besides action and the women came out for the film, noted Deadline. It was marketed correctly as 73 percent of the audience was female.
A smaller splash for others who crave those acting and storytelling films comes “Women of Gold,” starring Helen Mirren.It has been out for a while and is following a tried-and-true marketing plan by the Weinstein Company. Roll it out and let it grow and give it consistency and longevity.
One has to mention “Ex Machina” as its per screen average was a whopping $62,500, in four theaters. Written and directed by Alex Garland and starring Oscar Isaac, is it playing like a smart man vs machine film.
