As noted, it was not a scorching, sizzling win for the latest “Maze Runner,” but a win is a win. It fell a little short of expectations and it did not open as much as last year’s first film in the series.
For Depp, his Whitey Bulger’s “Black Mass” as higher than projections, so both can claim a victory of sorts. Depp has generated Oscar buzz for his menacing portrayal of the mobster, and this box office helps get in before the eyes of the audience.
For Fox and its “Scorch Trials,” they will take the win as they have not did not have a summer like Disney or Universal had, and that season is over for Hollywood. “Maze Runner 2” started well overseas with $42 million, so they are happy on this Sunday.
Weekend, domestically
1. “Maze Runner: Scorch Trials” – $30.3 million
2. “Black Mass” – $23.3 million
3. “The Visit” – $11.3 million
4. “The Perfect Guy” – $9.3 million
5. “Everest” – $7.5 million
Warner Bros. is also happy that Depp stopped his losing streak and had a solid debut for “Black Mass.” But, with “Paramount” is not so glad to see the figures as “Captive” tanked, even though its theater count was much lower. Meanwhile, Lionsgate saw the limited opening of “Sicario” do well. Its stars have generated buzz as well. Emmy Blunt and Josh Brolin may get noticed even if the film does not gain award season traction.
Brolin is also in “Everest,” which was another pleasant surprise for Universal with its fifth place finish. While promoting his films on a recent “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Brolin was more than eager to promote “Sicario” and all but ignored “Everest.”
“Sicario” had a per screen average of a whopping $65,000 and will make the transition to wider release pretty easy.
Now, despite all the platitudes, the box office is still slow. One can see than when a movie drops hard and still finishes in the top five. Case in point would be “The Perfect Guy,” which had a weak win last time around. It fell almost 63 percent, while “The Visit” fell to a more normal 55 percent.
No matter what, when “Star Wars” opens in December, whatever the box office has been doing (good or bad), that film end the year on fire. If a film has a chance to beat “Avatar,” is will be that film.
