'Fifty Shades' ties up a cool $93 million debut
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The heat on "Fifty Shades of Grey's" blockbuster debut cooled ever so slightly as the final four-day weekend numbers were revealed on Tuesday. The R-rated movie, which cost only $40 million to produce, took in $93 million from 3,646 locations across the long President's Day holiday.
Although initial estimates put the four-day gross at over $94 million, director Sam Taylor-Johnson's adaptation of EL James' steamy best seller still took the crown for best February opening ever, unseating the 2004 record set by "The Passion of the Christ."
Matthew Vaughn's R-rated comic book adaptation "Kingsman: The Secret Service" also exceeded expectations in its first four days in theaters, bringing in $41.8 million from 3,204 locations, helping to solidify an overall record-breaking President's Day weekend at the box office.
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Monday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Tuesday by Rentrak:
1. "Fifty Shades Of Grey," Universal, $93,010,350, 3,646 locations, $25,510 average, $93,010,350, 1 week.
2. "Kingsman: The Secret Service," 20th Century Fox, $41,761,512, 3,204 locations, $13,034 average, $41,761,512, 1 week.
3. "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water," Paramount, $40,007,494, 3,654 locations, $10,949 average, $103,140,055, 2 weeks.
4. "American Sniper," Warner Bros., $18,779,843, 3,436 locations, $5,466 average, $306,478,136, 8 weeks.
5. "Jupiter Ascending," Warner Bros., $10,755,447, 3,181 locations, $3,381 average, $33,876,593, 2 weeks.
6. "Paddington," The Weinstein Company, $5,770,559, 2,244 locations, $2,572 average, $63,963,867, 5 weeks.
7. "Seventh Son," Universal, $4,841,540, 2,874 locations, $1,685 average, $14,111,980, 2 weeks.
8. "The Imitation Game," The Weinstein Company, $4,179,402, 1,551 locations, $2,695 average, $80,311,825, 12 weeks.
9. "The Wedding Ringer," Sony, $3,707,333, 1,456 locations, $2,546 average, $60,050,350, 5 weeks.
10. "Project Almanac," Paramount, $3,300,551, 1,732 locations, $1,906 average, $20,130,127, 3 weeks.
11. "Black or White," Relativity Media, $3,166,371, 1,591 locations, $1,990 average, $17,882,673, 3 weeks.
12. "Still Alice," Sony Pictures Classics, $2,076,621, 502 locations, $4,137 average, $4,994,406, 5 weeks.
13. "The Boy Next Door," Universal, $2,003,705, 1,192 locations, $1,681 average, $34,038,525, 4 weeks.
14. "Taken 3," 20th Century Fox, $1,265,978, 691 locations, $1,832 average, $86,940,705, 6 weeks.
15. "Old Fashioned," Freestyle Releasing, $1,083,308, 224 locations, $4,836 average, $1,126,199, 2 weeks.
16. "Birdman," Fox Searchlight, $1,030,070, 481 locations, $2,142 average, $36,630,755, 18 weeks.
17. "Selma," Paramount, $1,250,195, 566 locations, $1,794 average, $48,514,386, 8 weeks.
18. "The Theory Of Everything," Focus Features, $904,301, 466 locations, $1,941 average, $33,339,004, 15 weeks.
19. "Big Hero 6," Disney, $890,686, 317 locations, $2,810 average, $219,482,366, 15 weeks.
20. "Whiplash," Sony Pictures Classics, $705,539, 515 locations, $1,370 average, $10,552,001, 19 weeks.
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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.