Oz The Great And Powerful has stayed top of the US box office, adding another $42.2 million. Disney will be pleased as while major movies often drop more than 50% of their take in their second weekend, Oz eased off by just 46%.
Most box office watchers had expected The Incredible Burt Wonderstone to take the number two spot, but the film bombed ending up in third spot with just $10.3 million, which is one of the worst debuts for either Steve Carell or Jim Carrey. Many are suggesting the marketing failed to get the idea of the movie across, but as it doesn’t look like the audiences that did turn up enjoyed it a lot, it’s unlikely to have a long life at the box office.
However The Call, starring Halle Berry – which most people didn’t have much hope for – significantly exceeded expectations by taking $17 million over the weekend. It’s one of the best starts ever for a Halle Berry starrer (outside ensemble franchises like X-Men).
Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of March 15th-17th.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) |
Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | Oz The Great And Powerful | $42.2 | $145.0 |
| 2 | The Call | $17.1 | $17.1 |
| 3 | The Incredible Burt Wonderstone | $10.3 | $10.3 |
| 4 | Jack The Giant Slayer | $6.2 | $53.9 |
| 5 | Identity Thief | $4.5 | $123.7 |
| 6 | Snitch | $3.5 | $37.2 |
| 7 | 21 And Over | $2.6 | $21.8 |
| 8 | Silver Linings Playbook | $2.5 | $124.6 |
| 9 | Safe Haven | $2.4 | $66.9 |
| 10 | Escape From Planet Earth | $2.3 | $52.1 |
The best, funniest Oz thing I’ve read lately is DA YELLER BRICK ROAD, a hilarious telling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It’s supposedly “the original story by Uncle Remus” (!) and reads like Dave Chappelle wrote it. Hilarious.