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 question this weekend wasn’t whether Oz The Great And Powerful would top the US box office, but how much it would take. While expectations meant that anything under $80 million would have been seen as a disappointment, if the final figures hold up, Oz just scraped in with $80.2 million.
Bryan Singer’s Jack The Giant Slayer is the first mega-budget movie of 2013, but if Hollywood was hoping it would break the box office bank and point to a bumper year ahead, they’ll be disappointed. The film took $28.1 million in its first weekend in US cinemas, which isn’t a complete disaster, but considering the movie cost nearly $200 million to make, it’s now going to have to rely on becoming a major success outside North America if it hopes to make its money back.