DreamWorks Animation’s family film Home is first place at the box office with $54 million from 3,708 theaters.
Jeffrey Katsenberg’s film managed to exceed all expectations, with analysts predicting Home to debut roughly between $30 million and $35 million. It ranks as one of the studio’s best-ever opening for an original movie, and biggest debut since 2012’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted with $60.3 million.
Distributed by Fox, Home cost $130 million to produce and features Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin and Jennifer Lopez. The story follows a teenager on the run (played by Rihanna) who teams up with a toothy-purple alien (played by Parsons).
“You’ve got to give credit to the movie itself,” said Chris Aronson, Fox’s domestic distribution chief. “It’s an original story with heart and action and humor, all the elements that people want to be entertained.”
Audience members, who were 60 percent female and 57 percent under the age of 25, gave the film an A minus CinemaScore, along with positive reviews. Critics, on the other hand, gave the family feature a dim 32 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“You had parents talking to one another and saying it was a good movie for kids, and that’s enough for something to be successful,” said Phil Contrino, vice president and analyst with BoxOffice.com. “With family-skewing movies, it can be feast or famine, and this year there’s been a whole lot of feasting.”
The weekend’s other wide release was Warner Bros.’ prison comedy Get Hard, featuring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart. The $40 million-production scored $34.6 million across 3,175 theaters, opening to a crowd made up of 54 percent male and 61 percent over the age of 25.
“The chemistry between them was terrific,” said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. domestic distribution chief. “They’re both popular and well liked. I hope we can do another one with them.”
GET HARD Interview: Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell Talk Prison Tips
The R-rated feature received a B CinemaScore from audiences, and a meager 31 percent “fresh” score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It stars Ferrell as a wealthy businessman who thinks he’s going to jail for tax evasion, so he hires a car washer to teach him how to survive being in prison for 10 years. Alison Brie, Edwina Findley and Craig T. Nelson also star.
Last weekend’s victor, Insurgent, grabbed the third spot on the charts with $22 million, falling roughly 58 percent. The Divergent sequel has accumulated $86.4 million after two weeks. In fourth place is Disney’s Cinderella with $17.5 million, and a grand total of $150 million.
Rounding out the top five is Radius-TWC’s It Follows with $4 million after expanding from 32 to 1,218 locations. The horror film has earned $4.8 million since debuting on March 13th.
Top 10 Films at Weekend Box Office: March 27-29
- Home — $54 million
- Get Hard — $34.6 million
- Divergent Series: The Insurgent — $22 million
- Cinderella — $15.5 million
- It follows — $4 million
- Kingsman: The Secret Service — $3 Million
- Run All Night — $2.2 million
- The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel — $2.18 million
- Do you Believe? — $2.15 million
- The Gunman — $2 million
