Despite winter storm Nemo pummelling large portions of North America, audiences still found a way to see the Jason Bateman-Melissa McCarthy comedy Identity Thief, which debuted above expectations and eclipsed the supposed final film from acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh.
Opening around $10 million more than the average projection, Identity Thief proved to be a huge success with $34.6 million, matching its budget in the process. Among other impressive feats, this is the best opening for a con artist movie, second best for a road trip flick, and is Jason Bateman’s best debut for a film which featured him in a leading role.
After a strong Super Bowl debut last weekend, Warm Bodies showed decent staying power with a 44 percent drop for a $36.5 million cume. With Valentine's Day to come and those who did stay indoors due to the weather likely to finally make the trek, this unique rom com should post decent legs.
The Top 10
1. Identity Thief – $ 34.6M (weekend)…$ 34.6M (cume)
2. Warm Bodies – $11.4M…$36.5M
3. Side Effects – $9.3.M…$9.3M
4. Silver Linings Playbook – $6.4M…$89.5M
5. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters – $5.7M…$43.8M
6. Mama – $4.2M…$63.9M
7. Zero Dark Thirty – $4.0M…$83.6M
8. Argo – $2.4M…$123.6M
9. Django Unchained – $2.3M…$154.5M
10. Bullet to the Head – $2.1M…8.3M
Despite great reviews, the presence of Channing Tatum, and the fact that Side Effects was touted as Steven Soderbergh’s final film, the thriller only managed an opening weekend on par with Soderbergh’s The Informant! It’s really not a bad opening considering the mysterious promotional material, and it will be interesting to see if the twisting nature of the story will spark word of mouth.
Next weekend, three new releases look to capitalize on the weekend of love, lead by the cuddliest of them all: A Good Day to Die Hard which attacks 3,500 theaters. Then, following in about 3,000 locations, is the young adult adaptation Beautiful Creatures and the Nicholas Sparks flick Safe Haven.
