KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE is the best film to never hit the number one spot

The surest way to gauge success with a new film release, is to see where it lands in the top ten. Usually, whichever movie is at the number one spot, is usually making the most cash. But not always. It’s not a foolproof formula, and being number one is no guarantee that you’ll be swimming in Scrooge McDuck levels of cash, as Chappie is currently learning this lesson the hard way. One of the secret kings of the box office then? None other than Kingsman: The Secret Service.

Kingsman has held the number two spot for three consecutive weeks since it was released. And it’s been raking in cash ever since, finally dropping to the fourth position over the last weekend. It’s current weekend box office stats in North America are as follows:

• Feb 13-16 – $41.7 Million
• Feb 20-22 – $18.3 Million
• Feb 27-March 1 – $11.8 Million
• March 6-8 – $8.3 Million

That comes to over $98 million from USA ticket sales alone, with the movie making over $150.3 million in foreign territories. That’s a split of 39.5% and 60.5% of box office revenue, resulting in a current haul of over $248.3 million and counting. Now bear in mind, this is for a movie that is based on a new property, and with few recognizable actors in lead roles.

What has helped Kingsman succeed however, is some good timing over a Valentines Day release, as well as the fact that it’s most likely one of the damn best movies of 2015 so far. On a budget of $81 million, the movie is pretty much a success. It’s already made back it’s production budget, as well as its advertising cost. Usually, a movie needs to double it’s initial budget in order to break even at the box office, and if that formula is correct, then Kingsman has blown past the $162 million threshold that it set for itself. And then some. As Kervyn explained in his hyperlinked review above:

Vaughn, Goldman and the cast inject the film with so much infectious kinetic energy that you can’t help but get completely swept up in the truly manic proceedings.

Now compare Fifty Shades of Grey to this result. Make no mistake, that film also capitalized on good timing and a subject matter that had many a couple flocking to go see it on Valentine’s Day. It cleaned up on that weekend, taking in over $85.1 million, from over 3646 cinemas. Right now, it has an international haul of over $527.8 million when combined with the USA take.

And that’s nothing to sneeze at. But it’ll most likely also be a flash in the pan movie, that is already experiencing a severe drop in numbers. Kingsman took a risk opening up next to that film, and it paid off handsomely. It’s also far more likely that a properly developed sequel will eventually appear, and do similar numbers. There’s clearly an audience there, and the film does a great job in setting up a new universe.

Good lucking bottling lightning twice, Fifty Shades.

 

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: March 10, 2015