For those on the East coast of the United States, going to the movies was the last thing on anybody’s mind. With Winter Storm Jonas battering Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and beyond, with airports shut down, and officials urging everyone to stay off the roads, it’s probably no surprise there no big numbers for the new movies opening at the box office this weekend. But then again, the offerings were so slim, it’s hard to imagine a different result.
"The Revenant" continued its march toward the Oscars by returning to the top of the box office with $16 million. With $119 million in the bank and more to come, It’s far and away the best box office haul director Alejandro González Iñárritu has ever had, and for Leonardo DiCaprio the picture is one of the biggest earners of his career. The domestic runs of "Shutter Island" ($128 mil.), "The Departed" ($132.3 mil.), and "The Great Gatsby" ($144 mil.) are within grasp, particularly with 20th Century Fox continuing to add theaters and likely to keep it in cinemas until the Oscars and beyond.
READ MORE: Watch A 44-Minute Documentary About The Making Of ‘The Revenant’
Of the newcomers to multiplexes, Robert De Niro and Zac Efron‘s raunchy comedy "Dirty Grandpa" fared best with $11.5 million, landing it in fourth place. It’s the second straight flop for Efron, who tanked last summer with "We Are Your Friends," and suggests that outside of the "Neighbors" franchise, his box office heat is still questionable at best. Meanwhile, let’s hope De Niro’s choices don’t sink any further than this truly atrocious comedy.
Over at Sony, they’re licking the wounds of the $10.7 million haul for "The 5th Wave." Based on the first book in a popular YA trilogy, the opening pretty much assures those sequels won’t be forthcoming. While the spend on the movie was modest, with a $38 million budget, it’s clear audiences didn’t care to replace Katniss Everdeen with Cassie Sullivan.
While STX Entertainment kept "The Boy" away from most critics, horror is a genre that plays to an audience that’s essentially critic proof. So they are likely fine with the movie pulling in $11.2 million, which nicely covers the $10 million budget, and will likely put the picture on the path to clearing a small profit. It’s the kind of thing that looks good on the books, and they really couldn’t have expected more from what otherwise looks like a rote fright flick.
Coming fresh of its PGA win, "The Big Short" had the strongest hold of the weekend, losing only 34% of its audience. Fellow Oscar nominee "Room" had its best weekend yet with $1.4 million, while "The Martian" quietly became Matt Damon‘s biggest domestic hit of his career by adding $290,000 in ticket sales.
Lastly, in limited release, "Ip Man 3" had the best per-screen average with $7,402 for a total weekend haul of $762,000.
1. “The Revenant” — $16 million ($119.1 mil)
2. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” — $14.2 million ($879.2 mil.)
3. “Ride Along 2” — $12.9 million ($59.1 mil.)
4. “Dirty Grandpa” — $11.5 million
5. “The Boy” — $11.2 million
6. “The 5th Wave” — $10.7 million
7. “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi” — $9.7 million ($33.4 mil.)
8. “Daddy’s Home” — $5.2 million ($138.7 mil.)
9. “Norm Of The North” — $4.1 million ($14.2 mil.)
10. “The Big Short” — $3.5 million ($56.7 mil.)
