Box office report: 'Ted' lights up box office with $54.1 million; 'Magic Mike' sizzles with $39.2 million

Jul 1 2012
01:26 PM ET

Box office report: 'Ted' lights up box office with $54.1 million; 'Magic Mike' sizzles with $39.2 million
by Grady Smith


Tags: Box Office, Brave, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, Madea's Witness Protection, Magic Mike, Movie Biz, People Like Us, Ted, News


Image Credit: Universal Pictures


Who had more money thrown at him this weekend? A bong-smoking teddy
bear with a bad attitude or Channing Tatum in a sparkly G-string?

Surprisingly, the stuffed animal proved the victor! Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane’s raunchy comedy Ted,
which stars Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, earned an impressive $54.1
million out of 3,239 theaters during its debut weekend—the third-best
debut ever for an R rated comedy behind the openings of The Hangover Part II ($85.9 million)
and Sex and the City ($57 million) — and the best debut ever for an original comedic storyline.

What went right? According to
Universal’s President of Domestic Distribution, Nikki Rocco, “The film.
The marketing. The advertising — that’s what went right!” During a phone
call with EW this morning, Rocco praised Ted‘s advertising campaign kick-off in April,
when MacFarlane appeared in a 90-second TV-spot during an episode of Family Guy and
pointed audiences to Ted’s extra-buzzy red-band trailer online. Clearly, much of the loyal Family Guy
audience turned out for the opening weekend. “It’s been a while since
an original zany comedy has been on the marketplace,” says Rocco.
“Everybody likes something fresh, something new.”

Indeed, they did. Ted‘s debut frame easily surpassed those of other recent R-rated hits
like 21 Jump Street ($36.1 million), Horrible Bosses ($28.3 million), Bad Teacher ($31.6 million),
and Wahlberg’s own PG-13 flick The Other Guys ($35.5 million). Each of those films exhibited
substantial legs at the box office and crossed $100 million domestically. Given Ted‘s
decent reviews and healthy “A-” CinemaScore grade , it should too.
Universal just may have a $200 million hit on its hands — great news
considering the film, which was produced by Media Rights Capital, cost
just $50 million. Men made up most of the crowds. According to
Universal, Ted‘s audience was 56 percent male, while 52 percent of moviegoers were 30 or older.
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Image Credit: Claudette Barius


You know which movie’s audience wasn’t predominantly male? Magic Mike‘s.
The endlessly written about stripper film, which is partially inspired
by Channing Tatum’s real-life stripper past, grossed a tremendous $39.2
million in its opening weekend from audiences which were 73 percent
female. The result is far higher than anyone in the industry would have
predicted a month ago, but Mike quickly snowballed into a Sex and the City-type
release and became a must-see “event” for groups of women in the mood for something other than
Fifty Shades of Grey. “This is what the business is about,” says Warner Brothers’ President
of Domestic Distribution, Dan Fellman. “There are surprises sometimes,
and when you get a sleeper, it’s great.”

For Warner Brothers, Magic Mike was already a winner on its
opening day, when it grossed a jaw-dropping $19.4 million. The film was
independently financed for $7 million by Steven Soderbergh, Channing
Tatum, and Matthew McConaughey; Warner Brothers then paid $7 million to
acquire Magic Mike from Soderbergh, with whom they often
collaborate, and agreed to distribute. Of course, advertising and
distribution costs exist as well, but according to Fellman, “Everybody
is making a lot of money.”

While Magic Mike did score a sizzling debut, the drama also
proved incredibly front-loaded. (And no, I’m not talking about Joe
Manganiello’s character Big Dick Richie.) After Mike‘s $19.4
million opening day, it fell by a whopping 42 percent on Saturday to
$11.4 million, and then a more-standard 26 percent on Sunday to $8.4
million. These declines point to a truncated run at the box office — as
does the moderate “B” CinemaScore grade from audiences, who may have
been expecting an upbeat romp from Magic Mike, which is
actually quite a bit darker than advertising suggests. Thus, only time
will tell whether the film passes $100 million domestically.

Still, Magic Mike shouldn’t be viewed as anything but a huge
winner — especially for its star, Channing Tatum, whose banner year
continues. Following the success of The Vow ($125 million), and 21 Jump Street
($138.3 million), Tatum’s appeal has earned him another smash, and no
actor in Hollywood has a higher stock than him right now. Maybe it’s a
good thing that G.I. Joe got pushed…


Image Credit: Disney-Pixar


Last weekend’s chart champion, Disney-Pixar’s $185 million effort Brave,
dropped by 49 percent in its second weekend to a still-strong $34
million, good for third place. The Scottish adventure raced past the
$100 million mark on its eighth day of release, and has now earned
$131.7 million after two weekends. A good comparison for Brave is another Pixar favorite,
Wall-E , which also dropped by 49 percent in its second weekend and
had earned $127.2 million at the same point in its run. Wall-E finished
with $223 million domestically, and that seems like a probable total for Brave as well.

In fourth, Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection started with a potent $26.4 million from 2,161 theaters —
a bit ahead of the director’s last Madea film, Madea’s Big Happy Family, which debuted to $25.1 million in 2011.
Witness Protection‘s small uptick is an encouraging sign for the cross-dressing franchise, which was beginning to
show signs of age when Madea’s Big Happy Family earned “just” $53.3 million, a full 41 percent less than
2009′s Madea Goes To Jail, which grossed $90.5 million. Audiences issued the picture, which cost $20 million, an “A-” CinemaScore grade.

Rounding out the Top 5 is Dreamworks’ $145 million sequel Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,
which has held up quite well in the face of Brave over the past two weeks. Madagascar 3
dropped 40 percent this weekend to $11.8 million and has now grossed
$180 million after four frames. The zoo animal comedy has stampeded up
the box office faster than either of its predecessors — at the same
point in its run, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa had earned $159.1 million.
Europe’s Most Wanted is now poised to be the highest domestic earner in the franchise,
and it will soon outdo the original Madagascar‘s $193.6 million haul.

Down in tenth place, Disney’s family drama People Like Us flopped almost as badly
as last weekend’s Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. Despite overall positive reviews, People Like Us
grossed a measly $4.3 million from 2,055 theaters. Good thing the Chris
Pine/Elizabeth Banks drama, which earned a “B ” CinemaScore grade,
carries a light $16 million budget.

Overall, the box office is demonstrating remarkable health. Without a
giant action movie in the Top 5, the current lineup was still able to
set a June box office record with a cumulative gross well above $200
million. (I’ll add in exact figures when they become available.) Some
are saying that the heat wave sweeping across the U.S. is driving people
into cool, air-conditioned theaters, and in a poll posted yesterday, 59 percent
of readers voted that the heat does, in fact, make them more likely to go to the theater.
It should also be noted that neither of the top two films are in 3-D.

1. Ted – $54.1 million
2. Magic Mike – $39.2 million
3. Brave – $34.0 million
4. Madea’s Witness Protection – $26.4 million
5. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted – $11.8 million