Snatching the crown from defending champion 'Lorax', the comedy movie grosses a solid $36.3 million, which is the biggest opening ever for a non-sequel R-rated comedy movie.
- Mar 19, 2012
AceShowbiz - On its first weekend on the North American box office, "21 Jump Street" successfully dethrones defending champion "The Lorax". Grossing $36.3 million, the Phil Lord and Chris Miller-directed movie also breaks the record of the best opening ever for a non-summer, non-sequel R-rated comedy movie.
The adult comedy starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum has received strong reviews from observers who give it a "B" CinemaScore. Even so, audience under the age of 25 give the pic an "A" CinemaScore. According to Sony Pictures' exit polling, the movie attracts to 50|percent| younger moviegoers, but CinemaScore's poll shows that 67|percent| of the audience are over the age of 25.
Of the better-than-expected result, Sony worldwide president of distribution Rory Bruer says that it's because of "the chemistry between Jonah and Channing" which is "off the hook." He continues, "You expect Jonah to be funny, but people blown away by Channing's comedy chops."
After claiming the top spot for two weeks in a row, Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax" falls to the runner-up place this week with $22.7 million. After three weeks playing in the U.S. cinemas, the animated movie grosses a total cume of $158.4 million, which is the best result of 2012 by far.
On the other hand, Walt Disney Pictures' pricey sci-fi pic "John Carter" lands on the third place on its second weekend. Dropping 55|percent| from last week, the epic movie, which costs $250 million to produce, bags $13.5 million for a weak 10-day total domestic cume of $53.2 million.
"Project X" and "A Thousand Words" fill the fourth and fifth spot respectively. Dropping 64|percent| from last week, the teenage rave party movie grabs $4 million. After three weeks showing in theaters nationwide, the pic collects a total cume of $48.1 million against its $15 million budget. *Eddie Murphy's comedy, meanwhile, adds $3.6 million to its total cume of $12.1 million in its second week.
Another newcomer this week is Will Ferrell's Spanish dramedy, "Casa De Mi Padre", which debuts on the ninth place. After making its limited screening in selected theaters, the film grosses $2.2 million on its opening weekend.
Top Ten Movies at Box Office for March 16-18, 2012:
*UPDATE (March 20, 2011 01:10 GMT): When the final figures came out on Monday, March 19, "A Thousand Words" dropped another slot to the sixth. Hence, it swapped place with "Act of Valor", which now landed on the fifth position on the chart.
